Kiri Te Kanawa

On the eve of her receipt of the Kea Iconic World Class New Zealand Award we caught up with the supposed ‘retired’ Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. She shows no sign of slowing down!
By Farida Master

“My life is a minefield,” is how the 68-year-old, going-on-48, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa describes the unbelievable pace at which she leads her life. Though she announced her retirement two years ago, there is no indication of the legendary soprano taking a breather. A look at her schedule is enough to mortify a mere mortal. It’s as if the world renowned opera singer has mastered the fine art of pushing her boundaries in pursuit of excellence. “I’m not sure many people would like to lead my life,” she says adeptly, pushing aside any paeans of praise that come her way. 

For a quintessential diva who has reached the zenith of her career, Dame Kiri refuses to dwell on her phenomenal success. “For me it’s just a matter of a job well done,” she says, giving an insight into how she deals with the heady cocktail of fame and fortune, topped with success. “I look at it as moving from one well done job to another. I don’t believe in resting on my laurels,” she says shrugging off the milestones that could cover reams of paper. “I remember a friend once saying, ‘You are only as good as your last performance’.”

Though in her case her sterling performances spanning over 47 years have consistently raised the bar, and she continues to impress the elevated and exalted all over the globe.  After all how many world class singers have dazzled 650 million viewers with a rendition of Handel’s, ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ at the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana? Or sung a tribute to the Queen at the opening ceremony of the 18th Commonwealth Games? But ask Dame Kiri of any vivid memory of the royal wedding and she brushes it off with typical Kiwi modesty saying, “It was akin to a car crash. I don’t remember anything! I have amnesia. All I remember is that I had about eight different performances around the same time and I kept worrying that I didn’t have enough time to rehearse,” she recounts, subtly challenging the notion of success.

Acclaimed as one of the numero uno soprano in both, the United States and Britain, Dame Kiri has been bestowed with a string of honorary degrees from prestigious universities like Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Dundee, Nottingham and Durham. She was also created a Dame Commander of the British Empire, invested as an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia and awarded the Order of New Zealand. Quite a remarkable feat for a young Maori girl from Gisborne who was adopted by Thomas Te Kanawa and his Irish wife, Nell!
 
It was Sister Mary Leo, with a keen eye for talent, who first spotted streaks of brilliance in the young lady studying at St Mary’s College, Auckland. Little did they realise then that she’d grow up into a charismatic opera singer who would hold international audiences in a mesmeric daze.  The spectators at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Paris Opera, the Sydney Opera House, Vienna State Opera, La Scala, San Francisco, Munich and Cologne are testimony to the powerful impact she’s had over her captive audience over the decades.  
 
Talking about life at full-throttle and how she finds order within the chaos, she reflects, “My life is very erratic. There is absolutely no regularity. I have an impatient streak about me. I believe that if it is not done now, fast and furious, it’s not done. I’ll shoot someone that doesn’t do it! I’m always on the go,” she says, her words rushing into one another as she talks about the last three weeks that have been a mad rush of activities in Australia and New Zealand.  “I’ve been totally impatient,” she admits. “ It’s simply because there is still so much to be done, so many concerts, so much life to be lived, all the different things to be looked into, so many different hotels, rooms, food!” she pauses for a second, and decides to share the most sacred hour of her day.
 
“The only thing regular in my life is that we try to get the food on time. Half past one is the most important hour of my life. It’s the magic hour! After which I take a nap on the days there is a performance. Other than that I don’t sleep very well. I may or may not go for walks; there is absolutely no regularity in my life. I’ve travelled to nine cities in less than three weeks, done ten concerts, had so many flights, and spent not more than two days in each hotel bed.”
 
So what is it that propels her to achieve more? “I just like the idea of waking up in the morning and having something to do,” she says with endearing honesty. “There was a time when I used to wake up in the middle of the night and make notes, only to realise that I couldn’t read a word in the morning,” she laughs.
 
