Classical music: Famed opera diva Kiri Te Kanawa says she will not be singing in public anymore

By Jacob Stockinger

It happened a year ago.

But since then Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (below), the celebrated soprano and opera diva, has kept her insight to herself: She would not sing again in any kind of public performance.

She is 73, so the news is not surprising.

But it is disappointing.

Much as The Ear admires superstar soprano Renée Fleming, he preferred Te Kanawa’s tone, phrasing and vibrato. He particularly liked her voice in operas and other music  by Mozart, Puccini and Richard Strauss. (You can hear her in her prime singing the aria “O mio babbino caro” by Puccini in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

But whatever your preference, seeing such a career come to an end is a sad milestone, however inevitable.

Perhaps the best story about the New Zealand artist’s retirement that The Ear has seen came in The Guardian. Here is a link:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/13/kiri-te-kanawa-quits-public-performance-after-five-decade-career

And here is a column about retirement in various fields, including professional sports, that praises Te Kanawa’s decision and timing:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/13/kiri-te-kanawa-bowed-out

---

Posted in Classical music
Tags: aria, Arts, BBC, Classical music, column, Compact Disc, Diana, diva, insight, Jacob Stockinger, Kiri Te Kanawa, Mozart, Music, New Zealand, news, O mio bambino caro, opera, Orchestra, performance, phrase, phrasing, Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, professional, public, Puccini, Renée Fleming, Retirement, Richard Strauss, Royal Opera House, singer, Singing, song, soprano, sportd, Sports, superstar, The Guardian, The Marriage of Figaro, tone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vibrato, voice, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube