Kiri Te Kanawa - her LAST Marschallin

The Dame's operatic silence seems to have come to an end. Kiri Te Kanawa, one of the most beloved opera stars of the last forty years, has confirmed in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times that she will appear at the New York Met and Oper Köln in 2010, finally marking her return to the opera stage after six years of absence.

After her performances in Samuel Barber's Vanessa at the Washington National Opera and at the Los Angeles Opera in 2004, Dame Kiri's appearances in opera houses have faded, and even her recitals have become less frequent. Intensely involved in the educative activities run by her Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation and in prestigious masterclasses all over the world, she seemed to have tacitly bid her adieu to opera houses. And yet, in a recent conversation with James C. Taylor published in the LA Times, Te Kanawa confirmed that she is ready to go back on stage.

First, it's the Met: she has agreed to perform the Duchess of Krakenthorpe, a speaking role in La fille du régiment, in February 2010. Then, in April 2010, she will take on one of her signature roles, the Marschallin, in two performances of Der Rosenkavalier during the 2009-10 season at Cologne.

Her appearances at the Met and in Cologne had actually already been announced (albeit barely noticed by the press); but her interview with the LA Times is revealing as regards Dame Kiri's take on her characters. During her conversation, she hinted at some intriguing features about her speaking role at the Met: 'it's not a singing role, but I will sing - that'll shock them'.

Her comments on the Cologne Opera's Rosenkavalier are also poignant. Te Kanawa has always had an affinity with this extremely demanding role, which she portrayed with such mastery that she became almost the model for any Marschallin to come. Referring to her Cologne appearance, she stated: 'It will be the last time, it really is, I know it is. The last time, yes'.

Zoals ik al eerder schreef tijdens 23Dingen, stond mijn eerste kennismaking met de opera in het teken van Kiri Te Kanawa. Terwijl ik op zoek was naar haar opname van Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder stuitte ik in de bieb op 3 van haar opera-opnamen:
Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro ('76), Verdi's Otello ('83)en Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier ('86). Voor alle drie blijf ik een zwak houden, maar de kans om haar Laatste Marschallin te zien, zo'n 25 jaar na die legendarische opname uit Covent Garden, kon ik niet laten lopen.