Kiri Te Kanawa Interview (page: 4 / 9) Beloved Opera Singer	Print Interview

How did you first become involved with music? What is your earliest memory of singing?

Kiri Te Kanawa: Oh, gosh. That's a long way back.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Because we didn't have any television when I was growing up -- we didn't have television for a very long time -- we used to do little performances, or I used to do little performances. I had a little stage in my parents' house, and the curtains would come back, and I'd get up and sing. But unfortunately, I would only sing when I felt like it, not when my mother felt like I should be singing. So I was always a bone of contention there. "Come along, Kiri. Come and sing." I said no, and I wouldn't sing. So I was sort of miffy about it even then, way back. I'd only sing when I felt like it. So I'd stage my own little performances and sing for her.

Was there a lot of music in your home?

Kiri Te Kanawa: Yes, yes. My mother came from a family of 15, my father from a family of 11. Not that I knew all of them when I was growing up, because I was much, much younger and they were all much, much older. My mother's sister was a coronet player, one of the very few female coronet players. And, of course, in the South Island, where they grew up, it was all brass. They only played brass. But my mother played piano, which was rather nice. I'd sit around the piano and we'd all sing. That was our entertainment.

When did you realize that you might have a gift for singing?

Kiri Te Kanawa: Well, I didn't. I didn't realize it at all until I was singing.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. I was going to my singing teacher in Auckland, and I started with her when I was 14. And then just slowly, slowly was taking singing lessons once a week with her. And then I went into her chorus, or her choir, and we did choir practice every Saturday and Wednesdays, or whenever it was. And then for many, many years, I just stayed in that choir until I left New Zealand when I was 21. So that was my first indication of singing and being part of a choir, part of a team. But I didn't actually realize this sort of career of mine was going to actually do anything like it's done.

Did you ever dream of being an opera singer when you were a child?

Kiri Te Kanawa: No. If you know anyone from New Zealand, from Polynesian countries, they're very laid back. It's always, "Oh, it will be all right tomorrow. It will be fine." It's all very happy. No one stresses themselves out. Then suddenly, you've got this thing on your hands, which is a voice in your throat, and suddenly other people are interested in you. Then you get on this treadmill and there's no end to it.

What was it like to grow up in Gisborne, in a harbor town?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Kiri Te Kanawa: We lived near the sea. I'd go down and we'd swim in the sea on a regular basis, my father and I. I remember one time -- because I still go fishing a lot -- my father and I went fishing with a friend and the boat upturned and I was under it. And all I could see was my father trying to get down to me, and the boat and all the things coming out of the boat. It's like this surreal vision. All I could see is this light and the boat on top of me. And I'm looking up and thinking, "Am I going to get out of this?" And somehow my father came down and dragged me out. That was the day I think I almost drowned.

Even after that, you still like to fish?

Kiri Te Kanawa: Oh yes. I do like the water.

What sort of influence did your parents have on your life and career?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Kiri Te Kanawa: My mother was a very strong influence. My father just loved me, which was a rather nice combination. But my mother was the driving force. She would teach me songs. She didn't know how to do it, just sing-along stuff. She somehow had a vision. She says she had a vision. I'm not quite sure about that. But, you know, people do have these ideas. She woke up one day and she said, "I've seen you at Covent..." She called it "Convent Garden," but I've since learned it was Covent Garden. "I've seen you at Covent Garden. And you're on the stage there." And I said, "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah." That was it. And I went off fishing, most probably, again.

Were there teachers that were important to you musically?

Kiri Te Kanawa: My very first teacher, she was important. I would say my mother and my parents.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. The reasons that I'm here today is because of the sacrifices of my parents. And I know how much they sacrificed. My father was a very hard worker. He didn't know what was happening to me. My mother didn't really know what was happening to me. But they sacrificed. And I can't tell you how much, because it would go into years and years of what they did do for me. And I look at my children, and I say to them, "You're here because of my father and my mother. Not because of me." I did it. And I said to my son the other day, "I can't actually thank my parents enough because of what they did." And it really, really was. It was huge. They've given me this amazing life, and then I can't even thank them. So all I can do is help. And I think in lots of ways -- with young students, and I'm working with them right now here at the Met -- that is, I suppose, my little bit of payback, if you know what I mean.

[ Key to Success ] Integrity

I need to somehow thank everything. The Met has been wonderful to me. Covent Garden is wonderful, Chicago, San Francisco, my own country. My own country helped me with finances and scholarships, and just the way they treated me. I just have to thank so many people for the reasons why I'm here. I think that's made me sort of overly ambitious for other people, for myself.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. I always said that I never ever missed a green light. Because if I walked down the street, I never, ever wait for a red light. I'll only take the green light. So you can imagine how I'm walking. I'm sort of crisscrossing to get to the green light all the time. And that's been my sort of aim in life, is to never miss an opportunity.

Were there singers that you particularly admired when you were growing up?

Kiri Te Kanawa: My very, very first of the greats was Leontyne Price. I just adored her, and still do. She has a voice of unique sound. She's a glorious, statuesque person. I always thought that I would like to take that feeling of how I saw her, and I would like people to look at me a little bit like that.

What about pop singers when you were growing up. Elvis Presley?

Kiri Te Kanawa: Yes. I never liked him when I was young, because I thought it was all a bit crazy. But you look at it, and he's still there after all this time, because of his recordings, of course, but he was a great icon. Even though things went wrong for him at the end, but there was a lot of stuff he brought out. I like that sort of thing. But I'm more on the classical side. I'm a classical music lover. I love orchestras. I listen to orchestras forever.

Kiri Te Kanawa Interview, Page: 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9