“Her legacy is substantial, her popular following immense… Her voice and personality have ensured that the name Kiri Te Kanawa is known the world over, not only in the hallowed shrines of opera, but also by the man in the street who clearly knows a beautiful voice when he hears one.” Gramophone
This 6 CD set is a 70th birthday celebration of an artist who has had an astonishing career, captivating audiences the world over, from the opera stage to fame on the small screen.. Recently appearing in the third series of Downton Abbey, she clearly shows no signs of slowing down her schedule.
Her performance of Handel’s ‘Let the bright Seraphim’ at the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer reached an international audience of 600 million and catapulted her to stardom.
She carved her distinguished reputation with the critics through the music of Mozart and Richard Strauss. Two discs in this set are dedicated to these two composers, and her fruitful relationship with conductor Sir Georg Solti. But as this 6 CD birthday set shows, these two composers comprise only a part of the story.
The qualities of Dame Kiri’s voice are just as easily recognised in the song repertoire as in opera. Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne are present in this collection, as well as a song recital with the distinguished accompanist Roger Vignoles which crosses a variety of musical periods and styles – Purcell through to Liszt, Ravel and Rachmaninov and Granados.