Dame Kiri Te Kanawa To Give Masterclasses At Wales International Academy Of Voice

The world-renowned soprano, who is Honorary President of the Academy, will be giving masterclasses to singers enrolled on the annual Summer School programme.

Students will also receive coaching from Welsh opera legends Della Jones and Dennis O'Neill CBE, as well as classes with music staff from the Academy.

Academy Director Dennis O'Neill said: "Words cannot express how happy and honoured we are to have the presence of our Honorary President visiting and teaching at our Summer School this year. Sincere thanks Dame Kiri for your support."

The WIAV Summer School is an annual, intensive singing course held at the Academy in Cardiff. Singers are welcome to apply for a 5-day or 10-day programme in which they will be given one to one tuition as well as group masterclasses. It is an opportunity to work intensively on repertoire guided by operatic stars with an international reputation.

Dame Kiri te Kanawa rose to fame in 1971 after appearing as Countess Almavira in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in Covent Garden. She has gone on to star as a leading figure in the leading opera houses of the world, including Covent Garden, the Metropolitan, the Chicago Lyric Opera, Paris Opera, Sydney Opera House, the Vienna State, La Scala, San Francisco, Munich, and Cologne. She has been a key figure in bringing opera to diverse venues, appearing in Glyndebourne, Tanglewood, Ravinia, the Verona Arena, the Hollywood Bowl, the festivals of Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg, and the desert outback of Australia. Outside the operatic field, her recordings are equally extensive and include: Mozart concert arias; the Strauss Four Last Songs; and the notably successful Songs of the Auvergne (top of the best-seller charts in Britain); Berlioz's Nuits d'été; Brahms' German Requiem; Handel's Messiah, and the Beethoven 9th and Mahler 4th Symphonies. She is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music. She has been awarded the prestigious Order of New Zealand as well as being named a Dame Commander of the British Empire. In 2017, she announced her retirement from singing although she continues to play an important role in public life. As President of the Wales International Academy of Voice, she supports a select number of young artists as they embark upon their professional career on the stage.

Founded by Dennis O'Neill, and now part of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, the Wales International Academy of Voice offers young artists a highly specialised and unique environment in which they can work with some of the best vocal technicians, coaches, visiting eminent conductors and international stars from the operatic world. It is a world-leading educational institute that prepares emerging artists for the ever-changing pace of the operatic performance industry.

In 2017, the Academy launched its first undergraduate programme. The BA Vocal Studies course is an intensive two-year programme that is industry led and vocational. It is designed to prepare young singers for further professional training by equipping them with vocal training, language skills, musicianship, stagecraft, and the vocational skills they will need to build a career in the industry.

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