{"id":182803,"date":"2025-12-14T03:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T03:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/182803\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T03:30:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T03:30:08","slug":"inside-dame-kiri-te-kanawas-summer-christmas-crayfish-grandkids-and-a-new-song-quest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/182803\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa\u2019s summer Christmas: Crayfish, grandkids and a new Song Quest"},"content":{"rendered":"

The nation stood still for the annual event, broadcast live on radio, and at just 21, on stage in Dunedin<\/a>, the young M\u0101ori singer felt as though she had achieved the impossible. She can still recall the magical moment.<\/p>\n

\"Kiri'sKiri’s Song Quest win in 1965 launched her dazzling operatic career. Photo \/ NZ Woman’s Weekly<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was almost breath-taking,\u201d she admits. \u201cYou know, you hear your name come up and you think, \u2018this is really what I want, but it\u2019s impossible\u2019. It felt too incredible to be real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little did she know that the then-Mobil Song Quest, later the Lexus Song Quest, would make her an overnight star, provide the funds that would take her to England and mark the beginning of an extraordinary career on the world\u2019s great stages.<\/p>\n

That, she says, is why ensuring the Song Quest endures remains so important \u2013 its power to launch and support the careers of young artists must be protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy career has given me so much, so now the whole idea is to give to others. We all take and we all give, but now, giving is the reason behind everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this Christmas, she\u2019ll be giving her time and love to the people she adores the most \u2013 little Luther, 7, and his parents, Tom Park (Kiri\u2019s son) and his partner Zeera, who are based in Auckland. But after 55 years of living in the Northern Hemisphere, Kiri \u2013 whose daughter Antonia lives in Australia \u2013 admits she still finds it strange to be celebrating in the middle of summer.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis Christmas, Kiri will be giving her time and love to the people she adores the most. Photo \/ Robert Trathen<\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t get used to it!\u201d she says. \u201cIt never clicks because it\u2019s just not cold enough. In England, it was so wet and miserable that you really did everything you could to make Christmas wonderful. It was cosy inside, so you\u2019d hunker down, and eat and drink too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiri occasionally even joined the late Queen Elizabeth and her family for winter shoots at Sandringham and took part in their traditional church services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were wonderful times,\u201d reflects Kiri. \u201cI do miss our Christmases in England<\/a> and those other wonderful experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her answer now she\u2019s Downunder? A mid-winter celebration in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, I have 10 or 12 people to stay, and we have the turkey and all of that. We put the Christmas lights and the tree up, and it all feels very festive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiri will again make sure the halls are decked for Luther\u2019s arrival later this month.<\/p>\n

\"ItIt was Luther who drew Kiri and her husband back to New Zealand permanently. Photo \/ Robert Trathen<\/p>\n

Experiencing the excitement through his eyes has brought back the magic for her and husband Kevin, who is deeply private and has always gracefully side-stepped the limelight despite his wife\u2019s fame.<\/p>\n

They take their roles as grandparents seriously \u2013 so much so that it was Luther who drew them back to New Zealand permanently.<\/p>\n

Kiri explains, \u201cwe\u2019re the only extended family he has, so it\u2019s important to us that we\u2019re in his life. We hope we can make a difference in some way\u201d.<\/p>\n

While Luther has asked for a drone for Christmas \u2013 which his grandma isn\u2019t sure is a great idea \u2013 she has already bought games and activities to do with him over the summer holidays, and is looking forward to unwrapping presents with him on the big day. His favourite thing to do when he goes up north, however, is fishing with grandpa.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thinks grandpa Kev\u2019s the best,\u201d says Kiri. \u201cI guess it\u2019s because grandpa Kev\u2019s an idiot with him \u2013 he\u2019s a big kid too, so it\u2019s perfect. He says to him, \u2018oh, you sucker\u2019! And they laugh so much together. He heard that grandpa Kevin caught a shark the other day and his eyes just lit up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like most doting grandmas, Kiri loves to treat Luther. For his last birthday, she took him on a helicopter ride over Auckland \u2013 an experience neither of them will never forget. And she\u2019s thrilled to report that Luther is showing early signs of musical talent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"KiriKiri loves to treat Luther. Photo \/ Robert Trathen<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s learning guitar, which I think is perfect,\u201d she shares. \u201cI\u2019m relieved it\u2019s not the drums!\u201d<\/p>\n

