Dame Malvina Major a special guest at Black Barn

Dame Malvina Major will take the stage at Black Barn Vineyards on Saturday as a special guest.

Dame Malvina Major needs no introduction - as New Zealand opera royalty she has performed for some of the world's most influential figures in incredible locations.

She's sung beneath pyramids in Egypt with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, for royalty, US presidents, at a charity concert for Vera Lynn and for the London's BBC concert broadcast.

"I think it's a great privilege and a great honour to be able to sing in these amazing places, for these amazing people ... and also to have the opportunity to sing for any opera company in the world," she told Vibe.

"For a long time, I didn't realise what a great honour it was, I simply saw it as just another job, something to be done."

Born in Hamilton, Major started life as a country singer, though with a "bigger" voice than her siblings, progressed into opera - first taught by Dame Sister Mary Leo and later, Ruth Packer from the Royal College of Music.

In 1963 she won the NZ Mobil Song Quest, in 1965 the Australian Melbourne Sun-Aria, and in 1966, the prestigious London-based Kathleen Ferrier Award.

In 1991 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire, in recognition of her services to opera and the community, a commitment that was also recognised with honorary doctorates from Waikato and Massey Universities.

Three years ago, she received the country's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand.

Major has been passionate about sharing knowledge and nurturing up-and-coming talent through her foundation, which was launched in 1991.

"There is a lot of strong young talent, I don't see it going backwards, I see it going forwards.

"We really punch above our weight, it's a hugely expensive art, other countries have huge donations from wealthy benefactors and the government - we don't have that."

New Zealand opera singers were produced for quality, not quantity, and while their audience here was small, they were, "tremendously supportive".

"It's amazing, absolutely amazing, wherever you go, people ask 'where do all these fantastic New Zealand singers come from?"'

Part of Major's vision for the foundation was giving everyone an equal chance to achieve success.

"We are looked down on from the point of view of the Arts Foundation, they only help the people who have already made it, if we don't give a chance to the young ones at a grassroots level, you will never find the stars.

"It is a lot of money on the ones who don't make it but you may help those young ones to get into pop music like Hayley Westenra; they might go on to Broadway, jazz or gospel."

Major looked forward to taking the stage at Black Barn on Saturday as the special guest of the Sol3 Mio trio - comprising two tenor brothers, Pene and Amitai Pati, and their baritone cousin Moses Mackay.

"They are hard cases, it will be good to see them again," says Major, who knew all of the boys individually.

"They came through as students. I know Pene because he won our New Zealand Aria in Rotorua, I know Moses and Pene were invited to come to a special programme we were working on with the San Francisco Opera in Canterbury; Amitai I have also worked with before."

The Samoan New Zealanders were quickly establishing an international reputation, and recently returned from Wales, where they studied at the Welsh International Academy Of Voice under the tutelage of world-renowned tenor Dennis O'Neill.

The trio's first offering will be released under the Decca label.

The recording features opera classics and modern surprises.