Sarah Brightman
Encyclopedia
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano
, actress, songwriter
and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register
. She sings in many languages including English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip
and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made her West End
musical theatre
debut in Cats
and met composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
, whom she married. She went on to star in several Broadway
musicals, including The Phantom of the Opera
, where she originated the role of Christine Daaé
. The Original London Cast Album of the musical was released in CD format in 1987 and sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling cast album of all time.
After retiring from the stage and divorcing Lloyd Webber, Brightman resumed her music career with former Enigma
producer Frank Peterson
, this time as a classical
crossover
artist. She is often credited as the creator of this genre and remains among the most prominent performers, with worldwide sales of more than 30 million records and 2 million DVDs, establishing herself as the world's best-selling soprano
of all time. Her duet with the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli
, "Time To Say Goodbye", topped charts all over Europe and became the highest and fastest selling single of all time in Germany, where it stayed at the top of the charts for fourteen consecutive weeks and sold over 3 million copies. It subsequently became an international success selling 12 million copies worldwide. She has now collected over 180 gold and platinum sales awards in 38 different countries.
Brightman is the first artist to have been invited twice to perform at the Olympic Games
, first at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games where she sang "Amigos Para Siempre
" with the Spanish tenor Jose Carreras
with an estimated global audience of a billion people, and sixteen years later in Beijing
, this time with Chinese singer Liu Huan
, performing the song "You and Me
" to an estimated 4 billion people worldwide. Since 2010, Brightman is Panasonic
's global brand
ambassador
. Together they launched the song "Shall Be Done" at the 2010 Winter Games held in Vancouver
, Canada. Brightman is the element of union in Panasonic's signing of Strategic Partnership Agreement with the UNESCO
World Heritage Centre, as she stars the campaign "The World Heritage Special" that is being aired on the National Geographic Channel
in 183 countries and areas. She has also been named promoter of Malaysia's brand promotion campaign "Econation Campaign".
Apart from music, Brightman has begun a film career, making her debut in Repo! The Genetic Opera
(2008), a rock opera-musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman
, and in autumn 2011 and early 2012 Stephen Evans' "First Night", starring opposite Richard E. Grant
. In addition, she formed her own production company
, Instinct Films, where her first film is in pre-production. Brightman ranks among Britain's music millionaires with a fortune of £30m (about US$49m).
, a village near Berkhamsted
, Hertfordshire
, England, and lived in John O'Gaddesden House in the village. At age three, she began taking dance classes at the Elmhurst School for Dance
in Camberley
, Surrey
. and went on to perform in local festivals and competitions. At age 11, she successfully auditioned for The Arts Educational School, Tring Park
, a boarding school
specialising in performing arts. Although Brightman was teased by other students and attempted to run away, she nevertheless remained at the school. Later, she auditioned for the Royal Ballet in London but was rejected. Brightman continued to study dance, particularly jazz, as a pupil of choreographer Arlene Phillips
. At 13, on 1973 Brightman made her theatrical debut in the musical I and Albert
at the Piccadilly Theatre, London, playing one of Queen Victoria's daughters (Vicki).
In 1977, she was recruited to lead Arlene Phillips' troupe Hot Gossip
. More provocative than Pan's People, the group had a disco hit in 1978 with "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper
", which sold half a million and reached number six on the UK charts
. Hot Gossip released a follow-up single, "The Adventures of the Love Crusader
", six months later, but it failed to chart, reaching a high of number 53 on the UK charts
. Brightman, now solo, released more disco singles under Whisper Records, such as "Not Having That!" and a cover of the song "My Boyfriend's Back
". In 1979, Brightman appeared on the soundtrack of the movie "The World Is Full of Married Men
" and sings the song "Madam Hyde".
In 1981, Brightman auditioned for the new musical Cats
and was cast as Jemima. In rehearsals she met Andrew Lloyd Webber
. After a year in Cats, Brightman took over from Bonnie Langford
as Kate in The Pirates of Penzance
at the Drury Lane Theatre, London
, and appeared as Tara Treetops in Masquerade, a musical based on Kit Williams
's book of the same title
. On that year she left to play the title role in Charles Strouse
's children's opera, Nightingale
.
Enticed by a rave review, Webber went to watch her in the show one evening and was flabbergasted. It seemed inconceivable that he could have missed such vocal talent when she'd been in his show for a year. It would be an awakening that would alter more than just his perception of her. It would alter the course of their careers and lives. The two married in 1984, and Brightman appeared in many of Lloyd Webber's subsequent musicals including Song and Dance
and the mass
Requiem
, the latter written for her.
Scarcely a year later, Brightman's crystalline recording of Pie Jesu
rocketed up the charts, selling 25,000 copies on the first day of release and peaking at number 3; no mean feat for a song in Latin. With classical music permeating the Lloyd Webber household (Brightman was in heavy operatic training at the time), Webber was moved to write the Requiem Mass as a tribute to young victims of war. Its Manhattan premiere, starring Placido Domingo
and Sarah Brightman, was filmed by both PBS and the BBC
for later broadcast. The LP eventually became UK's top selling classical album of the year and earned Brightman a Grammy nomination as Best New Classical Artist."
Brightman starred as Christine Daaé
in Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera
. The role of Christine was written specifically for her. Lloyd Webber refused to open The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
unless Brightman played Christine. Initially, the American Actors' Equity Association
balked, because of their policy that any non-American performer must be an international star. Lloyd Webber had to cast an American in a leading role in his next West End musical
before the Equity would allow Brightman to appear (a promise he kept in casting Aspects of Love
). In the end, it was a compromise that more than paid off. "Phantom" chalked up a staggering $17 million in advance sales prior to opening night on Jan 28, 1988, and generated a public and media frenzy that is unmatched since. The original cast album was the first in British musical history to enter the music charts at number one. Album sales now exceed forty million worldwide and it is the biggest selling cast album of all time, and has gone six times platinum in the US
, twice platinum in the UK, nine times platinum in Germany
, four times platinum in the Netherlands
, 21 times platinum in Korea
and 17 times platinum in Taiwan
.
