Now 15, Charlotte Church is at an exceedingly awkward age. She's just a little too old to be an adorable prodigy anymore, but a little too young to be sultry. She's mature enough obviously to understand that the opera she sings is based on profound human glory and torments, triumphs and humiliations, but not experienced enough to bring the necessary emotional depth to a performance.

This is the age at which child stars ordinarily self-destruct. Macaulay Culkin was the It Boy for several years, when he was wee and cute. Then, before you knew it, he was married, hanging out with strange people, and lacking an acting career. Child actors can rarely really act, only carry out a reasonable facsimile of it. Some develop real talent; some don't. This has been going on for decades. Think Shirley Temple, or Tiffany.

Charlotte Church was born with the voice of an angel, but hitting the notes isn't the hard part. It'll be interesting to see how she grows up.