Dame Kiri Te Kanawa s background has all the best elements of an operatic fairy tale. An unwanted part-Maori baby, she was adopted at five weeks by a Maori father and a European mother living in a small town in New Zealand. From this unlikely background she was to become one of the world s most famous and best-loved female opera stars.In this special film biography, Dame Kiri talks to Melvyn Bragg about her life and career as a camera crew travelled with her to capture an exciting year in the life of this popular soprano. She is seen visiting and performing a concert in her native New Zealand, preparing Strauss Capriccio at The San Francisco Opera and the Royal Opera House, recording with Sir Georg Solti and appearing in concert at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Stars paying tribute to her include Solti, Dame Joan Sutherland, Richard Bonynge and Jeffrey Tate. Extensive performance extracts include arias by Cilea, Puccini, Handel and Mozart, a specially staged sequence of the closing scene of Strauss Capriccio and songs by Richard Strauss.With the Special Participation of: SIR GEORG SOLTI, JEFFREY TATE, STEPHEN BARLOW, JOHN HOPKINS The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra of The Royal Opera House, The Vienna PhilharmonicEdited and Narrated by MELVYN BRAGG, With Special Thanks to VERA ROZSA, Kiri s singing teacher for the past 20 yearsProduced and Directed by NIGEL WATTIS