After leaving Phantom, she performed in a tour of Lloyd Webber's music throughout England, Canada, and the United States, and performed Requiem in the Soviet Union. Studio recordings from this time include the single "Anything But Lonely" from Aspects of Love and two solo albums: the 1988 album The Trees They Grow So High
, a compilation of folk songs accompanied by piano, and the 1989 album The Songs That Got Away
, a musical theatre compilation of songs cut from shows by composers such as Irving Berlin
and Stephen Sondheim
, also Brightman sang the song "Make Believe" at the end during the credits of the children's film "Grandpa"; Howard Blake wrote the music and lyrics.
By 1990, Brightman and Lloyd Webber separated. After their divorce, Brightman played the lead in Lloyd Webber's Aspects
in London opposite Michael Praed
, before transferring to Broadway
. Her work in Aspects notwithstanding, Brightman steeled herself and set forth to find her own footing. Perhaps the most poignant declaration of independence came in the form of her second solo album from this period, an eclectic but personal collection of folk-rock songs that she had hand-picked. It was a departure from musical theatre and indeed, a departure for Webber himself. More tellingly, the album bore a most prescient title: As I Came of Age
.
closed the Barcelona Olympic Games singing the theme song "Amigos Para Siempre" ("Friends forever") to a worldwide audience of 3 billion people. The song was released on seven-inch vinyl and CD single. The CD single also has the rarer Spanish version of the song. The lyrics, written by Don Black, are in English
, except for the title phrase which is repeated in English, Spanish
and Catalan
.
Her stage career curtailed, Brightman pursued solo recording in Los Angeles. Inspired by the German band Enigma
, she requested to work with one of its members. Her request was answered and in 1991 Brightman traveled to Germany to meet producer Frank Peterson
. Their first release was Dive
(1993), a water-themed pop album that featured "Captain Nemo", a cover of a song by the Swedish electronica
band Dive
. The album is considered Brightman's first success as a recording solo artist, receiving her first Gold
award for exceptional sales in Canada
.
Fly
(1995), a pop rock album and her second collaboration with Peterson, propelled Brightman to fame in Europe with the hit "A Question of Honour
". The song and the video by Frank Papenbroock
introduced at the World Boxing
Championship match between Germany's
Henry Maske
and Graciano Rocchigiani
, combined electronic dance music
, rock elements, classical strings, and excerpts from the aria "Ebben? ... Ne andrò lontana" from Alfredo Catalani
's opera La Wally
.
"Time to Say Goodbye" ("Con te partirò
") was the second Brightman song debuted for Maske, this time at his retirement match. This duet with tenor Andrea Bocelli
became an international hit and sold more than 3 million copies in Germany alone, became Germany's best-selling single, and was successful in numerous other countries; the album eventually sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Because of the song's success, a 1996 re-issue of Fly featured "Time to Say Goodbye" as the first track. It is regarded as one of Brightman's, and indeed Bocelli's, signature songs.
Timeless
(released in 1997, with the title Time to Say Goodbye in the United States) contained "Time to Say Goodbye" and other classical-inspired tracks such as "Just Show Me How to Love You
", a duet with José Cura
(originally sung by Dario Baldambembo with the title "Tu Cosa Fai Stasera?"), a cover of the Queen
hit "Who Wants to Live Forever
", and "Tu Quieres Volver
", (originally recorded by the Gipsy Kings
). The album has sold 1.4 million copies in the US and 4 million worldwide.
In March 1998, her own PBS special, Sarah Brightman: In Concert
at the Royal Albert Hall
, marked the point when she crossed from Billboard's Top Heatseekers
chart to the Billboard 200
chart, with Time to Say Goodbye. The same year, Brightman starred A Christmas in Vienna
along Placido Domingo
, Helmut Lottie and Riccardo Cocciante
singing traditional Christmas carols. On 7 April 1998 she was one of the guest stars in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th Birthday Celebration singing Hossanaa with Dennis O'Neill
, Pie Jesu
, Phantom of the Opera with Antonio Banderas
, All I Ask of You
with Michael Ball
and Music of the Night. In 1999, she appeared on the album I Won't Forget You by Princessa
, another artist with whom Peterson had worked.
(1998) (the title track of which was a cover of a song by Belgian band Hooverphonic
), and La Luna
(2000). These albums, unlike Time to Say Goodbye, incorporated more pop music elements. Reviews were mixed – LAUNCHcast
deemed Eden "deliriously sappy", while Allmusic called Eden "a winning combination" and La Luna "a solid, stirring collection".
Eden reached #1 on the US Billboard Classical Crossover chart and #65 on the Billboard 200 charts and was certified Gold
. La Luna peaked at #17, with 900.000 in US sales and receiving Gold
as well. In addition, both albums reached #1 on Billboard's Classical Crossover charts. La Luna also reached #1 on the US Billboard Top Internet Albums and #1 on the Mexican Top 20 International Chart. In 2000, PBS's La Luna concert, Brightman sang There for Me
in a duet with an up and coming star, Josh Groban
. At the end of 2001, Billboard magazine noted Brightman as one of four classical crossover artists from the UK (the others being Charlotte Church
, Russell Watson
, and bond
) with albums on both the Classical Crossover and Billboard 200 charts, a phenomenon which, it said, contributed to a resurgence of UK music in the US after "a historic low" in 1999.
In 2000, Brightman sold more records than Elton John
and the Rolling Stones, becoming America
's highest-selling
and top touring
British
artist
.
Brightman ventured into film acting in 2000 when she was part of the cast of the German film "Zeit der Erkenntnis", based on Rosamunde Pilcher book.
In 2001, Brightman released Classics
, a compilation album of opera
tic aria
s and other classical pieces including a solo version of "Time to Say Goodbye"; this was released worldwide except Europe
. In the US the album peaked at #66 on the Billboard's 200 charts and went Gold
. It reached #2 on Billboard's Classical Crossover charts, Entertainment Weekly
although calling Brightman a "stronger song stylist than a singer", gave the album a grade of B-.
