Opera star and household name Dame Malvina Major might have retired a decade ago, but she’s far from her swan song. As she takes a moment to share a cuppa with the Weekly, the indomitable dame, 82, tells us about using her voice to support young Kiwi performers and adjusting to life in a retirement village.
Good morning, Dame Malvina. Tell us, who is your handsome friend here?
Good morning. This is Patch. He’s an English springer spaniel and really is the most amazing dog. I wasn’t planning on getting a pet, but I was visiting my daughter Lorraine [53] at her home in Christchurch a few years ago and she had a litter of puppies.
All the others were boisterous, climbing and carrying on, but this one came up to me, leaned his head against me and never left my side. At the end of the holiday, my daughter said, “You can’t leave him behind, can you?”
Since then, he’s become an accredited assistance dog and he goes everywhere with me, even on planes. You recently moved from your own home to a retirement village.
Was it an easy transition?
I’ve made friends now but it took the best part of 12 months to settle in. It’s a lovely village and fortunately, I have two fabulous neighbours. Being well-known, sometimes you feel like everyone is looking and it can make me a little panicky. I can’t go to the supermarket without someone coming up to talk to me. But people are usually very nice and I’ve learned to cope with this side of my life. Patch very much helps with that.
What made you make the move?
I was quite happy being independent. But then I started having some issues with vertigo and was feeling off colour for a while there. My family, who are spread out around New Zealand, were a bit dubious about me being on my own, and driving and all that, so they decided I should move. My daughter Alethea [54] is here.
They said, “You need to be near one of the families.”
It’s been said you’re very good at everything other than retirement. Is this a fair account?
Yes, I’d say that’s rather true! My family is always on at me to slow down, but there’s too much to do. I don’t even know what the word “retirement” means. I’m still capable and I still have some value to add, so why not keep going? It keeps me young at heart.
What keeps you busiest these days?
My work on the Dame Malvina Major Foundation is still a major focus and I’m very involved with it. I established it in 1991 after I made a speech at the New Plymouth Rotary about helping the next generation of young people. My husband Winston Fleming had died very suddenly, so I needed to channel my energy into something, but mainly I’ve always wanted to leave a legacy. It’s not easy for emerging performers being in New Zealand – we’re just so far from the rest of the world. We support many different programmes, but in a nutshell, we offer financial assistance, performance opportunities, mentorship and professional development.
We hear you’ve had some exciting news recently?
We have! One of our students, Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono, has been accepted into The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artist Programme in London. He’s one of only a handful of singers selected from over 600 applicants worldwide and the first Kiwi to ever be offered an audition without having studied outside of New Zealand. Emmanuel’s success is a shining example of the exceptional talent we have and again proves the importance of a dedicated professional training programme for young artists here in New Zealand.
Is it easy securing funding for the foundation?
We have very generous donors who we’re so grateful to, but funding for the foundation is very hard work. I must give thanks to my dear friend Joan Egan. Her generosity has helped establish TANZOS (Te Pae Kōkako The Aotearoa NZ Opera Studio), which is an opera-training school in Waikato. Before this, students had to travel to other parts of the world for their training, which is hugely expensive
and difficult. This amazing place recognises my life’s work to help the next generation. And it’s only possible because of people like Joan, and also Kiwi businessman Sir William Gallagher and his wife Lady Judi Gallagher.
You’ve lived an extraordinary life travelling the world. What were your happiest years?
Well, there are two sides to that. One of the happiest three years of my life was living in Pīhama [near Opunake, Taranaki] with Winston and our three children, and no interference from anybody. Now the other happy place for me and always has been is on stage performing. I know I get nervous and anxious – I know that it’s always been hard. I’ve stood on the stage before the curtain goes up and thought, “What the devil am I doing here?” But when the performance is over, I know that I’ve reached people. And that is a very special feeling.
You juggled motherhood with an incredible international career. It must have been hard leaving your children for long stints abroad.
Every single time I got on the plane, I’d have tears running down my face and I’d be saying, “God, you gave me this gift, you’d better bring me back safely to these children and you better look after them while I’m away.” It was incredibly hard. I asked my children Lorraine, Alethea and Andrew [who will be 60 this year] recently what it was like for them when they were teenagers, and they said, “Mum, we hated it. We hated it when you went away because we weren’t sure you were going to come back.” I was criticised for having babies alongside my singing career, but becoming a mother is the best thing I’ve done in my life. I love my family – I have 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. The only regret is that I don’t see them all enough.
Have you always lived with anxiety?
Yes, but it’s hard to pinpoint when it started. As a child, I found it very difficult going to different places. Even now, I get a bit unsettled when I know I’m going away. I’m fine once I get there – it’s the moving part that gets me. I always love returning home – it’s like getting back into your favourite comfy chair. And it’s lovely having Patch. He can sense my anxiety before I know it’s even happening. When I’m at home and I’m not good, Patch puts his paws on me and puts his head down, or he gets up beside me on the sofa, which he wasn’t allowed to do but now he is, and he leans on me. It’s like he’s giving me a hug and it helps immensely.
The other thing that helps is my knitting. I’ve knitted all my life and get huge joy from creating things. I recently made a two-piece evening suit, and I’ve knitted for all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I find it calms the mind.
You had a brain aneurysm in 2017 and polio flu in the ’80s. How are you now?
I’m pretty good for 82. I have asthma and that’s a little bit of a worry, but I’m walking better than I have in years. I like to be active. Sitting down and doing nothing has never suited me.
