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Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

Patron of Cardiff Singer of the World

Kiri Te Kanawa moved rapidly into the front rank of international opera after her sensational debut as the Countess Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House in 1971. Since then, her lyric soprano voice has become one of the most famous in the world, especially in the works of Mozart, Richard Strauss, Verdi and Puccini.

As well as performing on the greatest opera stages worldwide, Dame Kiri has made countless appearances with many great orchestras, conductors and pianists, her wide repertoire also embracing contemporary popular music. She has recorded extensively, across the fields of opera, oratorio, art and popular song, both on CD and DVD.

In 2004 she launched the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, a charity which supports New Zealand and international singers at the outset of their careers. As part of its objective, in 2012 the Foundation created scholarships at both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. Always passionate about young singers, Dame Kiri regularly conducts master classes and coaching sessions in many parts of the world.

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa holds honorary doctorates from ten universities and is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music. She was awarded Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1982. In 1990, she received the Order of Australia, in 1995 the Order of New Zealand, and in 2018 was awarded the Companion of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Dame Kiri Te Kanawaå

Noddwr

Prin o dro fu hi cyn i Kiri Te Kanawa gyrraedd rhengoedd blaen opera ryngwladol wedi ei hymddangosiad cyntaf nodedig fel y Dduges Le Nozze di Figaro yn y T欧 Opera Brenhinol ym 1971. Ers hynny, mae ei llais soprano telynegol wedi dod yn un o’r enwocaf yn y byd, yn arbennig felly wrth ganu gweithiau Mozart, Richard Strauss, Verdi a Puccini.

Yn ogystal â pherfformio ar lwyfannau amlycaf yr opera led-led y byd, mae’r Fonesig Kiri wedi ymddangos llu o weithiau gyda cherddorfeydd, arweinwyr a phianyddion gwych, gyda’r repertoire eang yn cwmpasu cerddoriaeth boblogaidd hefyd. Mae wedi recordio’n helaeth ym meysydd opera, oratorio, celfyddyd a chaneuon poblogaidd, ar CD a DVD.

Yn 2004 sefydlodd Sefydliad Kiri Te Kanawa, elusen sy’n cefnogi cantorion o Seland Newydd a rhai rhyngwladol ar gychwyn eu gyrfaoedd. Fel rhan o’i amcanion, sefydlodd Y Sefydliad ysgoloriaethau yn y Coleg Cerdd Brenhinol a’r Academi Cerdd Brenhinol yn 2012. Mae’r Fonesig Kiri yn teimlo’n angerddol ynghylch cefnogi cantorion ifanc ac yn cynnal dosbarthiadau meistr a sesiynau hyfforddi yn sawl rhan o’r byd. Mae’n dychwelyd i lwyfan yr opera yn Fienna eleni, gan droi eto at ran Duges Krakenthorp, yn La Fille Du Regiment.

Mae gan y Fonesig Kiri Te Kanawa ddoethuriaethau er anrhydedd oddi wrth deg o brifysgolion ac yn Aelod er Anrhydedd yn yr Academi Gerdd Frenhinol. Fe’i dyfarnwyd yn Fonesig Gadlywydd yr Ymerodraeth Brydeinig ym 1982; ym 1990, derbyniodd Urdd Awstralia; ym 1995 Urdd Seland Newydd, ac yn 2018 dyfarnwyd Companion of Honour iddi yn y Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Masterclass with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

The masterclass took place at the RWCMD as part of the Cardiff Singer Fringe