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2000 Today - Millennium Concert with Kiri Te Kanawa

2000 1h 4m Television
  • Music
  • NZ History

This dawn concert featuring Kiri Te Kanawa was part of a 30-hour live special, that included 80+ countries ringing in the millennium. The famed soprano performed with the 90-piece New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the Waihirere Māori Club. The concert took place in Te Kanawa's hometown of Gisborne — the first place in the world to see the sun — with the sunrise timed beautifully to her rendition of 'Morgen!', composed by Richard Strauss. The BBC planned to live-feed three songs from Aotearoa to the world, but spontaneously kept extending the broadcast, as producer Richard Hansen details here.