But before Christmas rolls around, Kiri has a date with a surgeon. In typical fashion, she doesn\u2019t want to dwell on the pain that has become increasingly burdensome this year, but she is joining what she calls \u201cthe hip club\u201d \u2013 with a hip replacement scheduled for mid-December. She blames \u201call those stage hours\u201d for the aches and pains that have already seen both knees replaced, but she\u2019s typically stoic and says her doctor has promised she\u2019ll be as good as new after a few weeks.<\/p>\n

She brushes off any suggestion that she might need to hand over the apron to someone else for cooking duty on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019ll be fine!\u201d she insists. \u201cI certainly won\u2019t be lying down. Besides, crayfish is easy, it only takes six-and-a-half minutes to cook, and I\u2019ll have plenty of helpers.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt Kiri remains as much a force as she ever was. She might have stepped back from performing eight years ago \u2013 aside from an impromptu Parliament performance for her 80th \u2013 but life is anything but quiet. She\u2019s still deeply involved with her Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, which supports young singers in both the UK and NZ, and she can\u2019t imagine ever giving that up. Lending her name and sponsorship to the Song Quest is an exciting new chapter for her and the foundation, which she established in 2003.<\/p>\n

Kiri spends hours in her vegetable garden and loves to cook. By the time we speak at 9am, she has already packed a picnic lunch for Kevin and a friend heading out on the boat \u2013 cold lamb sandwiches with lettuce picked that morning and her homemade mint sauce.<\/p>\n

\"There\u2019sThere\u2019s more overseas travel on the horizon for Kiri. Photo \/ NZ Woman’s Weekly<\/p>\n

Her four little dogs, Abbey, Eska, Chenna and Cinque, bring her huge joy. They rule the house, she admits, and are welcome on every sofa, bed and lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are our life, along with everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet she still misses her beloved Nyack, who died last year at 13. Nyack was her first dog, her constant companion, travelling everywhere with her in a carry bag tucked discreetly under her arm. \u201cShe was my little sidekick for so long, so it\u2019s been sad without her. But she lived a very good life and she was certainly well-travelled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travel remains one of Kiri and Kevin\u2019s great shared passions. Earlier this year, they went to the UK to see old friends before taking a cruise through the Scottish Isles, then Kiri returned a second time to farewell a dear friend with terminal cancer. \u201cI was enormously grateful to get there in time,\u201d she says quietly. \u201cHe died two weeks after I saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Life at home is no less full. Kiri regularly makes the trip between Auckland and her Bay of Islands haven, sometimes several times a week, for work and to be close to family. And she recently ticked Stewart Island off her bucket list, although the huge October storm scuppered most of their plans. \u201cSo we\u2019re going back,\u201d she laughs. \u201cWe\u2019ve already booked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether she\u2019s feeling reflective at this stage of life, she shakes her head. \u201cThere\u2019s too much going on! I have so much to look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Next July marks the inaugural Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest, there\u2019s more overseas travel on the horizon and, of course, precious time to be spent with Luther.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is good,\u201d she says simply. \u201cWhat brings me the most joy is knowing people are happy. I just like to make sure that my husband, my grandchild, my son and my daughter are all living their lives with contentment. That\u2019s really all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, it\u2019s time to head back out to the garden to see what\u2019s sprung up overnight. There is always something to check on, always something to do \u2013 and that\u2019s just how she likes it.<\/p>\n

Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest grand final is on Saturday, July 11 at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington. Tickets go on sale in April 2026. For more info, visit songquest.nz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nation stood still for the annual event, broadcast live on radio, and at just 21, on stage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[95,75031,6186,18399,115916,2947,4731,15144,63,71,8589,115921,115917,1345,25630,2944,27705,3096,115919,115915,115914,6451,25140,51705,117,111,43,139,69,6029,3236,53478,58660,110292,71939,115920,115923,5513,8628,10811,14625,8690,24359,115922,115918,98662,6212,45293,102],"class_list":["post-182803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-and","tag-celebrations","tag-changed","tag-christmas","tag-crayfish","tag-dame","tag-days","tag-featuring","tag-fires","tag-from","tag-garden","tag-goose","tag-grandkids","tag-home","tag-hosts","tag-inside","tag-instead","tag-islands","tag-kanawa","tag-kanawas","tag-kiri","tag-knew","tag-lights","tag-lunch","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-once","tag-overseas","tag-picked","tag-quest","tag-relaxed","tag-roaring","tag-roast","tag-salads","tag-seafood","tag-song","tag-straight","tag-summer","tag-te","tag-these","tag-trimmings","tag-tune","tag-twinkling","tag-vegetables","tag-wintry","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}