Post by Ross on Feb 25, 2008 9:15:08 GMT
Todays Christchurch Press (Monday) had a front page article (same one Stephany has already posted) titled Hayley Sings Sweetly Over Kiri's Off-key 'Jealous' Jibes and carries on in the 3rd page under the title Hayley Evades Dame Kiri's jibes.
The NZ Herald also had a front page banner with a photo of Kiri and the title Kiri Out In The Cold and had a story about her concert which only 50000 showed up, last year there was 137000 at the same concert. So maybe the public spoke by not showing up ( and Hayley got a large crowd).
In the Letters to the Editor section there were several letters for and against Kiri under the title Dame Kiri Out Of Tune
And I quote the following letters:-
It is a pity Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has chosen to attack the singing style of Hayley Westenra. Instead she should be encouraging and praising her for her international success and popularity.
Everybody has different choices in music, but I wonder if jealousy creeps in when one singer gets bitter enough to criticise another. Even Howard Morrison had a go at Rosita Vai, winner of NZ Idol.
Although these "greats" have been very popular themselves, they must realise that there are other up-and-coming singers who have talent, whether it be opera, pop, or whatever. If they cannot accept it, they should retire gracefully.
from West Harbour (Auckland)
Sorry to say Kiri has the wrong attitude. We should be nurturing these up-and-coming singers and encouraging them, not making them out to be nine-day wonders, I would by far listen to Dame Malvina Major, who has a superior voice and is a good down-to-earth New Zealand person, than Kiri Te Kanawa.
Too many people want to down the young. Not all are stupid. A lot want to become something. Shame on you, Kiri.
from Taupo.
In her comments, regarding lovely Hayley Westenra, Dame Kiri had a great opportunity to show herself to be gracious, supportive and proud, in that here is another young Kiwi with a lovely voice. Unfortunately the grand old dame totally fluffed the option. By doing this Dame Kiri will have quite rightly lost a great deal of support.
from Kerikeri.
Then there was one supportive letter of Kiri under the title Backing For Diva
Good on you, Kiri. The suggestion that Kiri Te Kanawa is jealous of Hayley Westenra because the latter sells more CDs is ludicrous beyond the laughable. That's equating artistic merit with commercial popularity. We might as well say Dan Brown is a better writer than Charles Dickens because sales of The Da Vinci Code are greater than hose of David Copperfield.
Being an opera singer is not Domingo, Carreras and Pavarotti having a bit of fun in front of a football crowd by seeing who can hold the climatic note of Nessun Dorma for the longest.
It's 10 or more years secluded in one of the great European or American opera schools before setting foot on a stage; it's a lifetime of endless daily rehearsals; it's being able to sing Wagner and Mozart in fluent German, Bizet in fluent French, Verdi and Puccini in fluent Italian; it's being able to sing without a microphone and still having your audience hear every word and note from the back of La Scala, the New York Metropolitan, the Royal Opera House or the open-air Arena di Verona.
I doubt Dame Kiri cares a fig how many CDs she sells. What she does care about is the audience and critics' reception of her roles. It would be interesting to hear Westenra's interpretations ... in an open-air stadium and without a microphone.
from Birkenhead (Auckland).
The last letter is also supportive of Hayley.
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was not always so sniffy about being associated with popular music such as Hayley Westenra sings. In the 1960s Dame Kiri - or rather plain "Kiri" as she was then was - starred in a New Zealand movie called Don't Let It Get You. Her co-stars were other popular musicians and singers of the day including Howard Morrison, Gerry Merito and the late Lew Pryme.
My mother still has the album of songs featured in the movie - which was basically a piece of froth giving the stars excuses to sing as often as possible. Clearly Dame Kiri was unconcerned about the microphones used to record the sound track and the album. And as I recall, none of the songs even approached "popera"; they were all just plain pop.
from Freeman's Bay (Auckland).
Another short letter said the following:-
Ground control to Kiri Te Kanawa ... get down to terra firma. You are nothing more special than Westenra or Dobbyn or any other performer.
from Waiuku (Auckland).
