As for herself, she said, "I mean, I'm not going to go into a hole and sit there and wait for death. No way."
While the renowned New Zealand soprano, now 63, has ended her career in staged opera (her last production was in Samuel Barber's Vanessa at Los Angeles Opera in 2004), she has by no means given up concerts. She told the Register that, if anything, this tour included concerts in a number of places where she feels she's unlikely to perform again.
The voice certainly seems to be in good shape: Michael Ryszynski, writing for The Los Angeles Times of her Oct. 2 performance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, praised "her pure tone, with its superbly controlled soft upper register."
Her current tour began on Sept. 20 in Vancouver — where the current municipal employees' strike meant that her single performance at the city-owned Orpheum Theatre became two concerts at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts — and went on to Calgary and three stops in California. She comes to New York City to sing at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 11 and continues on to Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia and Schenectady, NY; this winter she'll return to the US to sing for the snowbirds, giving a recital in the Palm Springs area and four performances in Florida. The complete tour schedule is below.
Kiri Te Kanawa's North American Farewell Tour
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007 - Chan Centre, Vancouver, BC -
Vancouver Recital Society
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 - Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, AB -
Calgary Opera
Saturday, September 29, 2007 - Marin Center, San Rafael, CA
Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - Segerstrom Concert Hall,
Orange County PAC, Costa Mesa, CA
Friday, October 5, 2007 - Mondavi Performing Arts Center, Davis, CA
Thursday, October 11, 2007 - Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Sunday, October 14, 2007 - Symphony Hall, Boston, MA -
Boston Celebrity Series
Friday, October 19, 2007 - Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, ON
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center,
Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, October 27, 2007 - Proctor's Theatre, Schenectady, NY
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert, CA
Sunday, January 27, 2008 - University of Florida Center for the Arts,
Gainesville, FL
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - Kravis Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Monday, February 4, 2008 - Naples Philharmonic Center, Naples, FL
Saturday, February 9, 2008 - Tampa Performing Arts Center, Tampa, FL
