Hundreds of music aficionados were treated to a spectacular performance on Saturday when Welsh singing icon Katherine Jenkins appeared at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen.
The crowd was regaled with Mrs Jenkins’ trademark range of classical crossovers as varied as her choice of dresses, from lustrous renditions of more traditional operatic arias such as Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen, to her own soaring version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.
Organised by the Lord Provost’s Charitable Trust, the BP-sponsored event was held in aid of Cornerstone, the Aberdeen-founded national charity which provides support and services for people across Scotland living with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and other needs.
Mrs Jenkins opened the evening with an emotional rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, before revealing to the packed-out Aberdeen audience that Saturday’s concert was her first time on the road with newborn daughter Aaliyah, who has been left at home since she was born in September.
Yet, although the little girl wasn’t in the theatre, she was apparently still able to cause mischief, as Mrs Jenkins blamed “baby brain” when she forgot a verse of the classic British ballad A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.
But with a quick laugh, all was forgiven, and soon the crowd was applauding Mrs Jenkins’ moving performances of more contemporary pieces, including the theme to The Godfather, and The Music of the Night from the influential 1986 musical Phantom of the Opera.
Throughout the evening, Mrs Jenkins was accompanied on stage by local talents Zoe Hodi, a 15-year-old violinist from Aberdeen City Music School, and the Granite City’s very own Con Anima Chamber Choir.
Despite her young age, Zoe endeared herself to the crowd with her perfect renditions of Meditation from the opera Thais, and Allegro from Concerto in A Minor.
And she gained the commendation of Mrs Jenkins herself in the process, who told the Aberdeen crowd to keep an eye on “rising star” Zoe.
The choristers of Con Anima gave an equally amazing performance, providing harmonious backing for Mrs Jenkins on a handful of her songs, most notably on the penultimate tune of the evening, the WW2 standard We’ll Meet Again.
But it wasn’t just the choir giving their all for the Vera Lynn classic, as most of the crowd happily joined Mrs Jenkins in belting their lungs out while singing along.
It was a fitting song to end Mrs Jenkins’ set list, as the evening left many Aberdonians yearning for the Welsh sensation to return to the Granite City again some sunny day. And soon.