Princess of popera
As classical singer Katherine Jenkins prepares for her concert at Hampton Court Palace this summer, she knows she’s scaling the heights of huge commercial success. But the Welsh sensation insists her feet are still firmly on the ground WHEN SHE WAS 18, Katherine Jenkins sang a note of such shrill intensity that she shattered a [...]
As classical singer Katherine
Jenkins prepares for her concert
at Hampton Court Palace this
summer, she knows she’s
scaling the heights of huge
commercial success. But the
Welsh sensation insists her feet
are still firmly on the ground
WHEN SHE WAS 18, Katherine Jenkins
sang a note of such shrill intensity
that she shattered a chandelier. “I was a soloist at the college
choir,” she recalls, still proud of this choral feat that occurred
during a recital of O Holy Night in Swansea. “I hit the high
notes at a recital hall and the glass just shattered. It sounded
like a gunshot – it was so loud.” She hasn’t repeated this since,
though she wishes it had become a party trick: “I could go
around smashing glasses at will!” Rather, in the nine years that
have followed, Jenkins has been shattering something less
tangible but equally impressive to behold – expectation.
Raised in South Wales, the factory worker’s daughter first
excelled by scooping BBC Radio 2’s Welsh Choirgirl of the Year
contest not once but twice, then landed a scholarship to the
prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2003, she
clinched a record contract with Universal Classics in a deal
that is rumoured to be the biggest-ever for a British classical
artist – over £1 million. She has since released five albums
(her latest, Rejoice, came out earlier this year), each one
rocketing to the top of the classical charts. Her first record,
Premiere, was the fastest-selling by a mezzo soprano. Her
fourth, Living The Dream, stayed at No 1 for almost a year, and
at one stage, she became the only classical artist to hold the
No 1, 2 and 3 positions at the same time.
Apart from her voice, Jenkins’ appearance dazzles equally
and she looks more like a model or Hollywood starlet than
a large-lunged doyenne of the opera house. “When I got my
record deal,” she recalls, “people would say: ‘You don’t look like
a classical artist. Don’t you have to be huge and wear horns?’
You know, the stereotype of a huge, Wagnerian soprano.”
As I speak to the princess of ‘popera’ in the penthouse suite
of The Athenaeum Hotel overlooking St James’s Park in London,
we are surrounded by stylists, PR agents, a photographer and
sundry assistants (Katherine has just finished the voyager
photo shoot). But how’s a diva to cope without an entourage?
“It’s not really an entourage,” she laughs. “I don’t have
someone who’s holding my straw, someone who’s in charge
of the chewing gum.” However, she admits that she has met
self-important and demanding people in the industry who
conform to the diva stereotype, but adds: “It’s always the
really talented people who are the most down-to-earth; like
Placido Domingo, for instance. He is probably the nicest man
I’ve ever met. He treats everyone with equal respect.”
Jenkins’ own reputation in the music industry is of being
highly industrious. Her website catalogues her hectic schedule
with slavish precision: a concert tonight, a TV gig tomorrow, a
book signing the next day, charity events the following week.
Last year, she gave herself one week off. “I work nearly
every day,” she announces perkily. “Every day, I get asked to
do something or other. When I’ve got a day off, I call up my
manager and ask: ‘Why aren’t I doing something?’”
In other words, Jenkins is a music executive’s dream artist,
doing all the right things to ensure everyone is humming
Verdi all the way to the bank. But therein lies the conundrum.
While her commercial success is undeniable, and she has
beauty and youth on her side (at 27 she admits it’s “a bit
ridiculous” to have published her autobiography, Time To Say
Hello, in February this year), Jenkins occupies odd territory
in the music market. Opera purists are sniffy about her work,
claiming that she is not a proper opera singer, as she has
never sung a complete opera (“I’ve always called myself a
classical singer, so it makes me laugh when they say that,”
she retorts). But she’s hardly appealing to the MySpace
generation either, who connect with, say, Lily Allen’s catchy
pop and cheeky lyrics. So who buys her albums?
“The bigger part is going to be over 40s, with a ratio of
60/40 men to women,” she admits. “But at the concerts,
when I hear young kids saying: ‘I want to be a classical singer
when I grow up,’ that’s brilliant for me to hear.”
Asked who were the icons to have inspired her as a young
girl, she reels off a long list: Maria Callas, Judy Garland, Edith
Piaf, Barbra Streisand, Doris Day and Marilyn Monroe.
An opportunity emerged for Jenkins to pay homage to
these songstresses and screen sirens of yore recently. Along
with Darcey Bussell, the venerated ballet dancer who recently
announced her retirement, Jenkins devised a musical entitled
Viva la Diva, a celebration of gutsy, iconic women such as
these. A title of that sort, however, only begs the question,
how diva-ish were Jenkins and Bussell together?
