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15-year-old
classical sensation Charlotte Church is ever the realist
Gwendolyn
Freed / Star
Tribune
It's
twilight in Jerusalem. Beside the Tower of David, a young
girl in a shimmering red dress stands before a sweating
throng of thousands. The girl is perfectly, peacefully --
prayerfully -- still.
A
subtle breeze caresses her backlit aura, whispering through
her softly curled chestnut locks, tickling the hem of the
gown that hints demurely at her nascent curves. The
thousands are transfixed; silence hangs in this moment like
fruit heavy on a branch.
The
girl indulges in a Mona Lisa smile: This crowd is hers --
and she hasn't even opened her lips to sing.
The
young Welsh vocal sensation Charlotte Church was born with a
seraphic countenance, a telegenic personality and a
formidable set of pipes, but her most impressive gift might
be a precocious grasp of reality.
"If
I was 21 and singing like this, nobody would take
notice," she said in a recent telephone interview from
Ottawa, where she had a concert date. "It's just the
fact that this big voice is coming out of this little body
that draws people to it."
Church
will draw legions to that voice Saturday at the Minneapolis
Convention Center for the Pacer Center's 19th-annual gala
benefit.
If
her past box-office magic continues to bewitch, that crowd
will be large and diverse. James Howie of Coon Rapids will
be there. The 63-year-old folk-music fan said Church has
"the only voice I've heard that's as clear as young
Julie Andrews."
University
of Minnesota associate voice professor Jean del Santo plans
to buy a ticket, too. She finds Church an "extremely
charming young lady with a very fresh, exuberant
spirit."
And
our 7-year-old daughter hopes to go. Having viewed the
"Charlotte Church in Jerusalem" live concert video
even more times than "Rugrats in Paris," she has
taken to wandering the house in party dresses singing
"It's time to goo now-w" from Ford
Motor Co.'s Puccini-meets-Yanni millennium theme song,
"Just Wave Hello." It's a signature Church number
branded on the eardrums of millions of girls from Newark to
Shanghai.
At
15, Church is the world's top-grossing female
"classical" vocalist -- though fans of serious
concert music have been known to spit out their lattes at
the sight of her visage beaming up at them from the
classical bins at Barnes & Noble.
Whatever
bin she's in, Church is one of the busiest teen idols on the
circuit today. Touring the globe faster than a FedEx fleet,
she insists that she's the one who's in the big hurry -- not
her parents, her record label or her small army of corporate
sponsors, tutors and handlers.
"If
I'm going to have a career at such a young age, I'm going to
try and make it as fast, I mean, as good, as possible,"
she said.
ROCKET
RIDE TO FAME
Awhirl
in publicity before she was out of knee socks, Church became
a star in 1997 when a television show put out a call for
local talents. Church's subsequent appearance caught the
attention of manager Jonathan Shalit, who signed her, helped
ramp up her visibility and brought her to Sony Classical.
"I
discovered one of the biggest sensations in classical
music," Shalit said from his car phone in London.
"I discovered a singer that's gone on to become, aside
from Callas, the most incredible classical-music story ever.
She's outsold Pavarotti. I'm really proud of that."
Church's debut album went double platinum virtually
overnight. Her latest, "Dream a Dream" was the
hottest-selling holiday album of the year 2000.
It
doesn't stop there. She's got a new DVD out and a
ghostwritten autobiography just off the presses. She has
sung for the Clintons, the Pope and Jay Leno. She's got a
Web site to rival that of Tara Lipinski and, if you believe
the British tabloids, a newly minted crush on Prince
William.
She's
also got a new manager, Irving Azoff. After an acrimonious
courtroom dispute, Sony last year reportedly paid Shalit a
multimillion-dollar settlement because his services were
"no longer needed."
"I've
been treated very fairly," said Shalit, adding that he
treasures fond memories of Church and her family. His only
regret seems to be that there is no mention of him in
Church's autobiography, despite his arranging of her
"Touched by an Angel" and "Christmas in the
Holyland" television appearances, her concerts for
President Clinton and the pope and her association with the
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
"I've
been whitewashed out," Shalit said.
Marketed
as the "Voice of an Angel," the megastar has been,
from the beginning, strategically attired -- an image
tailormade, it seems, for those who eschew cutesy fare and
prefer innocence, purity and the concealment of young
ladies' bellybuttons.
Church's
mother and father accompany her to all her concerts and
other appearances. "If I dressed like Britney Spears,
my parents would not be too happy," she said,
explaining that for public appearances, "a Sony stylist
lays out outfits for me and I get to pick what I want to
wear."
THE
HAND OF GELB
Church
is booked by the William Morris Agency, and her recordings
are handled by Sony's UK office, but much of the credit for
her success goes to Peter Gelb, president of Sony Classical,
who was instrumental in her first album's rocket-style
launch. "I assured her and her family that she'd be a
worldwide priority artist," he said.
