Katherine Jenkins won't forget her roots
KATHERINE Jenkins may be an international classical sensation living the high life in London but she will never forget her Welsh church choir origins.
'I'm very proud of being Welsh,' she said. 'I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't. There is so much heritage and singing. I've gained so much experience of music because of growing up there. It's definitely something that has formed me as an artist today.
'I grew up in a market town in a valley surrounded by beautiful countryside. My life is completely different now but it's really, really important for me to maintain my life as it was before,' she explained.
'All my friends were friends before this happened to me. Yes, I do a different job to most people but I like to go back and remain the same person I was before. My family and friends are keeping my feet on the ground.'
Although she owns a house in Wales, she has lived in London since studying at the Royal Academy of Music aged 18. 'I'll move back one day,' she said. 'I still visit home when I can but this year I've not been as often as I would like to because of all the travelling.'
The 30-year-old has recorded a number of studio albums over the past few years which have topped the classical charts and sold millions. She has just finished a tour of UK arenas and is promoting her Ultimate Collection album released late last year.
In May, the blonde bombshell sang at the Classical Brit Awards with Placido Domingo. 'It was amazing. Ofcourse he's such an inspiration to me – he is the voice everybody knows and is an incredible singer, but also he is a really wonderful person,' she explained. 'He is so well known around the world but he treats everyone in such a lovely way – not just the people he has to be nice to. And I feel like that is really how one should behave.'
Katherine has also recently been seen as a judge on the ITV show Popstar to Operastar.
She said: 'I loved it. I used to be a singing teacher before I got a record deal and I always said I would go back to teaching. So when I got offered this I felt it was a good tie in of life before with life now. All the stars did so well.'
Also last year, she performed at the opening ceremony of the Ashes cricket competition in Cardiff, appeared at the Last Night of The Proms in Hyde Park and sang Pie Jesu at the memorial service for legendary English football manager Sir Bobby Robson.
In October, she has been asked to perform at the opening of the Riders Cup in Newport.
'I feel really proud,' she said, 'I don't think people realise yet what a big deal it is to host it. I think it's the most watched sporting event worldwide, so to have it in Wales is great.'
She is also currently getting ready to record her new album in January 2011.
When asked of her hopes for the future, she said: 'I'd love to do some opera which is what I originally wanted to do. But if I can continue as I am, making albums and touring, I'll be happy. I'm having a wail of a time.'
The singer's Villa Marina concert this month, which includes the National Symphony Orchestra, will see her return to the Island for the first time since June 2006. She explained: 'I'm going to be performing popular songs from my albums like Love Never Dies – the new Phantom of the Opera piece, The Godfather, Hallelujah and Time to Say Goodbye.
There is definitely something for everyone.
'I'm really looking forward to coming back to the Isle of Man.
'I'm doing a bit of an island tour this year – Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, so I'm getting to visit them all.
'People in the Isle of Man were very welcoming last time,' she added. 'But, unfortunately, when you do concerts, by the time you have done your rehearsals and everything you don't get much time to see much of the area. So I'll have to come back for a weekend as a tourist.'
When asked if she'd ever popped over from Wales as a child, she said: 'No, we used to go away in our touring caravan but often just to places six miles down the road.'
Tickets to the July 27 show cost 45. Visit the Sea Terminal Welcome Centre, call 600555 or click: www.villagaiety.com
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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