La Diva

Katherine Jenkins (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 12, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0007RTB88
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #119,568 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Welsh mezzo!, April 12, 2005

By	Furiae (USA) - See all my reviews

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).

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Welsh Diva, April 25, 2005

By	1littlegirl (USA) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not quite sure about her..., October 15, 2005

By	lillypad "lily" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

... but she certainly has a voice. I just got back from a Puccini production, and it showed me how opera is supposed to be sung. I guess Katherine Jenkins is not quite there yet, and she maybe needs to mature a bit more.

Although many would say that she is not going for the operatic style, and hence it's not fair to compare her with opera sopranos. But being an opera-newbie myself, I've equated classical singing with opera singing, and Katherine is adamant that she is a classical soprano, not the crossover soprano. I think this is a bit pompous, as she sings not straight classical pieces, but also contemporary songs.

Anyway, she is a really gifted person, and this is her true calling. Listening to her album though, one wonders if the story about her shattering a chandelier during a performance is true or fiction, as I can't detect much power behind her voice, especially in the high notes.

The highlight of this album is the House of No Regrets. It is a really good piece, and she expressed the appropriate emotions that the song demanded. The lowlight is her cover of Time to Say Goodbye. It's weird hearing it being sung in a lower scale and in a faster tune. But so far, her version is the better cover compared with Keedie, a soprano from the Uk I think she is...(Sarah Brightman's version is still up there...) Caruso, I never thought it would work with a woman's voice but it's really good. Song to the Moon, well again I prefer Brightman's more mellow La Luna... perhaps Italian is the best language for classical pieces. En Arenjuez is also a good song.

Overall, this album is a compilation of good songs. They do not stand out, and alone cannot hold its own. This is a good sophomore release for this Welsh soprano, much much better than the first one, Premiere. Im hoping that her future one, Living a Dream, would be able to surpass her current works and accomodate the talent that she really has.