-. Classics was re-released in the Europe as "Classics: The Best of Sarah Brightman" in 2006. The European edition has the same cover art, but a different track listing.
In 2002, Brightman released "The secret" on SASH!
's fourth studio album S4!Sash!
. This song was re-released in 2007 as "The secret 2007 (Unreleased)" on SASH!'s sixth album 10th Anniversary
.
Her 2003 album Harem
represented another departure: a Middle Eastern-themed
album influenced by dance music. On Harem, Brightman collaborated with artists such as Ofra Haza
and Iraq
i singer Kazem al-Saher. Nigel Kennedy
contributed violin tracks to the songs "Free
" and "The War is Over", and Jaz Coleman
contributed arrangements.
The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 charts (with sales tracked by Nielsen SoundScan
figuring at approximately 333,000, or about one-third the total sales of La Luna), #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart and #1 on the Swedish Album Chart and yielded a #1 dance/club single with the remix of the title track. Some time later, another single from the album (the ballad "Free", cowritten with Sophie B. Hawkins
) became a second Top-10 hit on this chart. A year later of the album's release, Harem was referred as a multi-million seller in EMI
's annual music sales report.
The albums Eden, La Luna and Harem were accompanied by live world tours which incorporated the theatricality of her stage origins. Brightman acknowledged this in an interview, saying, "They're incredibly complicated...[but also] natural. I know what works, what doesn't work, all the old tricks." In both 2000 and 2001, Brightman was among the top 10 most popular British performers in the US, with concert sales grossing $7.2 million from 34 shows in 2000 and over $5 million from 21 shows in 2001.
In 2004 the Harem tour grossed $60 million and sold 800,000 tickets, $15 million and 225,000 sales of which came from the North American leg, although with ticket prices raised 30% from previous tours, average sales per venue were up 65%. In North America, Harem tour promoters Clear Channel Entertainment (now Live Nation
) took the unusual step of advertising to theatre subscribers, in an effort to reach fans of Brightman's Broadway performances, and also sold VIP tickets, at $750 each, that included in-stage seating during the concert and a backstage pass
. Tour reviews were mixed: one critic from the New York Times called the La Luna tour "not so much divine but post-human" and "unintentionally disturbing: a beautiful argument of emptiness." In contrast, a reviewer from the Boston Globe deemed the Harem tour "unique, compelling" and "charmingly effective."
Television specials on PBS
were produced for nearly every Brightman album in the U.S.; a director of marketing has credited these as her number-one source of exposure in the country. Indeed, her concert for Eden was among PBS
's highest-grossing pledge events.
is the accompanying CD, released on the same date. The album marked the first time Brightman has released a greatest hits album in the United States; it reached #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart. Her other reflective offerings for Europe
were The Very Best of 1990-2000
and Classics: The Best of Sarah Brightman
. These four compilation albums were intended as a marketing strategy to bridge the gap between Brightman's previous 2003 album Harem
and her next album that would be released on early 2008.
Brightman was one of the artists featured on the January 2007 series of the prime time BBC One show Just the Two of Us, partnered with English cricket
er Mark Butcher
. The pair finished the competition in third place.
Subsequent appearances include the Concert for Diana
in July 2007, where she sang "All I Ask of You
" from The Phantom of the Opera with Josh Groban
. Around 15 million people from across the UK watched Concert for Diana at home, and it was broadcast to over 500 million homes in 140 countries; 7 July 2007 Chinese leg
of Live Earth
in Shanghai, where she performed four songs ("Nessun Dorma
", "La Luna", "Nella Fantasia
" and "Time to Say Goodbye") and debuted her single "Running" at the 2007 IAAF
Championships
in Osaka, Japan on 25 August. She also participated at the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
, where she performed "The Journey Home" on the Jolly Polly Pirate Ship. She recorded a duet with Anne Murray
singing "Snowbird
" on Murray's 2007 album Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends.
On May 2007, Brightman was invited along with Lesley Garrett
to sing at the Wembley Stadium
in London
the anthem " Abide With Me
before the FA Cup
final between Chelsea
and Manchester United.
At a dinner held at The Mansion House
, on 10 September 2008, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
highlighted the urgent need for action to halt tropical deforestation. The Prince invited Brightman to sing at the event they hosted to engage the financial community in the task of finding a solution to the problem of making rainforests worth more alive than dead. The music performed was Nella Fantasia
(used in the soundtrack
of the movie The Mission) and further declared a Hymn
to the rainforests.
On 29 January 2008, Brightman released her first album in five years: Symphony
, influenced by gothic music
. The Title track of the album "Symphony" is a cover of "Symphonie"
by the German band Silbermond
.
In the United States, it became Brightman's most successful chart entry and also her highest ranked album on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums". It was also a #1 album on two other Billboard's charts: "Top Internet Albums" and "Top Classical Crossover Albums". The album moved there 32,033 copies in first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan
. However, the album's success was short-lived in the United States, with sales declining rapidly in the country and disappointing final results. In contrast, the album debuted in top five positions and received multiple Gold and Platinum awards in Canada
, Mexico
, Japan
, Tawian, China
and Poland
, and entered the top twenty across Europe.
Featured on the album were artists Andrea Bocelli
, Fernando Lima
, and KISS
vocalist Paul Stanley
, who duets with Brightman on "I Will Be with You
", the album version of the theme song to the 10th Pocket Monsters
motion picture, Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai (Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai). On 16 January 2008, she also appeared in concert at Vienna’s Stephansdom Cathedral, performing songs from her new album. Special guests who sang duets with Brightman include Italian tenor Alessandro Safina
, Argentinean countertenor Fernando Lima
, and British singer Chris Thompson. Brightman made several appearances on television in the United States to promote Symphony, including Fashion on Ice on NBC
on 12 January, The View on 30 January, Martha
on 31 January and Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel.
