Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa, , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as “mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced”. Her extensive discography includes three albums which featured in the top forty in charts in Australia in the mid-1980s.Te Kanawa received accolades in many countries, performing works composed in the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and singing in several languages. She was particularly associated with the music of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Handel and Puccini, and was often cast as an aristocrat.Towards the end of her career, Te Kanawa appeared in opera only rarely, preferring to perform in concerts and recitals. She also devoted much of her time to giving masterclasses and supporting young opera singers through the period of their apprenticeship. Her final performance was in Ballarat, Australia, in October 2016, but she did not announce her retirement until September 2017.

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