Lexus Song Quest


The Kiri Te Kanawa 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 broadcaster 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 music|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.

Past winners

YearWinner
1956Donald Jack
1957Paul Gillmore
1959Mary O'Brien
1961Patricia Price
1963Malvina Major
1965Kiri Te Kanawa
1967Anne Rasmussen
1970Patricia House
1972Christopher Doig
1974Christopher Lackner
1977Lyle Kennaway
1979Malcolm Smith
1981Linden Loader
1983David Griffiths
1985Robyn Lynch
1987Deirdre Elliott
1989Tracey King
1991Teddy Tahu Rhodes
1993Martin Snell
1996Andrea Creighton
1998Jonathan Lemalu
2000Jared Holt
2002Anna Leese
2005Madeleine Pierard
2007Phillip Rhodes
2009Aivale Cole
2012Amitai Pati
2014Isabella Moore
2016Benson Wilson
2018Joel Amosa
2022Filipe Manu
2024Katie Trigg