Te Kanawa, Dame Kiri

Kiri Te Kanawa is an internationally acclaimed lyric soprano of Maori descent. She was still in her teens when she began winning vocal competitions in her native New Zealand and in neighboring Australia. In the nearly four decades since her 1971 debut, she has appeared in many of opera's most coveted roles, entertaining audiences in Paris, Milan, Salzburg, and Vienna, as well as appearing regularly at London's Covent Garden and New York's Metropolitan Opera. She also has a long history as soloist with renowned orchestras and substantial success as a recording artist. More recently, she has devoted the greater part of her time to mentoring a new generation of opera stars.

Born in 1944 to an unmarried Anglo mother and a married Maori father, Te Kanawa ...