Te Kanawa later bowed to the House of Representatives to the applause of Australian lawmakers, an experience she humbly described as “pretty special.”

"After this day... I'm going to do a runner, and there's no more birthdays," Te Kanawa said to laughter from the sold-out opera audience.

Te Kanawa, 69, who has been a leading international soprano since the late 1960s, said there was no such thing as "overnight success" in opera.