She performed two songs, "Pie Jesu
" and "There You'll Be
", at the United States Memorial Day
concert on 25 May 2008 held on the west lawn of the United States Capitol
in Washington D.C.. The top-rated show was broadcast live on PBS
before a concert audience of 300,000 and millions more at home, as well as to American troops serving around the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network. Brightman made her feature film debut as Blind Mag in the rock musical
film Repo! The Genetic Opera
which was released on 7 November 2008. Brightman was cast in the film at the last minute after the original actress who was cast for the role was dropped.
On 8 August 2008, Brightman was honored to sing the Olympic theme song, "You and Me
", with Chinese star Liu Huan in both Mandarin and English at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony
. The event appeased the already established supreme popularity and recognition of Brightman in the Asian country. The performance was broadcast to over five billion viewers. In the 26 hours after the performance, "You and Me" was downloaded 5.7 million times.
On 4 November 2008, Brightman released her first holiday album, entitled A Winter Symphony
, the album debuted at number #38 on the Billboard Top 200 and scored a number six in the Top Holiday Albums, being the first entry for Brightman on this chart. To accompany Symphony
and A Winter Symphony
, Brightman embarked on a tour in Autumn 2008; "The Symphony World Tour" featured new and groundbreaking technology, with virtual and holographic stage sets that had never been seen before in any touring concert production.
In addition to the tour, there were other appearances to promote the Christmas album such as the Walt Disney World
Very Merry Christmas parade
where Brightman sang "Silent Night" airing on ABC
in the Christmas Morning. Brightman also performed in the Japanese TV show Happy Xmas Show (Nippon Television Network) which was aired on NTV
(Japan) on 23 December. Filmed at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Los Angeles
, the songs performed included Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" and "Symphony
". Finally, the "I Believe in Father Christmas" music video was premiered on Amazon
as part of their Twelve Days of Christmas program. The video was featured on the Music Homepage.
, Brightman was appointed as the Shanghai 2010 World Expo Promotion Ambassador in Britain
. In anticipation of the Expo, she launched "Shanghai Week in London", which showcases the city's heritage
and culture
.
In response to persistent calls for a global release of the Symphony: Live in Vienna
concert, EMI Music launched worldwide the PBS
special which features Brightman's landmark performance at Vienna
’s St. Stephen's Cathedral on January 16th, 2008, in both audio and visual formats. The Symphony — Live in Vienna television special debuted on PBS in March 2008 during the network’s spring pledge drive and aired throughout the month. The album broke all-time records of sales in Taiwan
and experienced success in certain Latin American markets.
The music of Brightman was featured in the movie Amarufi: Megami no hôshû (international title: Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess
), which was a special production to mark Fuji Television
's 50th anniversary. The first Japanese movie to be shot entirely on location in Italy. In conjunction with the release of the movie Amalfi, Brightman released only in Japan
an album titled Amalfi - Sarah Brightman Love Songs which reached Gold
status in the aforementioned country.
Autumn 2009 saw Brightman starting a new concert tour called Sarah Brightman In Concert
covering Latin America
with 13 sold-out performances in Mexico
, Venezuela
, Colombia
, Peru
, Chile
, Argentina
, and Brazil
. The last venue of the tour, "The Concert of the Pyramid" featured Brightman performing a concert at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza
, an UNESCO
World Heritage Site
and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World
.
Japanese network NHK
premiered in november 2009 the historical drama series Saka no Ue no Kumo
; to give a boost to the rating of the series they put Brightman in charge of the main theme song for the first season. The song's lyrics are entirely in Japanese
. Titled "Stand Alone," the song was composed by Joe Hisaishi
and written by Kundo Koyama. It was included on the drama's soundtrack album, released on 18 November 2009.
Since January 2010, Brightman is Panasonic
's global brand
ambassador
. Together they launched the song "Shall Be Done" at Panasonic's Olympic Pavilion at LiveCity Yaletown, the official celebration site of the 2010 Winter Games held in Vancouver
, Canada
.
The lyrics of the song express Panasonic's vision
for the next generation as well as Brightman's vision, infusing the spirit of 'ideas for life' of contribution for a sustainable society. The song has been used in a wide range of global promotional activities including stores, advertising, exhibitions and other events.
Back in the United States
she appeared on 15 September 2010 on America's Got Talent
's finale episode before that season's winner was revealed. The soprano was the celebrity guest duetting with ten year old contestant Jackie Evancho
.
Given the increasing popularity of Brightman in Asia
, the artist toured there in late 2010 with 5 gigs in Tokyo
alone, followed by presentations on Kanazawa
, Nagoya, Osaka
in Japan
, Macau
in China
and Seoul
in South Korea
. The singer headed to perform in private events in Canada
and Ukraine
as well as part of the tour.
On 3 November 2010, Brightman was invited to sing at the Tōdai-ji
Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara
, Japan
. The temple is a listed UNESCO
World Heritage Site
as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara". The concert was recorded and later broadcasted nationwide by TBS
network.
On 27 January 2011 Hunan Broadcasting System, China's second biggest television network after China Central Television (CCTV) invited Brightman to participate in their Spring Festival, analogous celebration to the New Year's celebrations in the Western countries. She sang Scarborough Fair
-Brightman's evergreen song in China- and Nessun Dorma
. For the first time it was revealed that Brightman charges an average of US$ 150,000 for interpretation in such events as Chinese media remarked.
When announcing the arrival of Brightman in their country, local press took the opportunity to mention China's appreciation and gratitude for the singer by her donations for the development of that area of China
after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Her popularity continues to rise remarkably in Asia
, with high profile appearances and sales. Brightman was South Korea's best-selling international artist of 2010 with her album Diva: The Singles Collection
charting the almost the whole year in the #1 spot ahead Mariah Carey
, Michael Jackson
, Eminem
, among others. The album was released in 2006, but charted again in both 2009 and 2010 when Brightman toured there with the Symphony World Tour
and Sarah Brightman In Concert With Orchestra
. Diva was certified Double Platinum in South Korea
. Also, her digital single "Nella Fantasia
" has sold 2 million copies in the country.
