Search - Dame Kiri and Friends - The Gala Concert / Kiri Te Kanawa, Malvina Major, Helen Medlyn, Simon O'Neill, Julian Reynolds on DVD

Worthy cause but not Kiri's best

Just say no to trans fats | Baltimore, MD USA | 06/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I will always worship Kiri Te Kanawa. She's the reason I pursued vocal studies. I've seen her on the recital stage three times and once at the Met, and I own every recording and video she's ever released. I've even got performances that I taped from such sources as PBS and Today Show, not to mention a couple of radio broadcasts. So, you might say that I'm a fan.

This DVD, The Gala Concert, was taped one week before Kiri's 60th birthday. She's still a class act through her stage presence and obvious love for singing. The voice is not what it was, naturally, and I give her great credit for singing some of her concert standards, e.g. "Depuis le jour," "Chi'il bel sogno di Doretta," etc., that really can test any soprano's range and stamina. By the end of the concert, she still had a voice, which is proof that she knows what she's doing.

I admire her for launching a foundation to nurture the careers of young singers, which is why I didn't mind buying this DVD (supposedly, the proceeds from the sale go toward her foundation), but other buyers should not expect too much from the performances presented on this DVD. I rate it as 4 stars, mainly for the reason the concert was performed. (If it hadn't been a benefit concert, I would have to give it 2 stars simply because I don't care for the other singers featured on the program.)"

For fans of Kiri and the music presented

Phil S. | USA | 05/13/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A long, well-balanced program of several works by Mozart and Puccini, well-delivered, most notably by New Zealand's Opera legends Dame Kiri De Kanawa and Dame Malvina Major.
I found some minor technical problems in the camera work and edits; and in the synchronization, unless (gulp...pause) there was some lyp-syncing. If that was a necessity, then less close-ups should have been used.
The jacket art is most disagreeable, with a poor split-screen cropping of the stunning Diva."