Biography out on Dame Kiri

Press, 28 October 1982, Page 3

Biography out on Dame Kiri

NZPA staff correspondent London The first official biography of New Zealand's foremost operatic singer. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, was launched yesterday at her “musical home," the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

"Kiri—Biography of Kiri Te Kanawa” was written by a London magistrate and music critic, David Fingieton, and covers her life from her early years in Gisborne to her internationally acclaimed performance at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral last year. Mr Mark Bonham Carter, a director of Collins, the publishers of the book, said: “Dame Kiri has been seen and heard by more people fhan any other singer in all of history because of the part she played in the Royal wedding last year."

Dame Kiri told NZPA yesterday that the Royal wedding had a "massive” effect on her. “New Zealand was very proud of me. which was really lovely. It was a massive recognition, "the most extraordinary event of my life,” she said. The decision to write a book about her life was forced upon Dame Kiri two years ago when she began receiving requests for information from people intending to publish books. “We decided the best thing to do was to commission a book and make sure that book was truthful,” Dame Kiri said.

“In the beginning when we were discussing my life I don’t think I was as open as I usually am because I was aware that my background was being delved into. But David (the author) is a friend of mine and in the end it was really just like chatting to him.

“I had never thought of writing one myself — I would much rather talk to someone about it." "What is written in this book is what happened: what is truthful and that was what was important to me." David Fingleton said the book took him 2 1Z 2 years to research and write. “I w-as lucky that during

that time Kiri's career simply took off," he said. "I talked to more than 30 people about Kiri, which considering she is only 38 is quite a few." One of those 30 people was Prince Charles, who has said that Dame Kiri is his favourite soprano. The Prince first heard Kiri sing at a Royal concert in Dunedin, in March, 1970. "At that time she was comparatively unknown to me, though not to New Zealand, of course. For me she was just a soprano who sang beautifully at the concert: I had not become particularly interested in opera at that stage,” he is quoted in the book as saying.

The Prince is enthusiastic in his admiration for Dame Kiri. He says: “What is so marvellous about her is that not only is her voice growing to such stature, but so are her looks — she becomes more and more attractive as she goes on.”

The Prince also comments on Dame Kiri’s dress at the Royal wedding, which drew much comment. “It was marvellous — like a wonderful canary or budgerigar — a stunning combination of colours. I think she looks wonderful anyway, and looking at the tape of our wedding again the other night, what appealed to me so much is that she always looks so happy, and radiates this great enjoyment. Even at the wedding, where she must have been fairly nervous, she looked splendid and smiled hugely, which communicated itself to everyone." “Kiri" will be released in New Zealand in about six weeks. New Zealanders will also have another opportunity to see the life of their worldfamous soprano when a television documentary called "Kiri" is shown in the afternoon of Christmas Day. The film, which was made over the last 18 months, has not been shown in Britain yet. It will be seen next year on the new Channel 4 television.

Dame Kiri, who lives with her Australian mining engineer husband, Desmond Park, and two children in Surrey.

has recently returned from New York where she sang with the Metropolitan opera in “Der Rosenkavalur." Next week she will make a programme for the 8.8. C. with Harry Secombe and an opera singer. Placido Domengo, which will be shown in Britain over the Christmas period.

At that time she and her family will be on holiday in New Zealand where she will give two performances in Auckland to help raise money for an opera house.

Previously Dame Kiri had said that she would not sing in New Zealand until there was an opera house, but that she would gladly help in raising the money. “I am proud L pushed it off," she told NZPA yesterday.

"I didn’t do it for myself, I did it for New Zealand. I will be dead when this particular opera house is fully appreciated.”

Dame Kiri is eager to have the opera house called something that is internationally recognised. “Let us make it something international that everyone will recognise. Australians have the Sydney Opera House, so why not the NewZealand Opera House?” 'T want nothing out of it myself — the only thing I am interested in is my NewZealand, which I am proud of."