Happy 82nd birthday, Dame Kiri! New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa was born on this day, March 6, in 1944. Among other accolades, Te Kanawa was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to music, in the 1973 Queen’s Birthday Honors, and was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to opera, in the 1982 Queen’s Birthday Honors.