Katherine Jenkins
Mezzo Soprano Katherine Jenkins’ debut album ’Premiere’ went straight to number one in the classical charts outselling operatic greats like Kiri te Kanawa, Lesley Garrett and Angela Gheorghiu. For Katherine it was a dream come true, "My three ambitions have always been to sing at the Millennium Stadium and the Sydney Opera House, and to get to number 1 in the classical charts and I can’t believe I’ve done all three."
Katherine’s story began, quite unusually for a classical singer, when she was offered a recording contract immediately after leaving college - a six-album deal with Universal Classics. Her first album reflects her musical influences and includes the ’Habanera’ from Carmen, ’Ave Maria’, John Rutter’s ’The Lord Is My Shepherd’, traditional Welsh songs, some new arrangements of classic tracks and many others.
Brought up in Neath, South Wales, by the time Katherine was seven her interest in pop music had been superseded by classical music. Between 1990 and 1996, Katherine was a loyal member of The Royal School of Church Music Cathedral Singers where she achieved her St Cecilia Award - their highest award. Katherine’s music went from strength to strength and she achieved Grade 8 distinctions in both singing and piano. She was only 17 when she won a scholarship to London’s Royal Academy of Music where she graduated with Honours.
During 2003 she sang at a special Mass honouring the Pope’s Silver Jubilee at Westminster Cathedral and a month later made her international debut at the Sydney Opera House as the special guest on the ’Max Boyce Down Under’ show. Katherine then supported Aled Jones on his 2003 UK tour - another former Welsh chorister.
With the release of her second album ’Second Nature’ on 18th October 2004 just seven months after her first ever recording Katherine, has gone one better. Not only has she become the first mezzo-soprano to break into the pop top 20, she also has become the first Artist to score two number ones in the same year.