Brightman's multifaceted profile grants her importance in the music scene that she has today. As her solo version of the single Time to Say Goodbye is a best-seller in Japan
and goes Gold in the same country, SC Films International release their new production under the direction of BAFTA winning producer Stephen Evans
bringing Sarah Brightman and Richard E. Grant
as stars. The film was first screened at 2011' Glasgow Film Festival
, and is to be released on late October, November and early December worldwide. First Night is a story of love's fluctuating fortunes set against a backdrop of visual and vocal beauty.
In parallel, on 1 and 2 October 2011, she made a special appearance during the finale of The Phantom of the Opera
at The Albert Hall
; a fully staged production performed at the famous London
venue - marking 25 years since the musical received its world premiere. Brightman performed the title song backed by five past, present and future Phantoms.
As 2011 ends, Brightman is continuously embraced by global audiences. In Argentina
she dominates the charts and holds with her albums the #1,#2,#3,#4,#7,#8 and #11 positions on the country's top 20's list of the best-selling classical records of the year.
Brightman underwent vocal training first with Elizabeth Hawes, head of the Trinity Music College
in London, and later with Ellen Faull
of Juilliard
. She currently studies with internationally known voice teacher David Romano. She has a three-octave vocal range. According to Brightman, her voice sometimes reaches an F6.
However, her highest note sung in public and in studio is the E6 final of "The Phantom of the Opera".
David Caddick, a conductor of Phantom, has stated:
She sometimes uses her pop and classical voices in the same song. One example is "Anytime, Anywhere" from Eden, a song based on Albinoni's Adagio in G minor
. In the song, she starts out in classical voice, switches to pop voice temporarily, and finishes with her classical voice. Another example is heard in the Lions Gate film Repo! The Genetic Opera
, during the songs "Chase The Morning" and "Chromaggia" by her character, Blind Mag.
Brightman's music is generally classified as classical crossover. According to Manhattan Records
GM Ian Ralfini, she is largely responsible for the popularity of the genre. In a 2000 interview with People
, Brightman dismissed the classical crossover label as "horrible" but stated she understood people's need to categorise music. Her personal influences include '60s and '70s musicians and artists such as David Bowie
and Pink Floyd
, and she incorporates aspects of genres from pop/rock to classical. Her work has also been compared to that of Madonna
, Cher
and Celine Dion
. The material on her albums ranges from versions of opera arias from composers such as Puccini
(on Harem, Eden, and Timeless), to pop songs by artists such as Kansas
("Dust in the Wind
" on Eden), Dido
("Here with Me" on La Luna), and Procol Harum
("A Whiter Shade of Pale
" on La Luna). She sings in many languages which are English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
. In 1983, she divorced Graham-Stewart. She met Andrew Lloyd Webber
when she performed in Cats, and Lloyd Webber later divorced his first wife, Sarah Hugill, to marry her on 22 March 1984. in Hampshire. Their marriage saw intense media and tabloid scrutiny. Brightman acknowledged the marriage in a 1999 interview as a "difficult time" but also one of much creative output. They are currently on friendly terms; at the 20th London anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera, Lloyd Webber called Brightman a "wonderful woman" and "absolutely beloved mentor". He appeared as a special guest in her 1997 concert
at the Royal Albert Hall (London).
Brightman has suffered several personal crises. In February 1992, her 57-year-old father committed suicide by asphyxiation in his car in Hertfordshire after divorce and financial issues. Later, she experienced an ectopic pregnancy
and two miscarriage
s with Peterson. In an interview with British magazine Hello!
, she said motherhood would have been "lovely" but accepted that she would never have a child.
Sarah Brightman has a younger sister, Amelia Brightman, who has collaborated with both Sarah and Gregorian
.
|-
These Duets were announced but were never made:
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, actress, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register
Whistle register
The whistle register is the highest register of the human voice, lying above the modal register and falsetto register...
. She sings in many languages including English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip
Hot Gossip
-Formation:Arlene Phillips came to London to learn and teach developing American Jazz dance routines. Employed as a dance teacher, she taught at locations including the Pineapple Dance Studios and the Italia Conti Stage School. In 1974, Phillips started forming the core of a troupe; Italia Conti...
and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made her West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
debut in Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
and met composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
, whom she married. She went on to star in several Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musicals, including The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
, where she originated the role of Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé is the main female character in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera , the young singer with whom the main character Erik, the Phantom of the Opera falls in love.- Character history :...
. The Original London Cast Album of the musical was released in CD format in 1987 and sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling cast album of all time.
After retiring from the stage and divorcing Lloyd Webber, Brightman resumed her music career with former Enigma
Enigma (musical project)
Enigma is an electronic musical project founded in Germany by Michael Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in 1990. The Romanian-born Cretu conceived the Enigma project while working in Germany, but has based his recording studio A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain, since the early 1990s until May...
producer Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson is a German music producer known for his work with Enigma and artists such as Sarah Brightman, Ofra Haza, Gregorian, Princessa and Andrea Bocelli on his first international album Romanza in 1997....
, this time as a classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
artist. She is often credited as the creator of this genre and remains among the most prominent performers, with worldwide sales of more than 30 million records and 2 million DVDs, establishing herself as the world's best-selling soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
of all time. Her duet with the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
, "Time To Say Goodbye", topped charts all over Europe and became the highest and fastest selling single of all time in Germany, where it stayed at the top of the charts for fourteen consecutive weeks and sold over 3 million copies. It subsequently became an international success selling 12 million copies worldwide. She has now collected over 180 gold and platinum sales awards in 38 different countries.
Brightman is the first artist to have been invited twice to perform at the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, first at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games where she sang "Amigos Para Siempre
Amigos Para Siempre
"Amigos Para Siempre " or "Amics per sempre" is a song written for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber...
