Dame Malvina Major

Dame Malvina Major is a nationally and internationally recognized opera soprano and teacher of voice. She was born on January 28, 1943, in Hamilton, New Zealand, as the seventh of eight children of Vincent and Eva Major. Malvina grew up in the Waikato region, initially in Hamilton East and later in Te Kowhai, where the family moved in 1951 to a farmlet.

The Major family was musically inclined, with Malvina being part of the ‘Major Trio,’ singing country and western from the age of two. Her formal training began in 1955, with piano and singing lessons at the Convent in Ngāruawāhia under Sister Mary Magdalen. In the early 1960s, Malvina began traveling weekly to Ponsonby, Auckland, to attend voice lessons at St Mary's Convent with the renowned singing teacher Dame Sister Mary Leo for four years. During this time, she was encouraged to pursue opera singing and developed a lifelong friendship with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Malvina’s musical talent was acknowledged through notable achievements: winning the Mobil Song Quest in Hamilton in 1963 and the Melbourne Sun Aria in 1964. The latter included a scholarship to the London Opera School, which she accepted following her marriage in 1965 to Winston Flemming, a farm worker from Taranaki. The two met during his employment at a dairy factory in Te Kowhai when Malvina was growing up.

While overseas, Malvina’s talents gained international recognition, highlighted by her performance as Rosina in The Barber of Seville at the Salzburg Festival in 1968. During her studies in London, she had her first child, Andrew. The combination of starting a family and her desire to share knowledge with young singers back home led her to return to New Zealand at the end of the 1960s. Upon her return, the family settled in Taranaki and were joined by two daughters, Alethea and Lorraine. During the children’s schooling years, the family lived on a farm they purchased in Oaonui in 1975, where Malvina balanced domestic life, dairy farming, and local performance commitments.

In the mid-1980s, Malvina returned to the international performance scene. A contract with the Brussels Opera Company as Arminda in La finta giardiniera took her across Europe and to the USA, and she debuted in Australia as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Her personal favorite role, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, further reinstated her international career trajectory.

In 1990, Winston passed away unexpectedly. Despite this and health challenges she faced later in her career, Malvina remained an active member of the musical community through performance, mentorship, and advocacy.

This phase of her career was marked by significant achievements. In 1991, she fulfilled a long-time aspiration by performing as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus at Covent Garden, launched the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, and received further recognition for her contributions to opera. Her appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1985 was followed by her promotion to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1991.

Later honours included her designation as a Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2008, which was redesignated as Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009. She was also appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, the country's highest civilian honour, in 2012.

These honours recognised Malvina’s significant contributions to music, particularly through education, mentorship and advocacy for emerging opera talent. Her connection to the University of Waikato has been a cornerstone of her efforts, where she received an honorary doctorate in 1994 and was appointed Senior Fellow in Music in 2012. She has also been involved in teaching and mentoring at other institutions, including Canterbury University & Massey University, the latter of which she has also received an honorary doctorate from.

In the later part of her career, Dame Malvina has supported the establishment of Te Pae Kōkako, The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio, at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts in Hamilton, providing intensive training for aspiring opera singers. Through her musical practice, foundation, teaching, and advocacy, Dame Malvina continues to inspire and shape the future of opera in New Zealand and internationally through access to the collections now held here.