Kiri Te Kanawa Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand soprano. She has a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries, singing a wide array of works in many languages dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. She is particularly associated with the works of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Handel and Puccini, and has found considerable success in portraying princesses, nobility, and other similar characters on stage. Though she rarely sang opera
Teresa Brambilla Teresa Brambilla Teresa Brambilla (23 October 1813 – 15 July 1895) was a celebrated Italian soprano most remembered today for having created the role of Gilda in Verdi's opera, "Rigoletto". During a career that spanned 20 years, she sang throughout Italy and in other European cities, including Paris, Barcelona and Odessa. Teresa Brambilla was born in Cassano d'Adda to a musical family. Teresa was one of five sisters who all became opera singers. Her elder sister, Marietta (1807–1875) was a contralto who specialised in "travesti" roles and sang in the premieres of several of Donizetti's operas. Her younger sister, Giuseppina