Lauded for a lifetime

Soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the 11th annual Classical Brits to be held at the Royal Albert Hall on May 13. Dame Kiri joins a list of past recipients which includes Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, and will perform live on the night. Mark Wilkinson from the Classical Brit Awards committee said, “It is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest sopranos of our times who has befriended British audiences and helped to nurture new singing talent for so many years”. Dame Kiri said she was “honoured and delighted” to be given the award. Earlier this year, she launched a nationwide search for an opera star of the future. The winner of the BBC Radio 2 Kiri Prize will get the chance to perform with her at Radio 2’s Proms In The Park in September.