Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has made an impassioned plea for Britain to stop blocking the flow of young singers into opera houses so the talents of the future can flower.
For almost half a century the Kiwi opera star has sung for princes, queens and commoners with a warmth and technical precision that has marked her out. She is still singing to acclaim in occasional performances after celebrating her 70th birthday this spring. But the lyric soprano worries for the future. "We are seeing a lot of disposable singers these days," Dame Kiri said at the weekend before giving an extended solo performance at a new music festival in Mallorca.
"These new singers last about five years and then the next tenor comes through. I hope I am not speaking out of turn here, but television talent shows have a lot to answer for: Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor. If you win, it is 'zing', there you are, and for five minutes you are famous."
The opera diva became a household name in Britain when she sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, a performance heard by 600 million people. Her remarkable voice was enjoyed again last year when she appeared in the role of the Australian singing star Dame Nellie Melba in an episode of ITV's Downton Abbey.
Dame Kiri, who grew up in New Zealand but spends much of her time in London, is now calling for leading British opera companies to allow young singing talent from outside Europe to come into the country for longer-term training, as she once did, so performers can build up the endurance and technique they need to survive on the international opera circuit. She believes many gifted young people are failing to access the best teachers, while ill-prepared winners of talent shows hog the limelight.
"I get criticised for attacking talent shows like The X Factor, but people often ask me when the singers they have seen on television are going to make it on the opera stage. The truth is they have got to learn how to sing properly first, but it is very hard for them to get the right training and experience," she said.
According to the soprano, an emphasis on good looks and a personal story, rather than on skill, has been promoted not just by talent shows but by a growing reliance on televised opera productions and live productions relayed to cinemas.
"They sometimes put slimmer singers on TV for productions. They may look good on telly and somehow get through it, but they can't really sing, and then on stage they have to use a bigger, better singer. I have seen that happen," she said.
Dame Kiri is also sceptical about the impact that opera screenings in cinemas are having on broadening the appeal of opera. "I don't know if young people are going to see opera in the cinemas, and I don't think it helps the operatic world generally. I don't think it helps sell seats in the opera houses, and it creates homogenised-sounding singing."
Although Dame Kiri stopped making regular appearances a decade ago, her career has lasted more than 45 years. She came to England at 21 and was singing at London's Royal Opera House in Covent Garden at 27. Originally a mezzo-soprano, she specialised in singing Mozart, Strauss, Verdi and Puccini. "Nowadays I can't see any new singers lasting even 15 years," she said.
Much of her time is spent working with students through her Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation or in fundraising for students and judging singing competitions, such as Cardiff Young Singer of the World. She currently supports eight singing students, she said, but remains concerned that the British visa system stands in the way of many of the international pupils with most potential.
"When I came over there was an open door. But now a foreign singer can come into schools for a year or so, but then, more often than not, if they want to carry on they have to reapply. So what happens is they have to go back after their time runs out and sit there in New Zealand, for example, for almost a year.
"I talk to opera companies in London about it, and they don't like it when I say it. But these singers have got to get the visas or they will never learn."
One extra place a year in London, she believes, would be enough to allow the cream of foreign talent from outside Europe to make its mark.
"The thing is, they are not all going to make it, so what I want is just one place a year for a person who is really going to last. I have been working with one wonderful student, a New Zealander called Phillip Rhodes, for five years, and he is just coming through now, and that has been a huge struggle." Rhodes sang in Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes with the UK's Opera North this year.
She understands, she said, that Britain is over-populated, but she feels that places for devoted students who are prepared to invest time and money would be worth it.
"They are so dedicated. There is total and utter focus and devotion. They will do anything. And I also have to complain about the fact that, if they are allowed to stay, they are not allowed to sing in public or to be paid for singing. Imagine if a young foreign footballer came in and he was not allowed to play football? Tell me who is making up these rules?"
Young singers are inspired by the opera stars they see in their youth, Dame Kiri believes.
"My students come to opera because of me. And I did it because of Joan Sutherland, while others did it because of hearing Jose Carreras or Placido Domingo or Pavarotti. All of these young singers follow their own Pied Piper."
There is little chance of building up a truly elite tradition of singing outside Europe, she argues, because the opera houses in New Zealand and Australia mount only a few performances a year and are bedevilled with cash crises.
"There are great, dedicated young singers coming up all over the world, and yet there is no space, no jobs, because there are only so many places at the top table," she said.
Her concert this weekend at the Barcelo Formentor Sunset Classics Festival will be followed by a fundraising concert in Wales later in the year, but Dame Kiri plans a quieter time in 2015. She stressed, however, that she is not tempted by retirement.
"No, no, no. Not yet," she said.
The soprano added that during her long career she had always tried to reach for perfection, but it had yet to happen.
"Time is running out, but I still try. I think I have achieved a lot, but it is never enough. The next concert is always the best one."
Rise of a singing sensation
Born
Claire Rawstron in Gisborne, New Zealand.
1959-65
Moved to Auckland and studied under Sister Mary Leo at St Mary's College, winning the Melbourne Sun Aria in 1965 and an Arts Council grant to study in London.
1977
Appeared at London's Royal Opera House in a German/English production of Die Fledermaus. A DVD of it later became popular in Britain and America.
1981
Sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in London's St Paul's Cathedral.
1984
Won a Grammy for Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with the London Philharmonic. Recorded West Side Story with Jose Carreras.
2006
Sang at the Commonwealth Games for the Queen's birthday.
2013
Appeared as Dame Nellie Melba in ITV's Downton Abbey.
- Observer
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