Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa ONZ DBE ACis a New Zealand soprano who has had a successful international opera career since 1968. She possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced"...
NationalityNew Zealander
ProfessionOpera Singer
Date of Birth6 March 1944
CityGisborne, New Zealand
best children manage preserved sanity work
I only have so much energy, so something had to go. This is why, at the end of the day, I've preserved my sanity for the children and also manage to do my best at work.
hearts life occasions sing songs
We sing these songs for the everyday occasions of life, and they are very close to the hearts of our people.
almost centre learning takes youtube
I tell students, 'If you are learning from YouTube I almost don't want to teach you because what you learn from YouTube it takes 10 times as long to unlearn.' They do an approximation of the centre of the note, an approximation of the interpretation, a cloned version.
beautiful certain leave people regret suffer
I used to suffer from a lot of regret while touring. Regret at having to leave certain places, people and situations, or just a beautiful day.
trying energy said
My energy is undiminished. Someone said to me the other day, 'Are you retired?' and I said, 'Well, I'm just trying to prove that I'm not.' There's so many things to do.
strong children doubt
My children are my children. There's no doubt about that at all. They're very strong towards me, very protective, and I towards them. It works both ways.
lying voice passionate
When I perform Strauss, it is as if the music fits me like a glove. My voice seems to lie in a happy area in this music, which is lyrical and passionate at the same time.
home voice attention
When I'm alone at home, I really prefer to listen to Wagner's orchestral music rather than any vocal music. I find it illuminating not to have to pay attention to voices in the recordings.
creative roles interpretation
I knew that I could be more creative onstage, to state my own case and deliver my own interpretation of the role much more aggressively than in the recording studio.
long process stills
I felt that the studio recording process makes you stand still too long.
hurt believe perfect
I really believe I've been a good person. Not perfect - forget about perfect - but just learning by what I was taught and living by my own values. I might have stepped on a few ants - and a few other things as well - but I've never hurt anybody.
entertainment television grew
I grew up in the New Zealand countryside. We didn't have television until I was 14, so sing-alongs were our only entertainment.
singers influence
I never had the influence of any other singer in my music, so I sounded like myself all the time.
I'm more confident now than I've ever been. As you get older, you have to be.