The soprano’s performance was branded as ‘one of the worst’ by rugby fans tuning into Saturday’s game. Who is Marla Kavanaugh and what’s with the backlash to her rendition of the national anthem?

Soprano Marla Kavanaugh has been criticised for her rendition of the NZ national anthem at the All Blacks v Fiji match in San Diego over the weekend.

Some described her performance as ”atrocious”, while others warned against harsh feedback as it’s not an easy song to perform live.

It’s not the first time she’s sung the New Zealand national anthem - she performed it for Sir Peter Jackson after he received an Academy Award for Lord of the Rings.

She also sang the United States anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and 9/11 commemorations in Central Park.

But who is the artist - and how is she connected to New Zealand?

Soprano Marla Kavanaugh has strong Palmerston North ties.

Marla Kavanaugh is a renowned opera and theatre singer who has worked both independently as a soprano soloist and with groups like The Highland Divas over the course of her music career.

Kavanaugh grew up in New Zealand, where she attended Queen’s High School in the Dunedin suburb of St Clair.

Being part of the school’s madrigal group and drama club, Kavanaugh excelled in music and Latin over her formative years.

The singer attended the University of Otago in 1991, where she pursued an undergraduate degree in English and history, yet left in 1993 to chase after her music career.

Despite her southern roots, Kavanaugh has a closer relationship with Palmerston North, where her parents Kathi Craig and Malcolm Hopwood live.

The singer regards Palmerston North as her New Zealand home, and her daughter, Lexi, was born in the city.

Kavanaugh is now based in Los Angeles. She often has to travel for work, being mainly booked as a soloist for large-scale events such as award shows, galas and concerts.

She is married to Daniel Rodriguez, known as The Singing Policeman thanks to his role as one of the New York City Police Department’s national anthem singers.

Kavanaugh performed to over 33,000 fans before the All Blacks match against Fiji at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium and many New Zealanders tuning into the game were not impressed with her rendition, with one writing on Facebook that they “had to mute the TV”.

“Just heard the worst performance of the NZ national anthem that I think I’ve ever seen in my life,” one fan wrote on X.

“Glad it wasn’t just me, it was like they’d asked if anyone in the crowd wanted a crack at it,” said one Reddit user, while another wrote: “Yeah I had a hard time listening to that one as well.”

Many fans were still understanding of the singer’s position and lent her due credit online.

“Ok, if they got me up there to sing, I wouldn’t do as well as her...” wrote one Reddit user.

“I don’t think it was that bad. It’s just not her usual style I think.. poor choice,” wrote another user.

Another Reddit user’s critique of Kavanaugh’s performance linked her slip-up to the tempo’s pace: “The NZ anthem is terrible when sung slow, it’s like a bloody funeral march, the best ones have been sung at a fast tempo.”

Kavanaugh had earlier said she felt honoured to be able to sing the anthem at an All Blacks match, yet after receiving backlash for her performance, she told the Otago Daily Times that she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

Judy Bellingham, the former associate professor in voice at the University of Otago, told the Otago Daily Times that opera singers can struggle to sing national anthems on their own - although she did note that “the quality of [Ms Kavanaugh’s] voice was not what it used to be.”

(L-R) Daniel Rodriguez, Kathi Craig and Marla Kavanaugh.

“When you’re singing unaccompanied, it’s very, very exposed and so unfortunately she chose a very slow tempo, which didn’t help and has exposed the vibrato in the voice,” Bellingham told the paper.

Former anthem singer Tim Beveridge, host of Newstalk ZB’s Weekend Collective, agreed with this sentiment, telling the Herald he wasn’t interested in passing judgment on the performance.

“I would remind people how difficult it is to do an anthem, unaccompanied, and live in front of a huge crowd and televised audience. It’s possibly the most exposed any performer will ever be,” he said.

Beveridge has performed at several All Blacks games and said there were no second chances when singing a national anthem live.

“It’s ‘right here right now’. You don’t even get to think ‘I need another 10 seconds to get ready’. It’s really exciting but terrifying at the same time.”