" with the Spanish tenor Jose Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
with an estimated global audience of a billion people, and sixteen years later in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, this time with Chinese singer Liu Huan
Liu Huan
Liu Huan is a Chinese Mandopop singer and songwriter.-Biography:Liu graduated from Yaohua High School in Tianjin in 1981. Four years later, he graduated from the University of International Relations in Beijing, majoring in French...
, performing the song "You and Me
You and Me (Olympic theme song)
You and Me is the theme song for the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, which was performed in the opening ceremony of the Olympics by Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman...
" to an estimated 4 billion people worldwide. Since 2010, Brightman is Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
's global brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
. Together they launched the song "Shall Be Done" at the 2010 Winter Games held in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada. Brightman is the element of union in Panasonic's signing of Strategic Partnership Agreement with the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Centre, as she stars the campaign "The World Heritage Special" that is being aired on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
in 183 countries and areas. She has also been named promoter of Malaysia's brand promotion campaign "Econation Campaign".
Apart from music, Brightman has begun a film career, making her debut in Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich....
(2008), a rock opera-musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman
Darren Lynn Bousman
Darren Lynn Bousman is an American film director and screenwriter.-Personal life:Bousman was born in Overland Park, Kansas, the son of Nancy and Lynn Bousman. He is a graduate of the Film School at Full Sail University. He attended high school at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park,...
, and in autumn 2011 and early 2012 Stephen Evans' "First Night", starring opposite Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
. In addition, she formed her own production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
, Instinct Films, where her first film is in pre-production. Brightman ranks among Britain's music millionaires with a fortune of £30m (about US$49m).
Family and early life
Brightman is the oldest of six children of businessman Grenville Geoffrey Brightman (1934–1992) and Paula Brightman (née Hall). She was raised in Little GaddesdenLittle Gaddesden
Little Gaddesden is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire three miles north of Berkhamsted. As well as Little Gaddesden village , the parish contains the settlements of Ashridge , Hudnall , and part of Ringshall .Part of the parish was formerly in Buckinghamshire...
, a village near Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England, and lived in John O'Gaddesden House in the village. At age three, she began taking dance classes at the Elmhurst School for Dance
Elmhurst School for Dance
Elmhurst School for Dance is one of the foremost classical ballet schools in the United Kingdom and is the official associate school of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. First established in Camberley, Surrey, the school is the oldest established vocational dance school in the United Kingdom and...
in Camberley
Camberley
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. and went on to perform in local festivals and competitions. At age 11, she successfully auditioned for The Arts Educational School, Tring Park
The Arts Educational School, Tring Park
Tring Park School for the Performing Arts is an independent co-educational school specialising in dance and performing arts. The school was renamed in January 2009 and was previously known as the Arts Educational School, Tring Park.-Overview:...
, a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
specialising in performing arts. Although Brightman was teased by other students and attempted to run away, she nevertheless remained at the school. Later, she auditioned for the Royal Ballet in London but was rejected. Brightman continued to study dance, particularly jazz, as a pupil of choreographer Arlene Phillips
Arlene Phillips
Arlene Phillips OBE is an English choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, TV presenter, TV judge and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment...
. At 13, on 1973 Brightman made her theatrical debut in the musical I and Albert
I and Albert
I and Albert is a 1972 musical by composer Charles Strouse, and lyricist Lee Adams. The plot is based on the lives of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and was adapted for the stage by Jay Presson Allen.-Production:...
at the Piccadilly Theatre, London, playing one of Queen Victoria's daughters (Vicki).
In 1977, she was recruited to lead Arlene Phillips' troupe Hot Gossip
Hot Gossip
-Formation:Arlene Phillips came to London to learn and teach developing American Jazz dance routines. Employed as a dance teacher, she taught at locations including the Pineapple Dance Studios and the Italia Conti Stage School. In 1974, Phillips started forming the core of a troupe; Italia Conti...
. More provocative than Pan's People, the group had a disco hit in 1978 with "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper
I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper
"I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper", sometimes cited as " Starship Trooper", is a 1978 single written by Jeff Calvert and Max West of Typically Tropical and performed by Sarah Brightman and Hot Gossip...
", which sold half a million and reached number six on the UK charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Hot Gossip released a follow-up single, "The Adventures of the Love Crusader
The Adventures of the Love Crusader
"The Adventures of the Love Crusader" is a 1979 single by Sarah Brightman and The Starship Troopers. The single peaked at #53 in the UK charts.Some pressings were made with red vinyl, and came with a comic book using the song lyrics as the dialogue....
", six months later, but it failed to chart, reaching a high of number 53 on the UK charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Brightman, now solo, released more disco singles under Whisper Records, such as "Not Having That!" and a cover of the song "My Boyfriend's Back
My Boyfriend's Back (song)
"My Boyfriend's Back" was a hit song in 1963 for The Angels, an American girl group. It was written by the songwriting team of Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer . The recording was originally intended as a demo for The Shirelles, but ended up being released as recorded...
". In 1979, Brightman appeared on the soundtrack of the movie "The World Is Full of Married Men
The World Is Full of Married Men
The World Is Full of Married Men is the debut novel of British author Jackie Collins, first published in 1968 by W. H. Allen.-Plot summary:...
" and sings the song "Madam Hyde".
1981–1989: Stage career
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
and was cast as Jemima. In rehearsals she met Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
. After a year in Cats, Brightman took over from Bonnie Langford
Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford is an English actress, dancer and entertainer. She came to prominence as a child star in the early 1970s then she subsequently became a companion of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy's Doctor Who and has appeared on stage in various musicals such as Peter Pan:...
as Kate in The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
at the Drury Lane Theatre, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and appeared as Tara Treetops in Masquerade, a musical based on Kit Williams
Kit Williams
Christopher 'Kit' Williams is an English artist, illustrator and author best known for his book Masquerade, a pictorial storybook which contains clues to the location of a golden jewelled hare created by Williams and then buried "somewhere in Britain."Williams wrote another puzzle book with a bee...