On a more serious note, she points out that she is now extremely focussed. “If you don’t organise things and just hope that things will go fine, they won’t,” she says emphatically, underlining the basic rule of success. “There’s no point in later saying that there is a possibility of something going wrong because it will! I’m constantly checking everything and don’t leave anything to chance. I need a complete breakdown of the day. If I don’t check on things, no one will. If I don’t learn the music, no one is going to learn it. If I don’t get all the pieces of music or the pianist in line, it’s not going to happen. It’s about putting all your ducks in a row and taking responsibility for everything,” she surmises.
 
Stephen Dee, Director of Kea New Zealand, who has worked with Dame Kiri for over 30 years shares an interesting anecdote of the time he was the Artistic Administrator of the Victoria State Opera. “The year was 1989 and we had planned an outdoor concert with Kiri at a winery in Northern Victoria, where the land had a natural amphitheatre feel to it,” he recounts. “But as luck would have it, on the day of the show it rained buckets even though the weather report had said ‘no rain’. As people slowly started pouring in, in their gumboots and raincoats, it was rather depressing. It looked like a disaster waiting to happen till Kiri came on stage and made some joke about ‘nice weather for ducks’. She could have easily cancelled the performance but instead she lightened up the mood by first thanking everyone for coming and then telling the crowd that she would do the performance without an interval. She was so gracious and soon turned the mood around from negativity to positivity. She took full responsibility for the enjoyment of the crowd. It said a lot about the kind of person she is,” he recalls full of admiration for the dignified manner in which she conducted herself.
 
The undeniably beautiful singer is here in Auckland to receive the Iconic World Class New Zealand Award – a prestigious award presented to a New Zealander who has enhanced New Zealand’s reputation and international standing. “It’s a unique honour and very special to me,” she says of  receiving the Iconic New Zealander Award 2012, which is presented to her by Kea New Zealand, and is a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise initiative. She says she is extremely grateful and has an insatiable drive to give back by helping young musicians and singers. “I would like to advise aspiring and highly talented musicians and enable them to have an education that will help them make something of themselves. I didn’t have anyone to guide me, but I’d like to inspire and guide them on the rigours of the profession,” she muses. “Do you know that it take £30,000 to study music in England? Even after spending four to six years doing a masters or a PhD there is no guarantee that they’ll make it as a singer. But if you’ve studied medicine you can become a doctor after spending the same amount of time and money,” she says giving the reason behind her spending a very large part of her life mentoring students with a potential.
 
The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, New Zealand and the Friends of Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, United Kingdom is closest to her heart. The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation was created in 2004 to assist outstanding New Zealand singers with mentoring, financial support and career assistance. Stephen Dee, who is a trustee in both the foundations, reveals that there are times when Kiri goes  out of her way to protect her students, which includes giving them food and shelter at her beautiful home in the United Kingdom. “She takes them in when she feels that they need good nutrition and caring. It’s a tough world out there and they need to be physically and mentally fit. On the other hand, she pulls no punches when it comes to telling them how it is,” he smiles, throwing the spotlight on her generosity of spirit.
 
 “It’s both fun and hard work,” agrees Dame Kiri. “It takes a very long time to find a fine classical singer. In New Zealand it’s taken us seven years to find two good singers,” she observes wryly.
 
While the students are lucky to have her as a friend and mentor, Dame Kiri believes that she owes it to her mum and dad who worked really hard to give her the right platform. “My parents sacrificed everything for me.  I’m really grateful to them. Their legacy stays with me,” she declares proudly and then adds thoughtfully, “Sometimes I feel as if my parents are really looking after me. I feel lucky that they are guiding me in the right direction,” she says, getting a little misty-eyed.
 
She may have been showered with a plethora of titles, awards and gifts but her most precious moment to date remains the time her dad sent her fresh blooms. “My dad once sent me a bouquet of flowers after a performance,” she recounts with a big smile. “They were the most beautiful rust/gold chrysanthemums. I remember it was autumn then. Now, every autumn I buy the rust/gold chrysanthemums and think of dad,” she says with a faraway look in her eyes as our time together comes to an end. The next minute she seizes the moment to iron out the details of  flights to be boarded, awards to be won, public appearances to be made, a citation with the queen, master classes to be conducted and singing contests to be judged – before she sleeps!   
 
Farida Master
www.keanewzealand.com