Katherine Jenkins postpones February’s York Barbican concert. New date awaited

Katherine Jenkins: 2021 York Barbican concert to be rearranged

KATHERINE Jenkins has been forced to call off her 2021 tour until “later in the year”, putting paid to her February 5 concert at York Barbican.

Today’s statement on the Barbican website explains: “Due to the on-going situation with Covid-19 and the announcement that Guildford G Live and Southend Cliffs Pavilion will be closed until January 31 2021, unfortunately we have no alternative but to postpone Katherine’s January and February 2021 tour.

“Ticket holders are asked to keep hold of their tickets as we’re working to reschedule the tour to later in 2021 and a further announcement regarding new dates will follow shortly. All tickets will remain valid.”

South Welsh mezzo soprano Katherine, who turned 40 on June 29, celebrated her latest number one in the UK Classical Chart last month, when she released her 14th studio album, Cinema Paradiso, on Decca Records.

When her York Barbican concert does go ahead, Katherine will combine songs from Cinema Paradiso with favourites from throughout her career that began at 23 after she swapped school teaching for the concert stage and recording studio on signing to Universal Classics.

“I wanted to create an iconic movie moment with this record,” said Katherine Jenkins of Cinema Paradiso

Also peaking at number three in the Official UK Album Chart, Cinema Paradiso assembles 15 tracks from “the world’s best-loved movie moments”, such as Moon River, from Breakfast At Tiffany’s, When You Wish Upon A Star, from Pinocchio, Tonight, from West Side Story, and the themes from Schindler’s List, Lord Of The Rings and Dances With Wolves.

“I’ve always loved movie soundtracks,” said Katherine. “I wanted to create an iconic movie moment with this record – all the best film musical themes that we know and love, all together on one album.

“The last few albums I’ve made have been inspired by what’s happening in my own world. This one, in particular, was inspired by the things that were going on around me. Having played my first movie role last year, it felt like a natural transition for me.”

In February 2019 in Serbia, Katherine filmed her debut film part of Millie in her husband Andrew Levitas’s eco-disaster movie Minamata, playing opposite Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy in the true story of war photographer W Eugene Smith being pitted against a powerful corporation responsible for mercury-poisoning the people of Minamata, on the Japanese coast, in 1971.

Minamata was released in February 2020. Previously Katherine had appeared as Abigail Pettigrew in a Doctor Who Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, in December 2010 and in the West End as Julie Jordan in the musical Carousel in 2017.

“Having played my first movie role last year, it felt like a natural transition for me,” said Katherine Jenkins, explaining her decision to make an album of film songs. Picture: Decca Records/Venni

Katherine has been treating fans to Facebook Live concerts from her home during the pandemic lockdown and dedicated the chart-topping success of Cinema Paradiso to “all my lockdown lovelies who’ve been spending the past 16 weeks with me, through lockdown, through our concerts”. “You’ve all been amazing and I can’t thank you enough,” she said.

The track listing for Cinema Paradiso is:

1. When You Wish Upon A Star, from Pinocchio.

2. Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Somewhere Far Away), from Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence

3. Cinema Paradiso, featuring Alberto Urso, from Cinema Paradiso

4. Never Love Again, from A Star Is Born

5. Moon River, from Breakfast At Tiffany’s

6. Singin’ In The Rain, from Singin’ In The Rain

7. West Side Story – Somewhere/Tonight, featuring Luke Evans, from West Side Story

8. O Danny Boy, from Memphis Belle

9. Schindler’s List, from Schindler’s List

10. The Rose, from The Rose

11. May It Be, from Lord Of The Rings

12. Here’s To The Heroes, from Dances With Wolves

Bonus tracks

The Rose, featuring Shaun Escoffery

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Somewhere Far Away), featuring Sarah Alainn

Cinema Paradiso.