Dame Kiri 'feared Farnham fans'

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa pulled out of the concerts in 2004

Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa pulled out of three Australian concerts after she found out fans threw underwear at her co-performer, a court has heard.

She is being sued for up to A$2m (£790,000) over the cancellation of concerts she was due to give with pop singer John Farnham in 2005.

The concert promoter has alleged Dame Kiri had a number of reservations after watching a Farnham concert DVD.

Dame Kiri has launched her own legal action against her former manager.

Concert promoter Leading Edge Events is suing New Zealand-born Dame Kiri and her ex-manager Nick Grace for alleged breach of contract.

Three performances of the concert, called Two Great Voices, were planned for Sydney and Melbourne.

The New South Wales state Supreme Court has heard that the singer watched Farnham performing on DVD after agreeing to the series of concerts. She is said to have found the live show "absolutely horrendous".

She cancelled the concert series in March 2004, despite the promoter's assurances that no underwear would be thrown on stage when the pair appeared together.

The soprano, who sang at the wedding of Prince Charles to Princess Diana in 1981, was absent from the court.

Farnham, 57, is one of Australia's best-known performers, having moved there from England in 1959.