Hayley Westenra At Bridgewater Hall 17th November 2008

The New Zealand soprano visits Manchester.

Hayley Westenra was first introduced to British audiences at the tender age of 16, with her first solo album Pure. The combination of light pop, classical and traditional Maori songs was an immediate hit with radio stations and the album quickly rose through the charts until it took the number one spot, a rarity for a light classical album.

Since then, Pure has gone ten times platinum in Westenra's native country, while in England (where Westenra now lives) her two following albums both reached the top ten. At 21, Westenra has been denoted as one of the ten outstanding young people in the world by Junior Chamber International, sung for world leaders and earned a place in the hearts of millions with her pure, expressive voice.