So as you can see only one for Kiri (and he seems to miss the point Hayley is NOT an opera singer) and the rest are for Hayley.
The NZ Herald also had a front page banner with a photo of Kiri and the title Kiri Out In The Cold and had a story about her concert which only 50000 showed up, last year there was 137000 at the same concert. So maybe the public spoke by not showing up ( and Hayley got a large crowd).
In the Letters to the Editor section there were several letters for and against Kiri under the title Dame Kiri Out Of Tune
And I quote the following letters:-
It is a pity Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has chosen to attack the singing style of Hayley Westenra. Instead she should be encouraging and praising her for her international success and popularity.
Everybody has different choices in music, but I wonder if jealousy creeps in when one singer gets bitter enough to criticise another. Even Howard Morrison had a go at Rosita Vai, winner of NZ Idol.
Although these "greats" have been very popular themselves, they must realise that there are other up-and-coming singers who have talent, whether it be opera, pop, or whatever. If they cannot accept it, they should retire gracefully.
from West Harbour (Auckland)
Sorry to say Kiri has the wrong attitude. We should be nurturing these up-and-coming singers and encouraging them, not making them out to be nine-day wonders, I would by far listen to Dame Malvina Major, who has a superior voice and is a good down-to-earth New Zealand person, than Kiri Te Kanawa.
Too many people want to down the young. Not all are stupid. A lot want to become something. Shame on you, Kiri.
from Taupo.
In her comments, regarding lovely Hayley Westenra, Dame Kiri had a great opportunity to show herself to be gracious, supportive and proud, in that here is another young Kiwi with a lovely voice. Unfortunately the grand old dame totally fluffed the option. By doing this Dame Kiri will have quite rightly lost a great deal of support.
from Kerikeri.
Then there was one supportive letter of Kiri under the title Backing For Diva
Good on you, Kiri. The suggestion that Kiri Te Kanawa is jealous of Hayley Westenra because the latter sells more CDs is ludicrous beyond the laughable. That's equating artistic merit with commercial popularity. We might as well say Dan Brown is a better writer than Charles Dickens because sales of The Da Vinci Code are greater than hose of David Copperfield.
Being an opera singer is not Domingo, Carreras and Pavarotti having a bit of fun in front of a football crowd by seeing who can hold the climatic note of Nessun Dorma for the longest.
It's 10 or more years secluded in one of the great European or American opera schools before setting foot on a stage; it's a lifetime of endless daily rehearsals; it's being able to sing Wagner and Mozart in fluent German, Bizet in fluent French, Verdi and Puccini in fluent Italian; it's being able to sing without a microphone and still having your audience hear every word and note from the back of La Scala, the New York Metropolitan, the Royal Opera House or the open-air Arena di Verona.
I doubt Dame Kiri cares a fig how many CDs she sells. What she does care about is the audience and critics' reception of her roles. It would be interesting to hear Westenra's interpretations ... in an open-air stadium and without a microphone.
from Birkenhead (Auckland).
The last letter is also supportive of Hayley.
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was not always so sniffy about being associated with popular music such as Hayley Westenra sings. In the 1960s Dame Kiri - or rather plain "Kiri" as she was then was - starred in a New Zealand movie called Don't Let It Get You. Her co-stars were other popular musicians and singers of the day including Howard Morrison, Gerry Merito and the late Lew Pryme.
My mother still has the album of songs featured in the movie - which was basically a piece of froth giving the stars excuses to sing as often as possible. Clearly Dame Kiri was unconcerned about the microphones used to record the sound track and the album. And as I recall, none of the songs even approached "popera"; they were all just plain pop.
from Freeman's Bay (Auckland).
Another short letter said the following:-
Ground control to Kiri Te Kanawa ... get down to terra firma. You are nothing more special than Westenra or Dobbyn or any other performer.
from Waiuku (Auckland).
So as you can see only one for Kiri (and he seems to miss the point Hayley is NOT an opera singer) and the rest are for Hayley.
but it's very close 
