This Is Your Life: Kiri Te Kanawa

Kiri TE KANAWA OBE (1944-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Kiri Te Kanawa, opera singer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews as she arrived at St Paul's Cathedral in London, having been led to believe she was there for a television interview about weddings.

Kiri, who was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, was educated at St Mary's College, Auckland, where she trained in operatic singing. She initially found work as a singer in clubs and on the radio, recording popular songs of the day, before winning a grant in 1966 to study opera at the London Opera Centre.

While training, she was offered a contract with London's Royal Opera House, which led to international success as an opera singer with performances in the world's most important opera houses. In July 1981, she was seen and heard around the world by an estimated 600 million people when she sang at the wedding of HRH Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

"I said they're never gonna do that to me!"

programme details...

Edition No: 585
Subject No: 582
Broadcast date: Fri 25 Dec 1981
Broadcast time: 5.15-5.45pm
Recorded: Fri 23 Oct 1981
Venue: Royalty Theatre
Series: 22
Edition: 12
Code name: Katie

on the guest list...

Basil Horsfield
Vera Rozsa
Sir John Tooley
staff from the Royal Opera House
John Kilgar
Des Park - husband
Tom - father
letter from HRH Prince Charles
Harry Secombe
Sally Sloman
James Robertson
Colin Davis
Stuart Burrows
Richard Baker
Kura Beale
Toni - daughter
Tom - son
Dame Sister Mary Leo
Joan Sutherland
Georg Solti

production team...

Researcher: Maurice Leonard
Writer: Maurice Leonard
Directors: Paul Stewart Laing, Terry Yarwood
Producer: Jack Crawshaw

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Classical Life

a symphony of subjects

Harry Secombe

Georg Solti

Screenshots of Kiri Te Kanawa This Is Your Life

David Fingleton recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, Kiri...

In March 1981 Kiri was a guest on Michael Parkinson's show on BBC television and finally, on Christmas Day 1981, she was the subject of This Is Your Life with Eamonn Andrews on Thames Television. Having been collared by Eamonn and most of the management of the Royal Opera House on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, she was joined in the studio by Desmond, Tom Te Kanawa, and by her bridesmaid Sally Rush, and a very old friend, Kura Beale from North Island, who had known her since she was three, all of whom had been flown specially from New Zealand to join her on the programme.

The Prince of Wales addressed a letter to the programme from Balmoral, 'to send my very best wishes to my favourite soprano on a special occasion and to say how much one of her greatest fans admires her glorious voice and her acting ability.' It ended with: 'PS. I hope this isn't too much of a shock for you!' Kiri was also joined on the programme by Harry Secombe, James Robertson, Colin Davis, Stuart Burrows and Richard Baker, with filmed messages from Dame Sister Mary Leo, Dame Joan Sutherland from her dressing-room at San Francisco Opera and Sir Georg Solti. It was quite a line-up, quite a programme; Toni and Thomas made their first public appearances, which they carried off with aplomb.

Garry Jenkins and Stephen D'Antal recall this edition of This Is Your Life in their book, Kiri Her Unsung Story...

Her hopes of a quiet Christmas back at Fairways were disrupted by the final shock of a surprising year, however.

A few days before the holiday season began, Kiri climbed into a chauffeur-driven car bound for the central London studios of Thames Television. Kiri had been under the illusion she was heading for a documentary interview for a new music-based television series. The driver had seemed clueless about where he was heading. Kiri had started remonstrating as he drove around in ever-decreasing circles.

He apologised, claiming he was a barman rather than a driver and knew nothing of London's geography. In fact the driver had spent fifteen years perfecting his act. He pulled up at the steps of St Paul's with split-second timing. As Kiri climbed out of the car she was greeted by the television presenter Eamonn Andrews and the famous red book from his hit show This Is Your Life. Kiri arrived at the studios to find Des with a fixed, Cheshire cat grin on his face. Coincidentally, Kiri and Des had watched on TV as Andrews claimed another unsuspecting victim the night before. Kiri had said to Des, 'Don't you ever do that to me.' He had replied, 'It's going to happen some day', and then walked out of the room. 'The louse,' Kiri later snarled.

The show had been carefully choreographed, with filmed contributions from Georg Solti, Joan Sutherland and a still sprightly Sister Mary Leo. Tom had been flown over from New Zealand, as had a small group of others. To those who thought themselves familiar with Kiri's story, the most surprising guest was Kura Beale, who had travelled over with Sally Sloman at the last minute. Kura told how she had known Kiri since she was three. Her appearance on the programme only fuelled further the conviction of many that she was Kiri's real mother.

The evening climaxed with Andrews reading the personal tribute Prince Charles had written to the woman he called his 'favourite soprano'. 'PS: I hope this isn't too much of a shock for you', it concluded. A year earlier Kiri may not even have been considered a candidate for the accolade of a This Is Your Life devoted to her. It was a measure of Kiri's status now that the programme was broadcast at prime time on Christmas Eve.

Scriptwriter Roy Bottomley recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, This Is Your Life: The Story of Television's Famous Big Red Book...

For the Life of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, at the Royalty Theatre on 23 October 1981, Prince Charles wrote a letter to her to be read on the programme, with a hand-written PS. It said, 'I hope this isn't too much of a shock for you!'

The girl from New Zealand's quaintly named Poverty Bay had been personally chosen by Charles to sing at St Paul's Cathedral for his wedding to Lady Diana Spencer that same year, an occasion watched by eight hundred million television viewers in seventy-four countries.

The full letter from Charles read: 'I am writing to send my very best wishes to my favourite soprano and to say how much one of her greatest fans admires her glorious voice and her acting ability.'

We flew in Kiri's father, Tom (her mother had died nine years before) to tell how they had adopted Kiri when she was just five weeks old. Her Maori name 'Kiri' means 'bell' and 'Te Kanawa' 'chief kinsman to Tom'.

Another Dame, and another opera great, greeted her from Sydney: Dame Joan Sutherland.

Sir Harry Secombe came along to tell us how he had a bit of trouble pronouncing her name when she appeared as a guest on one of his own TV shows.

Dame Kiri told him, 'Don't bother. Just call me "Tin Knickers".'

Series 22 subjects