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Opera’s leading lady
She is one of the most famous sopranos in the world.
She sung at the wedding of HRH Prince Charles and Lady Diana at St Paul's Cathedral, performing live to an audience of some 600 million, and at the gala concert at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee.
She has played at such venues as the Hollywood Bowl, Glyndebourne and the Royal Albert Hall.
And this month Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is set add Winchester Cathedral to the list, where she will be performing alongside a local amateur choir.
The Winchester Music Club (WMC) has scored a massive success in securing the international star to perform a
one-off concert.
Christopher Green, chairman of the WMC said that
the choir is thrilled at the prospect of performing alongside Dame Kiri, a leading figure in opera houses around
the world.
Mr Green invited Dame Kiri to perform at Winchester Cathedral via his brother, an old friend of the singer who was staying with her in New Zealand. The singer agreed immediately.
"I was surprised, delighted
and thrilled when she said yes," he said.
Dame Kiri's enthusiasm for performing in Winchester seems almost as great as that of the WMC for having her there.
She said: "I am delighted to have been invited to Winchester Cathedral by Winchester Music Club. This is truly a magnificent building to perform in.
"My pianist for the first half of the recital is Julian Reynolds who has worked with me both as pianist and conductor for many years.
"Together we are delighted to bring you an intimate recital of works by Mozart, Richard Strauss and Berlioz.
"For the second half of the concert I will be joined by the baritone Peter Harvey, Winchester Music Club, Winchester College Glee Club and Quiristers to perform the Brahms Requiem accompanied by the Southern Pro Musica orchestra
- a perfect piece for this setting."
Although Dame Kiri is an international star, Mr Green says she is far from demanding. While other celebrities have lengthy riders - the list of things they require backstage - which contain anything from roses with their thorns removed to everything in the dressing room to be wrapped in clear plastic, Dame Kiri asks for fruit teas.
Mr Green hopes that Dame Kiri's performance will pave the way for other big-name singers to perform alongside WMC in the future. "It would be rather fun," he said.
Winchester Music Club was founded in 1925 by George Dyson, later Sir George, when Winchester College's Nightjars Madrigal Society merged with an existing orchestral group to form an integral performing society to foster links between Winchester College and the City of Winchester.
The club gives annual concerts both in New Hall at Winchester College and in Winchester Cathedral. Winchester College Glee Club, which is made up of Winchester College men, dons and parents, joins WMC for at least one concert
a year, as do the Quiristers, the trebles belonging to the renowned 600-year-old choir of Winchester College.
WMC is a charitable organisation, but they have decided
to use the concert as an opportunity to raise funds for two other charities.
The bulk of funds raised will go to the Rose Road Association, which provides services to young people with disabilities, and the Trinity Centre in Winchester, which helps the homeless and other vulnerable groups.
Heather Aspinall, chief executive of The Rose Road Association, said: "We are delighted to be involved with such an exciting and prestigious event. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is a truly wonderful artist and it should be a very special evening at the cathedral. The monies raised through the concert will go towards our Change My Life Appeal, and make a huge difference to the lives of our young people, their families and carers."
Kiri Te Kanawa gained legendary status almost overnight after her sensational debut as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1971.
From then, she move rapidly into the front rank of international opera, becoming one of the most famous sopranos in the world.
She is a familiar figure in the leading opera houses of the world - Covent Garden, the Metropolitan, the Chicago Lyric Opera, Paris Opera and Sydney Opera House
to name a few.
On the concert stage, her beautiful voice has joined with the world's major orchestral ensembles including the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony and the Boston Symphony under the baton of such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa and Sir Georg Solti.
She was created a Dame Commander of The Order of the British Empire in 1982, invested
as an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia in 1990 and awarded the prestigious Order of New Zealand in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours List. She has also received honorary degrees from Cambridge, Dundee, Durham, Nottingham, Oxford, Sunderland, Warwick, Chicago, Auckland and Waikato as well as being honorary fellow of Somerville College, Oxford and Wolfson College, Cambridge.
Dame Kiri had to work very hard to gain international success and is keen to give others a helping hand.
The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation was created and is committed to assisting outstanding young New Zealand singers and musicians with mentoring, financial support
and career assistance.
The concert at Winchester is also sure to give many
local performers a boost, thanks to the opportunity to
sing alongside such a big star, and may also help some Hampshire singers on the path to success.
l Kiri Te Kanawa is performing at Winchester Cathedral
on Saturday, May 31. Tickets are priced from £30.
Box office: 01962 857275.
12:44am Friday 2nd May 2008
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CommentPosted by: Christopher Green on 9:47am Fri 16 May 08
Could you change the first word of this article? "he" ought to be "She"!
Could you change the first word of this article? "he" ought to be "She"!
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