Welsh Wunderkind Charlotte Church conquers Broadway on her fourth release, re-creating the blend of pop and opera that previously brought her crossover success with classical repertoire. The material is a bit well-worn, from "Somewhere" (West Side Story)

to "Bali Ha'i" (South Pacific) and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" (Showboat). Like her selections, Church's interpretations are safe and straightforward but consistent, masterful, and performed with confidence. Non-Broadway tracks include heartfelt folk tunes—the Celtic "Carrickfergus" and the English lullaby "All the Pretty Little Horses"—and others ranging from contemporary songs to operatic arias ("La Habanera" from Carmen). Some arrangements add flamenco guitar or Latin percussion while others rely on romantic strings, but the 15-year-old soprano's voice is always the focus. She maintains the clear tone of a woodwind without losing the underlying lilt of human emotion.—WH

Charlotte Church charmed the world as a disarming 12-year-old sweet-toned soprano when she released ‘Voice Of An Angel’ and in many ways this is her most important recording since those heady heights. Consolidating her multi-level appeal to all musical preferences and age groups with a more wide-ranging collection, Church is also growing up and is reaching that often tricky to market age where the hope is that she will avoid the lurid and tacky path chosen by a certain young violinist. ‘Enchantment’, therefore, represents the perfect stopgap between her joyous youthful debut and a more serious, yet accessible path for her impressive talents.

Her silky smooth, powerful, ever supple voice makes light work of all the material as she picks her way through the nuances of the eclectic pop of ‘Tonight’, the flamenco flurries of ‘Habanera’ or the swooping and glorious ‘The Flower Duet’, where Church is flying all the way. English folk piece ‘The Pretty Horses’ is tackled with aplomb, as is the touching ‘The Water Is Wide’, and her take on the Judy Garland, Kern & Hammerstein-penned ‘Can’t Help Loving That Man’ is positively sassy. Closing with the haunting trio of the spare ‘A Bit OF Earth’, the stately ‘Somewhere’ and epic ‘The Prayer’ in duet with Josh Groban, Church gives a commanding performance that promises an even brighter future for this hugely talented, young singer.

(MF) 

Gone is the sprightly ingenue--that wide-eyed 12-year-old with the Cheshire Cat smile. Here is Charlotte Church, all grown up at 15, looking every bit the Cover Girl in the disc's elegant and highly stylized photos. Instead of her light classical fare of the past, Church opts this time for a fine collection of musical theater classics, sacred hymns, love songs and just the right sprinkling of opera to keep her die-hard fans happy.

Church has always possessed the most piercing of sopranos (think Sarah Brightman) and can reach notes that could easily shatter glass. And though her critics claim she lacks the depth to tackle full-out opera at such a young age, they'll be quite surprised to hear the maturity her voice achieves here (though the material is indeed far less demanding). She uses her vocal range to her best advantage and employs a playful repartee with dramatic effect--most evident on the heady "Habanera" from "Carmen."

Musical theater might very well be a powerful avenue for the songstress to pursue--she easily navigates Sondheim's unforgettable "Somewhere" and "Tonight" (from "West Side Story"), proving that Church could easily fill the shoes of that show's ill-fated heroine Maria. Equally right on the money is "The Prayer," a lovely ode (and duet with Josh Groban), which serves as a beautiful benediction. Taking a turn to the far reaches of the musical spectrum, Church delivers a glorious version of the Celtic ode "Carrickfergus."

Miriam Di Nunzio

There is a plethora of works out there for Church to cover. Enchantment finds her taking on many show tunes from West Side Story, Show Boat and South Pacific. Her ease and power take the songs to heights not previously reached. Even if the songs are unknown to you, it's not at all impossible to be taken over and entrapped by her virtuosity.

Charlotte takes "La Habanera" to task. It's fantastic. "Carrickfergus" really opens her for a longer, more expressive road. "The Water Is Wide" leaves the future forever broadened. It's the uncertainty of Church's path that keeps everyone coming back. That, and the fact that her voice is beyond belief. Although Church is growing up, there is no less desire in her voice or in your ears.

+ rae gun

Soprano Charlotte Church's fourth disc is mostly secular, but it sounds divine.

"We're going right back to Doris Day movies," one critic said of the post-Sept. 11 entertainment world. Maybe so. Charlotte Church -- formerly a cute kid, now a lovely young lady of 15 and as ever a gorgeous soprano who sanctifies every note -- feels just about perfect right now.

Romantic showtunes -- South Pacific's "Bali Ha'i," Show Boat's "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" -- glow, as does a sleek flamenco take on "Habañera" from Carmen. Even better are the moving "The Flower Duet" (in case you're not up on the chart-toppers of 1883 French opera, you know it from a long-running British Airways commercial), Carousel's ageless "If I Loved You" and two West Side Story evergreens, "Tonight" and "Somewhere." On the latter, Stephen Sondheim's uncharacteristically sentimental lyrics have never been sung, or timed, better: "Somewhere/ We'll find a new way of living/ We'll find a way of forgiving." 

