Dame Kiri’s South Island Concert Brings Diva Full Circle

Dame Kiri’s South Island Concert Brings Diva Full Circle

When Dame Kiri Te Kanawa gives her only South Island concert in Dunedin at Queen’s Birthday weekend next year, it may just be her last performance and if so, very fitting that it should be held inside the Dunedin Town Hall where her glittering career as an opera diva was launched in 1965 when at the age of 21, she won the Mobil Song Quest.

The June 1 concert in Dunedin is her only South Island engagement on her 70th birthday gala tour. Director of Arts Festival Dunedin, Nicholas McBryde says, ''Since the following day is a public holiday, we're anticipating crowds from all over the South Island to be in Dunedin for what could be Dame Kiri's swan song.''

Dame Kiri last performed in Dunedin in 2010 during the Otago Festival of the Arts which has recently been rebranded the Arts Festival Dunedin. Her 2010 appearance was her first solo recital in the city and the first opportunity Southern audiences had to experience the clarity and purity of her voice sans orchestra.

Dame Kiri’s preferred piano accompanist worldwide is Dunedin’s Terence Denis who will accompany her on the 2014 gala tour.

Mr McBryde says, “We are thrilled that the Festival and Dunedin has been chosen as her only South Island venue.”

Tickets for Dame Kiri's Dunedin Town Hall concert are now on sale and range in price from $40 to $100. www.ticketdirect.co.nz

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