She has sung for queens, presidents, and packed concert halls across the world, but Dame Kiri Te Kanawa’s greatest legacy may now be what she leaves behind.
Nearly 60 years after winning the Mobil Song Quest, the celebrated soprano has come full circle. Her foundation has been announced as the new principal partner of New Zealand’s most prestigious classical singing competition, which from 2026 will be renamed the Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest.
“I feel very elated,” she told 1News. “There are so many good singers out there who just need a chance.”
It is a fitting partnership for the woman whose own chance on that same stage changed her life.
Back in 1965, a young Kiri Te Kanawa stepped nervously into the spotlight, unaware that her voice would soon echo through Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, and Westminster Abbey for Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding.
“I think I was at the right place, at the right time of my life,” she said, reflecting on those early years. “I look back and think, oh gosh, what happened to my life, those past 60 years have been quite amazing.”
Now 81, she still speaks with the warmth and energy that made her one of New Zealand’s most beloved cultural figures. But her focus has shifted from performance to preservation, ensuring young New Zealanders have the same opportunities she once did.
Championing new voices
Through the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, she has spent decades supporting emerging artists, providing scholarships, mentorship and international training for singers with exceptional potential.
She is especially proud of the number of Pasifika voices now rising through the ranks.
“Any of those beautiful voices, it’s such a pleasure to listen to them sing gloriously,” she smiled. “It’s unbelievably beautiful and so thrilling to hear those voices with New Zealand behind them.”
One of those voices belongs to Filipe Manu, a proud Tongan tenor. He first encountered opera as a 16-year-old sitting high in the balcony of Auckland’s ASB Theatre.
“[It] is the first theatre I ever saw an opera in,” he said. “I fell asleep,” he joked.
Two decades later, Manu has performed across Europe and will soon make his debut in Barcelona. He says Dame Kiri’s foundation was instrumental in that journey.
“Having her name on the Song Quest means it’s instantly recognisable overseas,” he said. “People take notice.”
A legacy of gratitude
When asked what she would say to her younger self, the girl who once stood barefoot in a Hamilton hall dreaming of the world, Dame Kiri paused.
“You were bloody lucky really,” she said softly. “I had wonderful parents who gave me everything, they had nothing, but they gave me everything. I wish they were here so I could tell them thank you.”
It is that spirit of gratitude that defines her next act. The girl who once sang her way into history now spends her days helping others find their own voice.
And in that, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa’s song carries on, not as an echo, but as a chorus of New Zealand voices rising to meet the world.
The Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest launches in 2026, marking 70 years of the competition and a new era for Kiwi classical talent.
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