Underwear 'concerned' Dame Kiri

Dame Kiri said she could not perform with the underwear

Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has told a court seeing underwear being thrown made her cancel three concerts.

She is being sued for up to A$2m (£1.2m) by a concert promoter after pulling out of shows with Australian star John Farnham in 2005.

She told the New South Wales State Supreme Court footage of Farnham catching underwear and holding it like "a trophy" had alarmed her.

But she insisted she still had respect for him.

New Zealand-born Dame Kiri, 62, and her former manager, Nick Grace, are being sued by concert promoter Leading Edge Events for alleged breach of contract.

I was concerned about the knickers or underpants and underwear apparel being thrown at him Dame Kiri Te Kanwana

She told the court that after watching a DVD of a Farnham concert she had become alarmed.

She said: "I was concerned about the knickers or underpants and underwear apparel being thrown at him and him collecting it and obviously holding it in his hands as some sort of trophy.

"How could I, in my classical form, perform in this way?"

Dame Kiri has performed with opera companies around the world, and sang at the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles to Princess Diana.

The case continues.