There is nothing like a Dame . . .

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa delighted a packed audience in the Royal Hall at the Villa Marina last Saturday evening.

The audience erupted in rapturous applause as the legendary diva took to the stage with the highly acclaimed tenor Gardar Cortes and maestro Julian Reynolds – the world renowned and highly accomplished conductor and recital accompanist – who accompanied the duo at the piano.

Ms Te Kanawa made her debut as the countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1971 and went on to become one of the most famous sopranos in the world.

She performed at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral, London, and was made a Dame in 1982.

Prior to three solos by Mr Cortes, Ms Te Kanawa said how delighted she was to be performing in the Island, coming from an Island herself.
Mr Cortes – who hails from Iceland – recently accompanied Katherine Jenkins on a tour and sang a duet with her on his debut UK album.

He began the evening with three arias from Donizetti – La lontananza, Amore e morte and Amore Marinaro.

His voice, compared to that of Pavarotti in his younger days, filled the Royal Hall, and there was a communal sigh from the stunned audience.

This proved to be a common theme throughout the evening as each aria came to an end and the audience regained their composure after such passionate performances.

Ms Te Kanawa took to the stage in a stunning red sparkling dress and long red overjacket and unleashed her amazing voice.

As she sang La rosa y el Sauce, Que Linda, la madreselva!, El clavel del aire blanco by Guastavino and Cancion al arbol del Olvido by Ginastera the audience sat captivated, again emitting a mass sigh after each aria.

Following Mr Cortes's rendition of Che gelida manina from La Boheme by Puccini the pair continued with Si mi chiamano Mimi and O soave fanciulla, both from La Boheme, and they left the stage together, still singing.

After a short interval Ms Te Kanawa, Mr Cortes and maestro Reynolds wowed the audience with the ever popular Pie Jesu and Amigos Para Siempre, the theme from the 1992 Olympic Games.

Mr Cortes then continued with No puede ser by Sorozabal and Mattinata by Leoncavallo followed by Ms Te Kanawa's very moving rendition of Massinet's Adieu, notre petite table and Cilea's lo son l'umile ancella.

Una Furtiva Lagrima from the film L'elisir d'amore, sung by Mr Cortes, was recognisable as it was used in films such as A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), Prizzi's Honor (1985) and Lorenzo's Oil (1992).

The final two duets, True Love by Cole Porter and Schonberg's Bring him home from Les Miserables rounded off the evening – or so we thought – in style, resulting in rapturous applause and calls for more from most of the audience as the trio left the stage following a presentation of flowers to Ms Te Kanawa and wine to Mr Cortes and Mr Reynolds by Villa Marina staff.

As the applause and calls for more continued they took to the stage and rounded off the evening with a fabulous, moving rendition of Somewhere by Jim Bryant from West Side Story.

Unsurprisingly this resulted in a standing ovation which was acknowledged and seemingly appreciated by all on stage.

I recognised only a few of the arias, most of which were not sung in English, but that didn't matter as they were sung beautifully with expression and passion – unsurprisingly to those who know me, my eyes were leaking throughout.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the legendary diva Dame Kiri, a star of the future in Gardar Cortes and the immense talent of the highly acclaimed Julian Reynolds.