Katherine Jenkins, singing on stage in Southampton, southern England, in 2007, signed her first recording contract in 2000.Katherine Jenkins, singing on stage in Southampton, southern England, in 2007, signed her first recording contract in 2000. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)

Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins has signed what is reportedly the richest classical recording deal in history, inking an $11.8-million contract with Warner Music.

The 28-year-old performer has agreed to a five-album deal, according to BBC News, and will be headed to Los Angeles to record a new album soon.

'My main aim is to try and take classical music to a wider audience.'— Katherine Jenkins

"I've been offered an opportunity I can't refuse," Jenkins told the BBC.

"My main aim is to try and take classical music to a wider audience."

The mezzo-soprano nabbed her first recording contract, a six-album agreement, in 2000 with Universal for more than $2 million.

The final Universal album, called Sacred Arias, is due to be released on Monday.

Her albums feature a mix of arias, pop songs, traditional hymns and classical crossover music, which has led to critics to say she is not opera singer. The formidable Dame Kiri Te Kanawa described her as an "opera fake" earlier this year.

Jenkins, who began singing in a church choir, has said she never called herself an opera singer and plans to study the genre more seriously when she turns 30.

Tenor Placido Domingo has offered to let her study with him.

Born in Neath, Wales, Jenkins captured BBC Radio 2's Welsh Choirgirl of the Year contest twice. She won a scholarship at age 17 to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Her 2004 debut album, Première, stood for eight weeks at the top of the classical charts in the U.K., while her next outing, Second Nature, was named album of the year in 2005 at the Classical BRIT Awards.