Elly Roberts reviews
Katherine Jenkins: Living A Dream
Distributed by
Universal Classics & Jazz (UMC)
- Cat.no: 3384572
- Released: October 2005
- Rating: 10/10
Guided by suggestions from her adoring fanbase, the Welsh songbird delivers her third album Living A Dream.
As the title suggests, Katherine Jenkins is
having a ball right now, but is not one for taking it for granted. The
down-to earth beauty conquered the classical charts with
Second Nature
(La Diva in USA) for an incredible nine months.
The in-demand singer has been
flitting around Europe and the States, with appearances at the FA Cup Final,
Welsh rugby matches and the summer's G8 concert. On the music front,
Katherine has been very proactive co-producing the album with Nick Patrick
when it was mastered in New York. As the working title hung in the balance
she got down to recording the tracks which include show-tunes, Welsh songs,
famous classical arias and anthemic standards.
Her perfectionist nature shows at every level as she hits pitch perfect
notes on demanding songs. She's capable of rising through the registers with
total ease and effect, without sounding contrived and pretentious.
Opening with a blockbuster, her reworking of Dolly Parton's classic I Will Always
Love You translated into Italian, brings new meaning to the country ballad.
Parton has never allowed the song to be sung in a foreign language until
now. It's now been made into, possibly, Katherine's signature tune.
Elsewhere, she makes a fist of songs normally the reserve of male singers,
like Nessun Dorma debuted at G8, and the emotionally charged Music Of The
Night, where she becomes one of the first female singers to tackle it.
Puccini's One Fine Day (Madame Butterfly) and Nessun Dorma (Turandot) posses
all the hallmarks of a singer on top of her game, genuinely empathising with
the lyrics, as she consolidates her reputation as the fastest selling
female opera singer since Maria Callas making her the greatest mezzo-soprano
of her generation. Arrangements are bold and sensitive, as they heavily
feature the Prague Symphonia. It's not all strings though; harp, acoustic
guitar and keyboards throw in a new dimension. As she continues to explore
her crossover appeal, drawing in many fringe classical admirers, we get
Amazing Grace, Over The Rainbow and WWII favourite We'll Meet Again.
Sumptuous collection from a truly world class singer.
The full list of tracks on both the CD and DVD are :
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
