Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa announces retirement

Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has announced her retirement, the BBC reported on Wednesday (September 13).

The broadcaster also quotes the soprano saying "I won't sing in public again" in the interview on Radio 4's Today programme.

Ti Kanawa, who is part-Maori, is one of the world's great prima donnas and had already retired from the opera stage in 2004 but still performed recitals around the world.

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In her career spanning over four decades she has worked with classical music stars including Frederica von Stade, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo. She had her first big international success at Covent Garden singing the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" in 1971.