Svengali
to the stars, Gelb has maneuvered the crossover fame of a
long list of stars, from Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell to Andreas
Vollenweider and Sarah Brightman.
If
Church is a latter-day Jenny Lind -- a deceptively tough
soprano nightingale caged in delicate ribbons of idealized
feminine virtues -- then Shalit was her first P.T. Barnum, a
role that more recently has shifted to Gelb.
Like
market-savvy Shalit before him, Gelb has hatched this
nightingale in multiple genres. Church, whose playlist
includes everything from the Lord's Prayer to "Danny
Boy" to "Plaisir d'amour," has been called
many things, including, most charitably,
"semi-operatic."
Gelb
says Church's fan base goes "way beyond the core
classical-music lovers who, you know, have mostly stopped
buying recordings altogether -- of everyone -- because their
CD collections are complete."
With
classical-CD sales in the tank, few in the industry are
looking this gift-diva too closely in the mouth. Church not
only draws fresh customers to classical-record bins; she
also brings a growing, diverse and youthful following to
traditional classical venues.
Orchestras
around the country are booking Church, and the resulting ca-ching
has largely drowned out the protests of classical critics,
who hurl words such as "bland" and
"shallow" at Church.
Gelb,
who calls himself "one of Charlotte's biggest
fans," is also one of her biggest defenders. "One
doesn't have this kind of growing success," he said,
"without there being some real, deep intrinsic artistic
and human value that the public recognizes and wants to
share in."
Vocal
buffs, however, fret that her flashy repertoire and rigorous
concert schedule could be ruining her cords for a future in
opera. "She's singing way too maturely for her age, and
I think it's harmful to the voice," said University of
Minnesota associate voice instructor Rosalind Laskin, who
would like to see Church take time out to "study the
fundamentals of music."
"I
don't think that's valid," Gelb said. Church works with
quality vocal coaches, he noted, saying that in any case,
Church, who increasingly collaborates with pop artists, does
not seem interested in ultimately going the serious route.
The
next goodies to roll off her product line might come from
Hollywood. Gelb says Church is reviewing scripts, and Sony
Pictures is "definitely interested" in her. Asked
what kind of roles would suit her, Gelb said,
"Certainly if there was a Hayley Mills type film being
made today, she'd be perfect for it."
"I
see her right up there along with Streisand," Shalit
said. "She can do it all: concerts and singing live and
film and television. She has that sort of crossover
talent."
Meanwhile
Church, ever the realist, instructs us to count our
blessings: "If it weren't for people like Andrea
Bocelli" and Charlotte Church, she said,
"classical music would be going down the pan."
Who:
The 15-year-old Welsh soprano performs a varied program of
classical and pop music.
When:
8 p.m. Sat. The benefit evening also includes a 5:15 p.m.
gourmet dinner, a 6 p.m. silent auction and, for holders of
tickets $125 and above, a 10:30 p.m. patron party.
Where:
Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Av. S., Mpls.
Charlotte Church concert to benefit Pacer Center
By
Gwendolyn Free, Minneapolis
Star Tribune
Randy Erwin had been rejected by CharlotteChurch before. So the Chanhassen booking agent did some cartwheels last fall when Church's agent said sure, the soprano would be glad to perform at this weekend's 19th-annual Pacer Center benefit gala.
Pacer has gotten lucky more than once. Recent benefit headliners have included Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Harry Belafonte and Gregory Hines. Bill Cosby broke Pacer benefit records in 1997. He raised $500,000 for Pacer just months after his son was killed. Pacer executive director Paula F. Goldberg said the fund-raising goal this year is $400,000.
Pacer Center is a resource primarily for the families of Minnesota's 111,000 children and young adults with disabilities. The funds raised Saturday night are earmarked to help pay for the Pacer Puppets, a volunteer troupe of puppeteers who visit pre-schools and elementary schools to teach children about disabilities and abuse prevention. Money also will go to Pacer's Computer Center, where families can find out the latest about assistive technology and software. Parents Helping Parents, a program providing information and support to thousands of families each year, will also benefit.
With an annual operating budget of about $7.5 million, Pacer Center has a reach that extends beyond Minnesota; the nonprofit organization also serves as the coordinating office for the nation's 100 federally funded parent centers.
"Charlotte is a fantastic match for Pacer's benefit," Goldberg said. "She is a contemporary of the children and young adults served by Pacer. Her fantastic talent and success at the age of 15 illustrates Pacer's belief that each person is unique, with his or her own special strengths and abilities."
Church has agreed to meet privately with a small group of Pacer's children while she's in town. Goldberg says Church will answer their questions, sign autographs and take a little time to get to know them. --
G.F.
Who: The 15-year-old Welsh soprano performs a varied program of classical and pop music.
When: 8 p.m. Sat. The benefit evening also includes a 5:15 p.m. gourmet dinner, a 6 p.m. silent auction and, for holders of tickets $125 and above, a 10:30 p.m. patron party.
Where: Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Av. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $40-$500. Dinner tickets are an additional $75. 952-838-9000.
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