SOPRANO LOVES THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF
Sunday Mail If Katherine Jenkins had had enough of Christmas already, it would be quite understandable.
The superstar mezzo- soprano has been touring the UK with a series of seasonal concerts since the start of the month – and even filmed a special Yuletide edition of Songs of Praise in September.
But despite spending months immersed in the Christmas spirit, the Welsh singer, who is performing in Glasgow on December 20, is happy to be Santa’s little helper.
There are no signs of festive fatigue in the Jenkins household. Katherine said: “I am never over Christmas. I love it and I just think of all this now as an extended period that gets me in the mood.
“I am one of the presenters on Songs of Praise and we were filming at the Royal Albert Hall at the beginning of September in full festive mode.
“There were Christmas trees and baubles, and we were singing traditional Christmas carols.
“It does feel slightly surreal but it was the same thing when I f i lmed the 2010 Christmas special of Doctor Who – I think we might have filmed that in August.
“TV is always filmed so far in advance, it’s almost Christmas all year round.
“I really do enjoy it. I find that by the time I get to Christmas, I fully appreciate the calm of the day and the peace and being with my family.”
Katherine’s family is, of course, due to expand next year.
The 37-year- old announced last month that she and her American husband Andrew Levitas are expecting another baby – a brother for their daughter Aaliyah.
It’s something of a fairytale end to a year that’s already been exceptional for the singer.
Katherine off icial ly became the No1 classical music artist of the past 25 years in the Ultimate Classic FM Chart, beating giants including Luciano Pavarotti, Andre Rieu and Andrea Bocelli.
But she revealed her two-year-old daughter made sure this impressive achievement didn’t go to her head.
Katherine said: “I tried to explain it to her but she just blew a raspberry at me, so I was down to earth right away.
“I was on holiday with my family over the summer and I got the call to say I was No1 classical music artist over last 25 years. I still can’t believe it to be honest, especially as I have only been making albums over the last 13 years.
“It is so overwhelming as a compliment. The first thing I thought of when they called me was, ‘ Wow, how lucky am I to have had such amazing support and such loyal fans over the years.’ They have really made that happen and I am incredibly thankful and proud.”
The accolade may have taken her by surprise but it has been coming for some time. Last year, she had her 12th No1 album in 12 years.
Although she won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music when she was 17, Katherine worked as a music teacher before she was signed to Universal Classics at the age of 23.
Her subsequent career has been beyond her expectations.
She said: “It’s crazy we’re talking about this, because when I look back I know I had absolutely no idea. My dreams were so small in comparison to what has actually happened.
“I had just come out of the Royal Academy of Music and classical singers were not household names.
“I just felt very lucky I could be working in music in some way. I thought that maybe I was going to be a singing teacher, hopeful ly in an opera chorus.
“My best thought was maybe to have some solos in an opera chorus.
“I didn’t know if I was good enough to be able to go full-time into opera. I really didn’t have an expectation beyond, ‘I would like to work in this field and let’s see what happens.’
“When I got offered the record deal, my mum and I didn’t believe it. We didn’t tell anybody for six months.
“My mum kept saying, ‘This doesn’t happen