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Dame Kiri Te Kanawa ONZ , AC , DBE (born March 6 , 1944 ), is an internationally famous New Zealand Opera singer. In 1981, she was seen and heard around the world by an estimated 600 million people when she sang Handel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" at the wedding of Charles, Prince Of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer . Te Kanawa was born in Gisborne , New Zealand . She has both Māori and European ancestry but little is known about her birth parents as she was adopted as an infant. In her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and popular entertainer at clubs in New Zealand. She was formally trained in operatic singing by the celebrated Dame Sister Mary Leo , who was New Zealand 's best-known opera coach. She began her singing career as a Mezzo-soprano , but later developed into a Soprano . Her recording of the "Nuns' Chorus" from the Strauss operetta '' Casanova '' was New Zealand's first gold record. CAREER In 1965 she won the prestigious Mobil Song Quest , entered by all types of singers, jazz, pop and classical, with her performance of Puccini's "''Vissi d'arte''" from '' Tosca .'' As the winner, she received a grant to study in London . Early years in London In 1966, without an audition, she enrolled at the London Opera Centre to study under James Robertson. Jenkins and d'Antal quote Robertson as having said that te Kanawa did not have any singing technique when she arrived at the school but did have a gift for captivating audiences. She first appeared on stage as the "Second Lady" in '' Die Zauberflöte '', as well as in performances of '' Dido And Aeneas '' in December 1968 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre . In 1969, she sang "Elena" in Gioacchino Rossini 's '' La Donna Del Lago '' at the Camden Festival. Praise for her "Idamante" in Mozart 's '' Idomeneo '' led to an offer of a three-year contract as junior principal at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden where she made her debut as 'Xenia' in '' Boris Godunov '' and a 'Flower Maiden' in '' Parsifal '' in 1970, and was also heard as the "Voice from Heaven", an off-stage role, at the end of Verdi 's '' Don Carlo ''. Also, during 1969, she was offered the role of the Countess after an audition in which the conductor, Colin Davis is quoted in Gilbert and Shir as saying "I couldn't believe my ears. I've taken thousands of auditions, but it was such a fantastically beautiful voice". Under director John Copley te Kanawa was carefully groomed for the role for a December 1970 opening. International career Meanwhile, word of her success had reached as Cherubino and Kiri te Kanawa as the Countess. Everyone knew at once that these were brilliant finds. History has confirmed that first impression", wrote Scott. But on in autumn 1972, while her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1974 as Desdemona in '' Otello '' took place on short notice, replacing an ill Teresa Stratas at the last minute. In subseqent years, she performed at the Lyric Opera Of Chicago , Paris Opera , Sydney Opera House , the Vienna State Opera , La Scala , San Francisco Opera , Munich and Cologne , adding the Mozart roles of Donna Elvira, Pamina, and Fiordiligi, in addition to Italian roles such as Mimi in '' La Bohème ''. 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 and the Countess in '' Capriccio ''. Many performances were given under the baton of Georg Solti and it was with him that she made her first recording of ''Figaro''. Te Kanawa retired from the opera stage after her performances in Samuel Barber 's '' Vanessa '' with the Los Angeles Opera in November/December 2004, but she still performs in concert halls. HONOURS AWARDED Te Kanawa has been overwhelmed with honours. She was created a Dame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire in 1982, invested with the Companion 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 universities in Cambridge , Oxford , Nottingham, Durham, Dundee, Warwick, Chicago, Auckland and Waikato as well as being honorary fellow of Somerville College, Oxford and Wolfson College, Cambridge . She is also patron of Ringmer Community College, a school in the South-East of England. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
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