The Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest (formerly known as the Lexus Song Quest and Mobil Song Quest) is a biennial opera singing competition, held in New Zealand since 1956. The competition is managed and presented by Tāwhiri, which also runs the New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Winners include the sopranos Dame Malvina Major and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, both of whom were trained by Dame Sister Mary Leo. Other winners include Phillip Rhodes, Jonathan Lemalu and Sol3 Mio's Amitai Pati.
History
First held in 1956, the Mobil Song Quest began as a radio contest. 1324 entries were made, with contestants recording a song at their local BCNZ radio station. The recorded works were then broadcast in shows over 19 weeks.
Originally the quest featured contestants who performed songs in a variety of styles, such as country and western, pop and classical. Only more recently has the contest been primarily for opera singers, with the influence of Auckland opera singing teacher Dame Sister Mary Leo and the success of her students helping to shape the contest into a more prestigious singing competition.
From its beginning, the Song Quest was sponsored and run by Mobil Oil New Zealand. However, in 2004 the oil company passed the competition on to the New Zealand Festival of the Arts Trust. Mobil withdrew as the naming-rights sponsor, with Lexus stepping in to that role.
In October 2025, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa took over the naming rights of the quest that she won 60 years previously.
The 2026 edition of the Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest will feature the first time 3 brothers have faced off against each other in the competition. The semi-finals will take place on 4-5 July 2026 where six finalists will be selected to compete in the Grand Final Gala on 11 July 2026.
Past winners
Year Winner 1956 Donald Jack 1957 Paul Gillmore 1959 Mary O'Brien 1961 Patricia Price 1963 Malvina Major 1965 Kiri Te Kanawa 1967 Anne Rasmussen 1970 Patricia House 1972 Christopher Doig 1974 Christopher Lackner 1977 Lyle Kennaway 1979 Malcolm Smith 1981 Linden Loader 1983 David Griffiths 1985 Robyn Lynch 1987 Deirdre Elliott 1989 Tracey King 1991 Teddy Tahu Rhodes 1993 Martin Snell 1996 Andrea Creighton 1998 Jonathan Lemalu 2000 Jared Holt 2002 Anna Leese 2005 Madeleine Pierard 2007 Phillip Rhodes 2009 Aivale Cole 2012 Amitai Pati 2014 Isabella Moore 2016 Benson Wilson2018Joel Amosa 2022Filipe Manu 2024 Katie Trigg 2026 Samuel Mataele
References
External links