In her teens and early 20s, Te Kanawa was a pop star and entertainer at clubs in New Zealand, and regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines. In 1963, she was runner-up to
Malvina Major in the
Mobil Song Quest with her performance of "
Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's
Tosca, and in 1965 she won the same competition. As winner, she received a grant to study in London. She appeared and sang in the 1966 musical comedy film ''
Don't Let It Get You''. In 1966, she won the
Melbourne Sun-Aria contest, Under director
John Copley, Te Kanawa was carefully groomed for the role for a December 1971 opening.
International career Meanwhile, word of her success had reached
John Crosby at the
Santa Fe Opera, a summer opera festival in
New Mexico then about to begin its 15th season. He cast her as the Countess in
Figaro, which opened on 30 July 1971. The production also featured
Frederica von Stade's first appearance in what was to become her signature role, Cherubino. According to a historian of the Santa Fe company, "It was two of the newcomers who left the audience dazzled: Frederica von Stade as Cherubino and Te Kanawa as the Countess. Everyone knew at once that these were brilliant finds. History has confirmed that first impression." On 1 December 1971 at
Covent Garden, Te Kanawa repeated her Santa Fe performance and created an international sensation as the Countess: "with
'Porgi amor' Kiri knocked the place flat." This was followed by performances as the Countess at the
Opéra National de Lyon and
San Francisco Opera in 1972. She first sang Desdemona in
Otello in Glasgow in 1972, while her 1974
Metropolitan Opera (Met) début as Desdemona took place at short notice: she replaced an ill
Teresa Stratas at the last minute, and performed alongside Jon Vickers in the title role. In 1984,
Leonard Bernstein decided to re-record the musical
West Side Story, conducting his own music for the first time. Generally known as the "operatic version", it starred Te Kanawa as Maria,
José Carreras as Tony,
Tatiana Troyanos as Anita,
Kurt Ollmann as Riff, and
Marilyn Horne as the offstage voice who sings "Somewhere". Te Kanawa was the first of the singers to join the project, saying, "I couldn't believe it...This was music I'd grown up with, music I'd always wanted to sing." The album won a
Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album in 1985, and the recording process was filmed as a documentary,
The Making of West Side Story. Te Kanawa has a particular affinity for the heroines of
Richard Strauss. Her first appearance in the title role in
Arabella was at the
Houston Grand Opera in 1977, followed by the roles of the Marschallin in
Der Rosenkavalier and the Countess in
Capriccio. Many performances were given under the baton of
Georg Solti and it was with him that in 1981 she made a recording of
Le nozze di Figaro. She participated in
Prince Edward's 1987 charity television special
The Grand Knockout Tournament. In 1991, she premiered the theme song "
World in Union" at the
1991 Rugby World Cup, which reached No.4 on the
UK Singles Chart. In 1992, she performed at the
Last Night of the Proms, where she sang "
Rule, Britannia!". In 1995, Te Kanawa performed the role of Maria Boccanegra in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Verdi's
Simon Boccanegra, alongside
Plácido Domingo, conducted by
James Levine. Later in her career, her appearances on stage became infrequent, but she remained busy as a concert singer. She appeared in performances in the title role of Barber's
Vanessa in Monte Carlo (televised in 2001), with the
Washington National Opera (2002), and the
Los Angeles Opera in November to December 2004. Te Kanawa appeared as a
Pennington Great Performers series artist with the
Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2004. In 2006, Te Kanawa sang "Happy Birthday" to Queen Elizabeth followed by "God Save The Queen" at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. In April 2010, Te Kanawa sang the Marschallin in
Der Rosenkavalier in two performances at the
Cologne Opera. That same year, she played the spoken role of The Duchess of Krakenthorp in Donizetti's
La fille du régiment at the Metropolitan Opera, and sang a tango. She repeated this role at the Met in a revival during the 2011–12 season, repeating it again in Vienna in 2013 and at Covent Garden in March 2014, a run that encompassed her 70th birthday. In the meantime, she performed at
Haruhisa Handa's inaugural
Tokyo Global Concert at Nakano-Zero Hall in
Nakano, Tokyo, Japan, on 10 September 2013. In October 2013
she appeared in the role of
Nellie Melba in the television series
Downton Abbey. == Retirement years ==