Bottom Line: Like a prayer

-- KYLE SMITH 

PREACHING TO THE CHOIR
By DAN AQUILANTE
"Enchantment"
Columbia

Teen phenom Charlotte Church - the girl with a "voice of an angel" - will continue to astound both the pop and classical world with her latest disc.

In "Enchantment," the pretty 15-year-old has added warmth and ease to her considerable technical prowess - proving she's meant for mega-stardom in pop, classical or whatever style she ultimately chooses. In fact, if she doesn't blow out her voice, she may eclipse pop divas Judy Garland, Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand.

"Enchantment" is a stylistic showcase, with songs from modern musical theater side by side with traditional Celtic melodies and straight-ahead classical opera.

The weakest number is the "Habanera" from "Carmen." It's pretty, but it's meant for a singer with a huskier voice than hers.

What does suit her is Bernstein. She's wonderful on both "Tonight" (the disc opener) and "Somewhere." And on "Bali Ha'i," her voice sweeps from the top of her register to the bottom with the kind of beauty that would make most guys willing to get tossed into their local volcano.

The cover photo of 15-year-old English vocal phenom’s new album spotlights the sweet ingénue quality that has characterized the first few years of her skyrocketing career. But take a look at the elegant, more mature images on the back cover and in the album’s liner, and the real perspective of her fourth album comes into focus: ambitious crossover.

Church wisely embraces her core audience with pleasantly delivered renderings of “The Laughing Song” (from “Die Fledermaus”) and the “Flower Duet” (multi-tracked, from “Lakme”), as well as contemporary versions of “Habanera” (from “Carmen”) and “From My First Moment” (Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedie No. 1” with words). But the repertorie widens beyond her earlier albums via Broadway tunes (“Tonight” and “Somewhere” from “West Side Story,” “A Bit of Earth” from “Secret Garden,” among others), traditional songs (notably “The Water Is Wide”), and the pop-tinged rhythms of “The Prayer” (by David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager).

The performances have familiar pluses and minuses. Church’s voice is a natural wonder, and she is sometimes (not always) capable of enhancing it with surprisingly mature musicality. Here, that quality is most apparent in the less demanding Broadway, traditional, and pop items, suggesting that Church may indeed be moving in the right direction. - Don Heckman

When Charlotte Church decided to broaden her repertoire for her fourth album, she wasn't kidding around. Shooting for the moon, her Enchantment mixes Broadway showstoppers, film hits, Irish laments, traditional tunes, and, of course, operatic arias. The good news is that the teenage vocal sensation pulls it all off with a panache and style that belies her years. Church still sounds youthfully energetic -- that's almost a given for this wunderkind -- but she's fully in charge of an expanded technique, one thankfully matched by an expressive range that has also deepened with time and experience. The exceptional material that this Welsh songbird bites into doesn't hurt a bit. From the world of the musical she interprets well-loved numbers from West Side Story ("Tonight"), South Pacific ("Bali Hai") and Show Boat ("Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"); and from the world of film, "Papa Can You Hear Me (Yentl). These are songs that a polished singer just can't lose with, and they bring out the sheen in Church's marvelous soprano. Church hasn't abandoned the classics, either. She offers a lovely version of the famous "Flower Duet" from Lakmé -- Léo Delibes's most famous opera -- overdubbing the dual melodies for a delightful double dose of Charlotte. There's also Bizet's sultry "Habañera" from Carmen, brought up to date in a spicy Flamenco arrangement. Not one to settle into any artistic niche, Church proves on Enchantment that she is ready, willing, and able to give us continued pleasure as a sure vocalist, one unafraid to take on the wealth of great song about her.

Of course, we couldn't expect time to freeze its relentless path and forever preserve the Welsh sensation Charlotte Church in a chrysalis of precocious youth. And yet, at 15 and now taking bolder steps into expanding her repertory on Enchantment, the soprano remains a marvel of a prodigy. Here, she scours a wider range of sources than on her previous albums. Church moves with breathtaking ease from classic Broadway (West Side Story, Show Boat, South Pacific) to traditional Celtic, film ballads, and even a couple of high-operatic numbers. Church's straightforward approach to the melody of "La Habanera" may not exactly be what Bizet had in mind for his Carmen, but fans will get double pleasure out of the singer's exquisite duet with herself on the haunting "Flower Duet" from Delibes's Lakmé. What's more, there's a greater freedom of expression and sense of how to shape a phrase in many of these tracks--notice how much there is to savor, for instance, in "The Water Is Wide" and "Carrickfergus." It all adds up to a widely varied course, demonstrating the continued growth of a singularly gifted young artist. --Sarah Chin