's book of the same title
Masquerade (book)
Masquerade is a children’s book, written and illustrated by Kit Williams, which sparked a treasure hunt by concealing clues to the location of a jewelled golden hare, created and hidden somewhere in Britain by Williams...
. On that year she left to play the title role in Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist.-Life and career:Strouse was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ira and Ethel Strouse...
's children's opera, Nightingale
Nightingale (musical)
Nightingale: A New Musical is a musical in one act, with book, music and lyrics by Charles Strouse...
.
Enticed by a rave review, Webber went to watch her in the show one evening and was flabbergasted. It seemed inconceivable that he could have missed such vocal talent when she'd been in his show for a year. It would be an awakening that would alter more than just his perception of her. It would alter the course of their careers and lives. The two married in 1984, and Brightman appeared in many of Lloyd Webber's subsequent musicals including Song and Dance
Song and Dance
Song and Dance is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a love story.The first part is Tell Me On A Sunday, with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, about a young British woman's romantic misadventures in New York...
and the mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
Requiem
Requiem (Webber)
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem is a requiem mass written in memory of the composer's father, William Lloyd Webber, who died in 1982. Many thought it a surprising turn for such a populist composer as Lloyd Webber to produce a piece of "serious" music, being his first and to date only full-blown...
, the latter written for her.
Scarcely a year later, Brightman's crystalline recording of Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent...
rocketed up the charts, selling 25,000 copies on the first day of release and peaking at number 3; no mean feat for a song in Latin. With classical music permeating the Lloyd Webber household (Brightman was in heavy operatic training at the time), Webber was moved to write the Requiem Mass as a tribute to young victims of war. Its Manhattan premiere, starring Placido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and Sarah Brightman, was filmed by both PBS and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for later broadcast. The LP eventually became UK's top selling classical album of the year and earned Brightman a Grammy nomination as Best New Classical Artist."
Brightman starred as Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé is the main female character in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera , the young singer with whom the main character Erik, the Phantom of the Opera falls in love.- Character history :...
in Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
. The role of Christine was written specifically for her. Lloyd Webber refused to open The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
unless Brightman played Christine. Initially, the American Actors' Equity Association
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
balked, because of their policy that any non-American performer must be an international star. Lloyd Webber had to cast an American in a leading role in his next West End musical
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
before the Equity would allow Brightman to appear (a promise he kept in casting Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
). In the end, it was a compromise that more than paid off. "Phantom" chalked up a staggering $17 million in advance sales prior to opening night on Jan 28, 1988, and generated a public and media frenzy that is unmatched since. The original cast album was the first in British musical history to enter the music charts at number one. Album sales now exceed forty million worldwide and it is the biggest selling cast album of all time, and has gone six times platinum in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, twice platinum in the UK, nine times platinum in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, four times platinum in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, 21 times platinum in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and 17 times platinum in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
After leaving Phantom, she performed in a tour of Lloyd Webber's music throughout England, Canada, and the United States, and performed Requiem in the Soviet Union. Studio recordings from this time include the single "Anything But Lonely" from Aspects of Love and two solo albums: the 1988 album The Trees They Grow So High
The Trees They Grow So High
The Trees They Grow So High is an album of folk songs sung by soprano Sarah Brightman with Geoffrey Parsons on piano...
, a compilation of folk songs accompanied by piano, and the 1989 album The Songs That Got Away
The Songs That Got Away
The Songs That Got Away is an album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. Based on an idea by then husband Andrew Lloyd Webber, all the songs were taken mostly from West End theatre or Broadway theatre that were either unsuccessful, never made it across to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, were...
, a musical theatre compilation of songs cut from shows by composers such as Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
and Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, also Brightman sang the song "Make Believe" at the end during the credits of the children's film "Grandpa"; Howard Blake wrote the music and lyrics.
By 1990, Brightman and Lloyd Webber separated. After their divorce, Brightman played the lead in Lloyd Webber's Aspects
Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
in London opposite Michael Praed
Michael Praed
Michael Praed born Michael David Prince, 1 April 1960 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire) is a British actor, is probably best known for his role as Robin of Loxley in the British television series Robin of Sherwood, which attained cult status worldwide in the 1980s...
, before transferring to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Her work in Aspects notwithstanding, Brightman steeled herself and set forth to find her own footing. Perhaps the most poignant declaration of independence came in the form of her second solo album from this period, an eclectic but personal collection of folk-rock songs that she had hand-picked. It was a departure from musical theatre and indeed, a departure for Webber himself. More tellingly, the album bore a most prescient title: As I Came of Age
As I Came of Age
As I Came Of Age is a studio album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. Sarah follows up The Songs That Got Away with a completely different solo album...
.
1990s: Solo career
Brightman and José CarrerasJosé Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
closed the Barcelona Olympic Games singing the theme song "Amigos Para Siempre" ("Friends forever") to a worldwide audience of 3 billion people. The song was released on seven-inch vinyl and CD single. The CD single also has the rarer Spanish version of the song. The lyrics, written by Don Black, are in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, except for the title phrase which is repeated in English, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
.
Her stage career curtailed, Brightman pursued solo recording in Los Angeles. Inspired by the German band Enigma
Enigma (musical project)
Enigma is an electronic musical project founded in Germany by Michael Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in 1990. The Romanian-born Cretu conceived the Enigma project while working in Germany, but has based his recording studio A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain, since the early 1990s until May...
, she requested to work with one of its members. Her request was answered and in 1991 Brightman traveled to Germany to meet producer Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson is a German music producer known for his work with Enigma and artists such as Sarah Brightman, Ofra Haza, Gregorian, Princessa and Andrea Bocelli on his first international album Romanza in 1997....
. Their first release was Dive
Dive (Sarah Brightman album)
Dive is a concept album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It is her first album with producer Frank Peterson, and a marked departure from her previous operatic works. Its unifying theme is water and the ocean. The song "Captain Nemo" is a cover of the 1990 Dive single...
