Dame Malvina Lorraine Major (born 28 January 1943) is a New Zealand

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Early life and family

Major was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

on 28 January 1943, the daughter of Vincent and Eva Major. She grew up in a large musical family, and as a child she performed at various concerts, singing mainly

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or d ...

pop and music from the shows. She received her first classical training in 1955, from Sister Mary Magdalen at

Ngāruawāhia Ngāruawāhia () is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located north-west of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato River, Waikato and Waipā Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Rang ...

, north of Hamilton. Sister Febronie continued with her voice training and Sister Liguori gave her piano tuition. As her potential blossomed, Major began travelling weekly to Ponsonby in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, where she received further tuition from Dame Sister Mary Leo at St Mary's College. Sister Mary Leo was internationally recognised for having some of the country's best known singers, including

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December ...

. In 1965, Major married Winston William Richard Fleming, and the couple had three children. Fleming died in 1990.

International recognition

Major moved to England for further study at the London Opera Centre under the guidance of teacher Ruth Packer. Her successes include winning the 1963 New Zealand Mobil Song Quest beating Te Kanawa who placed second (Te Kanawa later won the 1965 contest). She also won the Australian

Melbourne Sun Aria The Herald Sun Aria, formerly known as The Sun Aria (because it was sponsored by '' The Sun News-Pictorial'') is a vocal competition for emerging opera singers held in Victoria, Australia, each year. The competition offers nearly $60,000 in ca ...

competition in 1965, and the London-based

Kathleen Ferrier Award The Kathleen Ferrier Award is a prestigious contest for opera singers held each April in London, England. The first competition was held in 1956. According to the ''Telegraph'', the competition has a record of "spotting winners". Originally con ...

in 1966. Major later performed in international concerts including a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

concert broadcast in London, an outdoor concert at the

pyramids A pyramid () is a Nonbuilding structure, structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a Pyramid (geometry), pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid ca ...

in Egypt with the

Cairo Symphony Orchestra The Cairo Symphony Orchestra, (; ''Orkestra el-Qāhera el-Semfōni''), is an orchestra based in Cairo, Egypt. It was founded in 1959 by its first music director and conductor, Franz Litschauer. Its current principal conductor is Ahmed El Saedi. ...

, and a charity concert for

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

in London. She has performed more than 30 opera roles in their original languages. In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours, Major was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to opera. In 1990, she was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

, and the following year she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to opera and the community, in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours. She was made a Principal Companion of the

New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

, for services to opera, in the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

. Following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government, she accepted redesignation as a Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. In 1998, Major received the

Benny Award The Benny Award is bestowed on a New Zealand variety entertainer. It is presented annually by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, a non-for-profit organisation and showbusiness club, founded in 1966 and awarded to a variety performer who h ...

from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc. In 2008, Major performed a solo and duet with

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide ...

on the ChristChurch Cathedral Choir 2008 UK Tour. On 18 March 2011, Major performed in the national Christchurch memorial service at

Hagley Park, Christchurch Hagley Park is the largest urban open space (164.637 hectares)Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

, Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...

, Bob Parker, Hayley Westenra,

ChristChurch Cathedral Christ Church Cathedral, also called ChristChurch Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecration, deconsecrated Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 ...

Choir, dignitaries, international rescue teams and tens of thousands of New Zealanders. On 25 February 2012, Major performed with soprano Amina Edris and tenor Chase Douglas in the Waikato Times Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival. In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, Major was appointed a

Member of the Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by Royal warrant (documen ...

, the country's highest civilian honour. The Malvina Major Retirement Village in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

is named for her.

Dame Malvina Major Foundation

In 1991 Dame Malvina established the Dame Malvina Major Foundation to promote education through awards and provide training for young New Zealanders in the performing arts. Recipients of the Foundation's annual $50,000 Dame Malvina Major Award include

Amitai Pati SOL3 MIO (stylised as SOLΞ MIO) is a New Zealand musical trio consisting of Moses Mackay, Pene Pati and Amitai Pati. Of Samoan descent and classically trained, Moses is a baritone, and the Pati brothers are operatic tenors. Albums and to ...

and Natasha Te Rupe Wilson.

Teaching

Major is listed in 2022 as an Associate at the music programme at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Major, Malvina 1943 births Living people Members of the Order of New Zealand Dames Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Singers awarded damehoods New Zealand operatic sopranos Academic staff of the University of Canterbury Musicians from Hamilton, New Zealand New Zealand music educators 20th-century New Zealand women opera singers 21st-century New Zealand women opera singers New Zealand women music educators