大象传媒

In March 2024, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa celebrates her 80th birthday. Zeinab Badawi follows the incredible story of one of the greatest sopranos of our time.

After an early successful stint as a pop star, she became famous In New Zealand whilst still in her teens but left for London to further her operatic career. After winning a scholarship to train in London in the swinging sixties, she made a knockout appearance in the Marriage of Figaro in 1971 at the Royal Opera House and the offers came flooding in.

In the latter stages of her career, Dame Kiri rarely appeared on the operatic stage, but remained in high demand as a concert singer. When she retired in 2017, Dame Kiri devoted herself to her foundation, which nurtures young opera singers.