Saint Kiri

How to turn a prima donna into a true diva: make her an angel!
Kiwi soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was all smiles this week, when she saw her likeness in a stained glass window at St Paul's Cathedral in Dunedin.
Dame Kiri's face was portrayed as St Cecilia - the patron saint of musicians and church music - on a recently commissioned work at the cathedral: "It's really lovely...to be in a church window is pretty amazing. I wouldn't say I've been immortalised - but it's there for hundreds of years now."
The four-panelled artwork was created by artist Peter Mackenzie, who reckoned Dame Kiri was the perfect choice for St Cecilia because she was a well-known New Zealander, and embodied the mix of cultures embraced by the Anglican Church of NZ.

"Is that ME?? Choice, bro!"

Also captured in the window was the image of Anglican Diocese of Dunedin's Bishop the Right Rev Dr Kelvin Wright, as St Paul.
After viewing her 'beatification' in Dunedin, and performing at the Oamaru Town Hall, Dame Kiri is back to England to prepare for more performances in Europe, and a guest appearance on the British period drama television series Downton Abbey, later this year. She'll play Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba in the series, and will sing as part of her roll.