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Hearing the Voice of an Angel
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It was a very, very big year for Charlotte
Church. At just 12 years old, she signed a five-album contract with
Sony Classical and recorded her debut album, Voice of an Angel. The
young Welsh soprano also performed before Pope John Paul II and at
Prince Charles' 50th birthday party. Charlotte still speaks and
giggles like a teen, despite having a vocabulary beyond her age.
This is most likely due to the fact that she is new to international
stardom. Her big, big break came only two years ago when she
appeared on The Big, Big Talent Show to introduce her Auntie
Caroline Cooper. The host, Jonathan Ross, asked Charlotte to sing a
few bars of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu." She returned
to the TV program to sing the whole song, where an agent saw her act
and launched her into stardom. In a phone conversation from a tour
stop in Tokyo this April, Charlotte talked about her operatic life
with Evelyn H. Tu from public TV and radio station WHYY in
Philadelphia.
EHT: When you sang for Prince Charles and the Pope,
did you get to meet them?
CC: Yes. Prince Charles was really nice, and so was the Pope.
EHT: Did the Prince and the Pope know your music already?
CC: Well, Prince Charles knew I was a classical singer, but that was
about it, because that was the first concert I ever did in the UK.
Whereas, the Pope was watching the concert live on a television from
his room. He was too ill to go to the concert. He obviously saw me,
and he asked if he could meet me, so I went back in January.
EHT: Incredible. Did he say anything special to you?
CC: He said "la cantante," which means "the
singer."
EHT: Are there any lucky charms or special things you need to have
with you when you go on tour?
CC: I take my (Beanie) Babies along, all of them, and some of my
cuddly
toys and my great-grandmother's rosary beads, which were blessed by
the Pope.
EHT: Since your album's name is Voice of Angel, I need to ask: Do
you believe in angels?
CC: Yes.
EHT: Do you know any personally?
CC: No. (laughter) I haven't met any along my way. A lot of people
have
asked if I really sound like an angel, but I say, "I haven't
met any to hear what one sounds like."
EHT: When you toured America, did anything surprise you about
American culture?
CC: Not really. It was pretty much as I expected - hamburgers and
hot dogs,
stuff like that. My favorite scene that I'd been to in America was
Las Vegas.
EHT: Why was it your favorite stop?
CC: The glitz and glamour were such fun. Las Vegas is so very busy
and so
very happening.
EHT: This must be a great contrast to your home in Cardiff, Wales.
CC: Yes, it is. Cardiff is much smaller. If you wanted to get away
from all the city life, it would take you about 20 minutes to get
out into the countryside.
EHT: Now that you've done all this travelling, do you appreciate
your home more?
CC: Yes, definitely, especially when I go home and see all my
family. I used to see my mum, my dad, my grandmother, my
grandfather, my auntie, my uncle and my cousin every day. The tour
has stopped all that. But I do travel with my mum all the time, and
my dad has come to New York, Rome and Paris with us.
EHT: How did you decide on opera over musical theater or popular
music?
CC: I wanted to be different, because there are so many pop singers
now, and it's very, very competitive. I prefer to sing classical
music, but I prefer to listen to pop music.
EHT: So, who are your favorite pop musicians?
CC: I like Lauryn Hill, Will Smith, Puff Daddy, Alanis Morrissette,
The Corrs, All Saints, George Michael, Mariah Carey, and so on.
EHT: Do you have a vision of where you'd like to be in the future?
CC: I'd love to be an opera singer and sing either La Boheme, or
Madame Butterfly, or Tosca at La Scala in Milan and get a standing
ovation. But that's a long, long, long way off.
EHT: It's a good plan, though. How early did you know you wanted to
be an opera star?
CC: When I was about 10, I just decided that I want to be a singer.
EHT: Sometimes, as you get older, you get less certain about things.
How did you learn to sing so beautifully?
CC: Singing has always been in my family. Everyone in my family can
sing, except for my parents. I'd always been on stage doing karaoke
competitions, and I used to sing Billy Idol and Ghostbusters. I was
singing everything in history. When I was 8, my Auntie Caroline, who
is also a professional cabaret singer, had nodules on her vocal
chords. She told my mum that needed to take singing lessons again,
and would I like to come with? I said, "Oh, yeah!" It's
something I'd always wanted to do. I found
my voice, and I did some recording.
EHT: Some people might say that since you're 13,
you're missing some fun things about being a child. Do you feel like
you're missing anything?
CC: Not at all. I'm doing more stuff that any child would love to
do. I've done things I've always wanted, obviously, like being a
singer. I've traveled around the world. I've gotten to meet all my
heroines and all these famous people. I went to Tokyo Disney Land
this week, and I've had such a fun time in Japan. I went to Sony
Music World, which has lots of modern technology. Today, I went to
have my nails done at a nail art center, and we went shopping.
EHT: Is there anything that you and your friends would be doing
right now if you weren't touring around the world?
CC: What day is it today? Wednesday or Thursday?
EHT: Thursday.
CC: I'd be in bed at the moment.
EHT: What happens in your PBS special?
CC: It's a concert. The one that's going to show on PBS is just me
in concert. Then a video might be released in the America and the
U.K. with a documentary part added on to it. I've seen it and it
looks absolutely brilliant. The documentary part is so funny. I took
a camcorder along with me everywhere I went. Unfortunately, I
couldn't get all the tape to the people in time. I filmed Niagara
Falls, Las Vegas, Germany and Japan, but we still got some of the
videos that I taped.
EHT: Did you do anything special for your 13th
birthday? That was about a month ago, wasn't it?
CC: Yes, it was. I had a sleepover with about seven of my friends
from school, and I had a big party with all my family, and no
show-biz people. I just wanted family and friends.
EHT: That sounds very normal.
CC: Yeah, it was such fun. We had it in the pub. We had a
sing-along, and I had a lovely birthday cake. It was really nice.
EHT: Did you sing at your own party?
CC: Yeah, I did. I sang "In trutina" and "Pie Jesu."
My Auntie sang, and all my family got up and sang, so it was a great
day.
EHT: Do you have any sense of what it is about your singing that
appeals to so many people in different countries, even when they
don't understand what you're singing?
CC: I think it's because I'm 13. If I were to sing like this at 18,
nobody would take any notice of me. My age, I think, is a huge
point. There's nobody else that I know of - no 13-year-old - who
sings classical music.
EHT: Well, you're a very self-aware and very charming
young lady. It's been a pleasure talking with you. Thank you.
CC: Thank you!
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