“She’s like me – she’d like to play up to the diva thing,”
Jenkins giggles. “But we just can’t do it. It’s not in us.”
The mezzo soprano grew up in the town of Neath in West
Glamorgan and she admits that she misses the warmth of the
Welsh, living, as she has done for 10 years, amid Londoners.
“Neath is a big town, but when you walk down the street,
you’re always talking to people,” she says. “When I came to
London, people looked at me like I was a freak. I’d get on the
tube and say: ‘Hello, good morning.’ I quickly learned that in
London that kind of behaviour is reserved for nutcases.”
I ask her to explain to someone not from her home country
why it is so steeped in a choral tradition. Why are the Welsh so
compelled to sing? “In Wales, people are just not embarrassed
to get up and give it a go,” she explains. “They sing at every
possible opportunity, whether it’s in the pub or at the rugby.
And every little town will have its male voice choir.” She also
has a theory that there’s a technical reason for this. “You
know with my accent, it’s quite melodic and sing-song,” she
says, strengthening her lilt so it undulates like a wave. “It’s the
same with the Italians. I think if you do it naturally with your
speaking, it helps with your singing.”
Jenkins worked hard at school, too, getting straight As in
both GCSEs and A-levels before winning her Royal Academy of
Music scholarship. At the same time, she worked as a singing
teacher for extra cash. Her career took off when she recorded
a demo tape with a friend at the Royal Academy. It got passed
to someone who had a friend at Universal Classics, who
passed it to a senior executive, who then called her in for a
meeting. So does she think this was more than a coincidence?
“I think in some ways it was fate,” she says. “I feel as if I
am being guided along a path.” She pauses. “I don’t know
whether it’s God or my dad. But I do feel that I’m being
guided along something that’s meant for me.”
Selwyn Jenkins, her father, died of cancer when Katherine
was 16. During his last days, he spent a lot of time with his
chorister daughter at home, while Katherine’s mother, Susan,
a radiographer, went to work to put bread on the table.
“He made me believe that it was all down to hard work
and if I was determined, then it would happen,” she recalls.
“He would say: ‘Come on, Kath, I know you can do it.’”
As with any young, pretty star, her love life has been
well-documented and she’s currently in a relationship with
Gethin Jones, 29, the handsome, Cardiff-born TV presenter
of Blue Peter and Strictly Come Dancing fame. Despite having
been warned that she wouldn’t wish to talk about Jones, I ask
Jenkins why she wants to stay so schtum about that side of
her life, but she smiles blandly, then fixes me with a stare.
“I’ve always been a very private person. It should be about
the music,” she replies. “I don’t understand why people are
so obsessed with who somebody is dating or what they’re
wearing, what’s going on in their private lives.”
In an otherwise highly amiable hour-long conversation, this
is the only moment where the temperature noticeably drops.
Talking of celebrity tittle-tattle, opera and Wales, the
name of another young famous Welsh songbird inevitably
comes up: Charlotte Church. Are they friends or, as certain
newspapers would have us believe, sworn enemies?
“I am friends with her, but I’ve not seen her for a while,
especially now that she’s had a baby,” says Jenkins. “We sang
together at the Six Nations championship in 2005 and spent
the day getting ready; we planned our outfits together. We hit
it off and she’s a lovely girl.”
And the two poster girls for classical crossover now have a
pact: “Should we ever read anything negative in a newspaper
that the other one has said, then we know it’s not true.”
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Jenkins’ whirlwind schedule isn’t abating any time soon.
This summer, she embarks on a series of live performances
that kick off with a performance at the Hampton Court Palace
Festival: “It’s a lovely way to start my run of summer shows
and Hampton Court Palace is a beautiful setting.” As we
part, I ask her, if she could choose any person alive or dead,
with whom would she like to duet most?
“I would have loved to have sung with Pavarotti,” she says
wistfully. “I never got the chance to do that. It was due to
happen, but it was at the start of his illness. I’d love to do
something with Elton John or Tom Jones – and even
a collaboration with Kanye West. I’ve met Kanye, actually.
He was joking around saying: ‘You sing opera? We should
do something.’ So, you never know.”
Classical meets cool American hip-hop? Now that
would be a turn up for the books. As per usual, Ms
Jenkins is shattering expectations with the same gusto
that she shatters glass chandeliers.
Katherine Jenkins will perform at the Hampton Court
Palace Festival on 6 and 17 June 2008 [tickets available
from SeeTickets, 0844 412 2954; www.seetickets.com
and Ticketmaster, +44 (0)844 847 1938]; www.
hamptoncourtfestival.com. Her autobiography, Time To
Say Hello and her latest album, Rejoice, are out now
