Te Kanawa’s concerts sell-out in Australia

Press, 21 May 1988, Page 7

Te Kanawa’s concerts sell-out in Australia

By

NICK BROWN

of NZPA Sydney The best chance for New Zealand opera fans to see Dame Kiri Te Kanawa perform this year may mean a journey into the Australian outback, but moves are afoot for her to sing in her homeland. The Victoria State Opera, which is arranging Dame Kiri’s four-concert tour of Australia in August and September, hope to put on one extra concert after two of the concerts pre-sold before tickets could be released to the public. The other two concerts — including the Qantas Opera in the outback 500 km north of Adelaide — are expected to be quickly sold out. Dame Kiri has not sung in her New Zealand homeland since 1984 and declared that she would not do so again until the country had a suitable opera house. Although reluctant to talk of speculation about plans for Dame Kiri _to

sing in New Zealand, the V.S.O.’s special projects officer, Avril Everingham, confirmed that “things are in the pipeline.” The plans hinged on the completion of a new opera house in Auckland. "We were hoping for ' next year, but the building seems to have been delayed and we believe it won’t be ready next year,” she said.

Dame Kiri and the V.S.O. built up a special rapport after the outstanding success of the Melbourne concert during her last tour of Australia in 1985, and so she agreed to the company managing this year’s tour.

Tickets for her Brisbane concert on August 20 — coinciding with New Zealand week at World Expo 88 — were due to have gone on sale yesterday but all 2000 seats were pre-sold. New Zealand’s Expo commission reserved 200 tickets as “gifts” to Expo hosts, representatives from other pavilions and V.I.P.s — including the

Prime Minister, Mr Lange. The other tickets for the concert at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex went to regular opera patrons. The V.S.O. has asked Dame Kiri if she can give a second concert in -Brisbane and is awaiting a reply. Opera buffs have paid sAust79 for the best seats in the house to hear Dame Kiri sing with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Hopkins, the former principal conductor of the National Orchestra of New Zealand.

Her programme will include arias from Handel’s “Julius Caesar,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” Puccini’s “Suor Angelica” and Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino.”

She will then perform two gala benefits for the V.S.O. at the Melbourne Concert Hall on August 25 and August 29.

The first concert was sold out to V.S.O. subscribers and 1000 people

are on a waiting list for the second concert before tickets go on sale. Altogether 5000 people will hear Dame Kiri sing with the State Orchestra of Victoria, again conducted by Hopkins. Her Melbourne programme will include Richard Strauss’s “Four Last Songs” and Mozart’s “Exultate Jubilate.”

Tickets for her Opera in the outback on September 3 went on sale at the week-end and organisers say that if the present rate of sales continued the 10,000 tickets would be sold before the event.

Qantas is marketing some 500 tickets in New Zealand. The venue is the Yalkarinha Gorge near Beltana in the Flinders. Ranges. Proceeds will go to the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service. A race meeting at Beltana will precede Dame Kiri’s outdoor concert with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and there will be a giant bush barbecue afterwards.