Kiri Te Kanawa To Retire From Opera Stage (Wait, She Was Still Singing Opera?)

Saying she finds the discipline of full-scale opera “exhausting,” Dame Kiri will sing a cameo as the Duchess of Krakenthorp (usually a spoken comedy role) in Daughter of the Regiment at the Met next February, followed by final performances as Strauss’s Marschallin (a signature role) at the Cologne Opera in April. (She pointedly reminds us, however, that she is continuing her concert work.)