Charlotte Church

First, let me say that I'm no big fan of most classical crossover singers. Sure, there are some true talents out there like Cecilia Bartoli and the 3 tenors who've managed to eke their way into the mainstream, but alongside them there are also lesser talents and no-talents like Josh Groban who've somehow managed to transform some pretty meager abilities into million and millions of record sales. (When I think of Josh Groban I think of the word "limp", because that's the only way to describe his music).

Which brings me to Charlotte Church, probably the biggest of the crossover singers right now. If you haven't heard of her she is the Welsh teen sensation who burst onto the scene at age 13 with a collection of sacred and folk songs on an album called "Voice of An Angel". She has since followed up that successful debut with 3 or 4 wildly successful albums which cover the range from sacred to folk to opera to broadway and pop as well. Go to her website and they describe her as having "the voice of an angel, but a wicked flare for life".

Right.

Well, needless to say I haven't exactly rushed out to buy any of her albums. Tonight, however, I was browsing around Rhapsody and happened to come across her name, so I clicked on the link and gave her a listen and....suprise! She wasn't all that bad, not for a teenager at least. She has a very sweet little voice (dare I say, angelic) and a disarming, unpretentious manner which is really quite charming. No, she's not one of my favorites, but she's no Josh Groban either, and she really sings the sacred pieces quite well.

Charlotte Church - Panis Angelicus

Her opera singing, on the other hand, is not so good. I'm afraid her voice just isn't strong enough at this stage to really handle it, and she has a tendency to wobble. To compensate it appears that a lot of reverb or echo is used in her recordings to add fullness and strength to her sound. If you listen to Church's recording of the famous "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi, for example, and compare it to say Leontyne Price's recording of the same aria, well, it's clear that Charlotte Church has a long way to go before she becomes a top diva. At least in the opera world.

Charlotte Church
Leontyne Price

But I'm not going to get down on her. I know there are a lot of music snobs out there who just love taking their potshots, but I think she's got some talent and a pretty, if not strong, voice. I'd certainly take one of her CD's over one of Groban's or Bocelli's, although there are plenty of singers in the classical section of the music store that I'd take over all 3 of them. Hmmm, Sutherland maybe. Or Caballe. Or Pavarotti...