Search - Katherine Jenkins :: La Diva

Fantastic Welsh mezzo!

Furiae | USA | 04/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Katherine Jenkins is a 23-year-old Welsh import who reportedly signed a record-breaking classical record deal in the UK, which, it is said, made her the fastest selling female opera singer since Maria Callas. 'La Diva' is essentially the her US release of her UK album titled 'Second Nature.' The only difference is that 'La Diva' has three songs less than its British counterpart. It's namely missing "Vide Cor Meum," "Barcarolle," and "O Holy Night." I'm biased in saying this, but these ommissions are minor to me because the songs I really wanted were left on the album.



This album is fantastic for lovers of classical, opera, easy-listening, and beautiful voices. Sarah Brightman is my favorite recording artist, so I'm not what you would call a *pure* opera-enthusiast, but I do have my favorite arias, so I would probably describe myself a crossover fan with one foot in pop and one foot in more traditional stylings. That being said, this album had my name written all over it, and after listening to it a few times, I absolutely love it.



Some people may hate my saying this, but if you need a better idea of what to expect from Katherine Jenkins, but she reminds me a bit of Josh Groban. Like Josh, she plays it safe with tried-and-true songs, but they all complement her voice beautifully. And speaking of her voice... Katherine Jenkins' voice must be what people talk about when they mention "beautiful Welsh voices." No offense to Charlotte Church (I have her albums; I do like Charlotte), but Katherine is the real deal. Katherine's mezzo-soprano is absolutely glorious. She has the maturity, training, range, tone color, and control to be one of the 'great voices.' She also supposedly shattered the glass petal piece of a chandelier once with her voice while singing at the top of her range, and I wouldn't doubt if that really happened, because her voice is not only very pretty, but powerful. Katherine also holds a note beautifully with a very pure tone--a quality that definitely puts her over Charlotte Church (whose singing has been 'pitchy' as of late). Like I said, Katherine's the real deal.



Some highlights from this album are: Time to Say Goodbye, Caruso, House of No Regrets, O Sole Mio, and En Aranjuez Con Tu amor. Time to Say Goodbye is quite good, as well, but being a Sarah Brightman fan, I've listened to her version of Time to Say Goodbye sung in the soprano register goodness knows how many times, so I'm still getting used to hearing a mezzo-soprano voice sing the song. Aside from that, though, it's beautiful. I prefer Katherine's Caruso to Josh Groban's, and House of No Regrets and O Sole Mio are absolutely fantastic! I've got to say that my favorite, however, is "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor." Her 'Aranjuez,' I must say, is my absolute favorite version I've heard to date. I would say that one song was worth the price of the entire album for me, personally.



A song I thought I would have trouble warming to was Song to the Moon. It's the original Dvorak piece from Rusalka, but it has *English* lyrics. I'm used to hearing the song sung in the original Czech and I'm also familiar with Sarah Brightman's Italian version, so I made a face when I realized it was in English. Oddly enough, though, I like it! The English lyrics seem to be a pretty faithful translation of the original Czech lyrics. (I doubt it's word-for-word, but I've seen English translations of the Czech lyrics and these new English lyrics pretty much say the same thing.) It was--dare I say?--kind of cool to be able to understand the Song to the Moon in a way I couldn't before.



If you like Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Hayley Westenra, Charlotte Church, OperaBabes, etc., you should most definitely consider purchasing 'La Diva.' She is, quite possibly, the best mezzo-soprano I've heard to date. Katherine's CD is going on the same shelf I put Kathleen Battle, Renee Fleming, and Sarah Brightman--and that's quite a compliment coming from me!



Other albums she's released are: Premiere (her first release) and Second Nature (the UK release of 'La Diva' with 3 more songs)."

New Welsh Diva

1littlegirl | USA | 04/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Katherine Jenkins is the new diva from Wales. I have found her voice to be quite pleasant. I'm not usually into mezzo-soprano stuff, but I knew there was something special about Katherine's voice. This album is very beautiful; I'm glad she finally released in the US. My favourite songs are "House of No Regrets" and "Song to the Moon." Many of the songs on this album have been sung before by other artists, but Katherine puts her special edge on them to make them sound different. What I found to be odd is that Katherine's voice reminds me of Charlotte Church sometimes. Must be a Welsh thing. But really, Katherine has set herself apart from any other artist. I don't think I could compare her with anyone."

Good but why get rid of 3 of the songs that are on the UK CD

Steph | Davenport, Florida United States | 04/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very good CD.I do not have the US version but I do have the UK one and this version does not have three of the songs that are on the UK one."