Kiri Te Kanawa gained legendary status almost overnight after her sensational debut as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1971. From there she moved rapidly into the front rank of international opera, and has become one of the most famous sopranos in the world.

Continuing to develop as a recitalist, she is now a much sought-after singer in a wide variety of musical contexts.
In the genre of opera, Kiri Te Kanawa is a familiar figure in the leading opera houses of the world – Covent Garden, the Metropolitan, the Chicago Lyric Opera, Paris Opera, Sydney Opera House, the Vienna State, La Scala and San Franscisco.
On the concert stage, her natural serenity and vocal beauty have joined with the world’s major orchestral ensembles – Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony and the Boston Symphony.

Dame Kiri was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1982. In the 1995 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, she was awarded the prestigious Order of New Zealand.
In 2004 she gave a gala concert in Auckland to launch the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation which aims to give support and financial assistance to dedicated young singers and musicians.
Dame Kiri continues to perform in concert halls throughout the world with recent performances in China, New Zealand, USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Korea, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Germany, Spain and Hong Kong.