Kiri Te Kanawa is a New Zealand opera singer is a New Zealand opera singer know all about him in this article as like her Family, Net Worth, Parents, Husband, Children and Education
| Bio | |
| Name | Kiri Te Kanawa |
| Birthdate ( Age) | 6 March 1944 |
| Place of Birth | Gisborne, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse/Partner | Desmond Park (m. 1967–1997) |
| Children | Antonia Park, Thomas Park |
| Parents | Thomas Te Kanawa, Nell Te Kanawa |
| Education | St Mary’s College, Auckland |
| Profession | New Zealand opera singer |
| Net Worth | $20 Million |
| Last Update | September 2021 |
Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa 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”. Te Kanawa had three top 40 albums in Australia in the mid-1980s.
Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries,singing a wide array of works in many languages dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Early Life and Family
Te Kanawa was born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in Gisborne, New Zealand, to Māori butcher Tieki “Jack” Wawatai and to Mary Noeleen Rawstron, who was the daughter of Irish emigrants.Wawatai was already married to Apo, the daughter of the Rev. Poihipi Kohere.
Poihipi Kohere was the brother of both the community leader Rēweti Kōhere and the soldier and farmer Henare Mokena Kohere).Mary Noeleen Rawstron’s mother insisted the baby be given up for adoption.Te Kanawa was adopted as an infant by Thomas Te Kanawa, the owner of a successful trucking business, and his wife Nell.
She was educated at St Mary’s College, Auckland, and formally trained in operatic singing by Sister Mary Leo Niccol. Te Kanawa began her singing career as a mezzo-soprano but developed into a soprano. Her recording of the “Nuns’ Chorus” from the Strauss operetta Casanova was the first gold record produced in New Zealand.
Kiri Te Kanawa Husband
Te Kanawa met Desmond Park on a blind date in London in August 1967, and they married six weeks later at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Auckland.They adopted two children, Antonia (born 1976) and Thomas (born 1979). The couple divorced in 1997.
Kiri Te Kanawa Net Worth
Kiri Te Kanawa is a New Zealand opera singer who has an estimated Net Worth of $20 Million in 2021.
Professional Career
In 1963, she was runner-up to Malvina Major in the Mobil Song Quest with her performance of “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca, and in 1965 she won the same competition. As winner, she received a grant to study in London.
In 1966, without an audition, she enrolled at the London Opera Centre to study under Vera Rózsa and James Robertson, who reputedly said Te Kanawa lacked a singing technique when she arrived at the school but had a gift for captivating audiences. She first appeared on stage as the Second Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, as well as in performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in December 1968 at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre. She also sang the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena.
She appeared and sang in the 1966 musical comedy film Don’t Let It Get You. In 1966, she won the Melbourne Sun-Aria contest, which Major had also won the previous year. Both singers had been taught by Sister Mary Leo.On 1 December 1971 at Covent Garden, Te Kanawa repeated her Santa Fe performance and created an international sensation as the Countess: “with ‘Porgi amor’ Kiri knocked the place flat.
Te Kanawa has a particular affinity for the heroines of Richard Strauss. Her first appearance in the title role in Arabella was at the Houston Grand Opera in 1977, followed by the roles of the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and the Countess in Capriccio.
In 1995, Te Kanawa performed the role of Maria Boccanegra in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, along with Plácido Domingo, conducted by James Levine.In April 2010, Te Kanawa sang the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier in two performances at the Cologne Opera.
That same year, she played the spoken part of The Duchess of Krakenthorp in La fille du régiment at the Metropolitan Opera, and sang a tango. She repeated this role at the Met in a revival during the 2011–12 season, repeating it again in Vienna in 2013 and at Covent Garden in March 2014, a run that encompassed her 70th birthday. In the meantime, she performed at Haruhisa Handa’s inaugural Tokyo Global Concert at Nakano-Zero Hall in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan, on 10 September 2013.
