Te Kanawa, Kiri Janette (1944– )

New Zealand soprano. Te Kanawa's first major role was the countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at Covent Garden, London, in 1971. Her voice combines the purity and intensity of the upper range with an extended lower range of great richness and resonance. Apart from classical roles, she has also featured popular music in her repertoire, such as the 1984 recording of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story.

Her rendition of Handel's ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ at the wedding of the Prince of Wales in 1981 was broadcast to more than 600 million people. Along with a host of other classical artists, Te Kanawa performed in the first of two concerts held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. She became a Dame of the British Empire (DBE) in 1982.