Christmas with Kiri

This collection seems to fit her musical personality. Whenever she is interviewed, Kiri Te Kanawa always seems pleasant and likable-the sort of person one would want at a Christmas party. This disk has all the attributes often associated with Kiri-lightheartedness, great vocal ability, and fun. So put on the disk and invite Kiri to your home for the holidays.


Bring on the Christmas spirit   December 8, 2001
Matthew Spady (New York, NY)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

With a nice balance between sacred and secular music, this is a fine addition to anyone's Christmas collection. Yes, the orchestrations are a little smalzty, and the chorus ("London Voices" sounds suspiciously like a pick-up group) could have been a little more precise, but, come on, this is a Christmas album whose primary purpose is to summon some Christmas spirit and that it does, very effectively.

Te Kanawa's voice is at its most beautiful, her enunciation excellent and her switches in style between such standards as "Winter Wonderland" and "Mary's Boy Child" and carols like "Angels from the realms of glory" and "Silent Night" are admirable. My two favorite tracks are "O Holy Night" which she builds to a spine-tingling climax and "The Most Wonderful Birthday of All", a carol-like anthem that seems to have been composed by Carl Davis, the conductor of this recording. If I'm not mistaken, this is the only recorded performance of that song, a pity, as the tune is memorable and the text simple but moving.

I've been collecting opera-singer Christmas albums since the early '60's and rank this one among my top three favorites. The only two that equal it are the solo albums of Leontyne Price (with Von Karajan conducting) and Joan Sutherland (hard to find in its entirety although portions have been re-released along with other artists).

(Very personal opinion: this recording should be repackaged with a different picture of Miss Te Kanawa, who has only gotten more beautiful with time, and who no longer wears her hair in that fluffy '80's style -- the present picture makes the CD appear to be too dated.)


The Best!   August 28, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is simply a wonderful Christmas album. It's full of standard classics and Kiri's gorgeous voice suites it well. I would be hard-pressed to find these pieces done any better in a collection. Highly recommended!


The Older Christmas with Kiri is the best.   December 12, 2000
M. R. Firth (Dallas TX)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

There are apparently two versions of Christmas with Kiri, this one, now being sold as London Classic, but released in 1986 as produced by Polygram and a 1990 release with the same title, UPC and part number as the one I own but a different picture and much blander and much less fun music (based on clips sampled from the album) and reviewed as "ordinary" This album is stunning with Kiri soaring above the London Voices and playing with and against the orchestra. The range of songs is very wide. The 12 Days of Christmas that concludes the album has a marvelous interplay of voice, orchestral solos, and choir; the variations of just the 5th day are extraordinary. I came to the site to buy two more copies as gifts, having owned it for years.