(1993), a water-themed pop album that featured "Captain Nemo", a cover of a song by the Swedish electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
band Dive
Dive (Swedish band)
Dive was a Swedish band which consisted of Chris Lancelot and Erik Holmberg. They released three albums.A fourth album was recorded but not released. Their debut single was also their biggest commercial success; "Captain Nemo" was later covered by Sarah Brightman on her 1993 album Dive.Both...
. The album is considered Brightman's first success as a recording solo artist, receiving her first Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
award for exceptional sales in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Fly
Fly (Sarah Brightman album)
Fly is an album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It is her second album with producer Frank Peterson and has a stronger pop and rock influence than her previous Broadway and operatic albums; it included collaborations with Andrea Bocelli, Tom Jones and Chris Thompson...
(1995), a pop rock album and her second collaboration with Peterson, propelled Brightman to fame in Europe with the hit "A Question of Honour
A Question of Honour (song)
"A Question of Honour" is a 1995 single by soprano Sarah Brightman, from her album Fly. It peaked at #15 on the German Singles Chart in the last week of 1995, even though it was released over five months earlier....
". The song and the video by Frank Papenbroock
Frank Papenbroock
Frank Papenbroock , born 1963, is a German documentary filmmaker, film director and author. His documentary films cover a variety of topics in areas such as culture & arts, history, science, religion or reportage.- Career :...
introduced at the World Boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Championship match between Germany's
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Henry Maske
Henry Maske
Henry Maske is a German boxer, one of Germany's most popular sports figures.-Amateur career:Maske was an Olympic Gold Medalist 1988 in Seoul for East Germany...
and Graciano Rocchigiani
Graciano Rocchigiani
Graciano "Rocky" Rocchigiani , is a former German professional boxer who held world titles in the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.-Professional career:...
, combined electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
, rock elements, classical strings, and excerpts from the aria "Ebben? ... Ne andrò lontana" from Alfredo Catalani
Alfredo Catalani
Alfredo Catalani was an Italian operatic composer. He is best remembered for his operas Loreley and La Wally...
's opera La Wally
La Wally
La Wally is a four-act opera by Alfredo Catalani, composed on a libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed at La Scala, Milan on 20 January 1892....
.
"Time to Say Goodbye" ("Con te partirò
Con te Partiró
- History :The song's original single release by Polydor Records was not commercially successful in Italy, and received little radio airplay there. Elsewhere, however, it was a massive hit. In France and Switzerland, the single topped the charts for 6 weeks, earning a triple Gold sales award. In...
") was the second Brightman song debuted for Maske, this time at his retirement match. This duet with tenor Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
became an international hit and sold more than 3 million copies in Germany alone, became Germany's best-selling single, and was successful in numerous other countries; the album eventually sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Because of the song's success, a 1996 re-issue of Fly featured "Time to Say Goodbye" as the first track. It is regarded as one of Brightman's, and indeed Bocelli's, signature songs.
Timeless
Time to Say Goodbye (album)
Time to Say Goodbye, known as Timeless in Europe, is Sarah Brightman's most popular album, released in 1997. . The SACD 5.1 version released by EMI is entitled Time to Say Goodbye and follows the American track listing...
(released in 1997, with the title Time to Say Goodbye in the United States) contained "Time to Say Goodbye" and other classical-inspired tracks such as "Just Show Me How to Love You
Just Show Me How to Love You
"Tu Cosa Fai Stasera" is a song by Dario Baldan Bembo/Riccardo Fogli and later made famous by Sarah Brightman, under the title Just Show Me How to Love You, when translated into English.-Sarah Brightman version:...
", a duet with José Cura
José Cura
José Cura is a prominent operatic tenor known for his intense and original interpretations of his characters, notably Verdi’s Otello and Saint-Saëns’ Samson, as well as for his unconventional and innovative concert performances. He is also able to perform high baritone roles with the extended...
(originally sung by Dario Baldambembo with the title "Tu Cosa Fai Stasera?"), a cover of the Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
hit "Who Wants to Live Forever
Who Wants to Live Forever
"Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the English rock band Queen. The song is the sixth track on the album A Kind of Magic, released in June 1986, and was written by guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander, directed by Russell Mulcahy...
", and "Tu Quieres Volver
Tu Quieres Volver
"Tu Quieres Volver" is a song by the Gipsy Kings, released on their self-titled album Gipsy Kings in 1988 .-Sarah Brightman version:...
", (originally recorded by the Gipsy Kings
Gipsy Kings
The Gipsy Kings are a group of musicians from Arles and Montpellier, who perform in Spanish with an Andalucían accent. Although group members were born in France, their parents were mostly gitanos, Spanish Romani people who fled Catalonia during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. Chico Bouchikhi is of...
). The album has sold 1.4 million copies in the US and 4 million worldwide.
In March 1998, her own PBS special, Sarah Brightman: In Concert
Sarah Brightman: In Concert
Sarah Brightman: In Concert is a live concert recording by English soprano Sarah Brightman. Taped in the Royal Albert Hall, it was released on DVD and VHS in 1998 and reissued in 2008 in DVD and CD. Guests in the concert include Adam Clarke, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Andrea Bocelli...
at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, marked the point when she crossed from Billboard's Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart to the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, with Time to Say Goodbye. The same year, Brightman starred A Christmas in Vienna
A Gala Christmas in Vienna
A Gala Christmas in Vienna or Christmas in Vienna V is a DVD released in 1998. Plácido Domingo, Sarah Brightman, Helmut Lotti and Riccardo Cocciante perform traditional and European Christmas songs in Vienna, Austria...
along Placido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
, Helmut Lottie and Riccardo Cocciante
Riccardo Cocciante
Riccardo Cocciante, also known in French-speaking countries as Richard Cocciante , is an Italian singer-songwriter and actor. His oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, and Spanish; he has recorded some of his songs in all three languages.He was born in Saigon, French Indochina, now Ho Chi...
singing traditional Christmas carols. On 7 April 1998 she was one of the guest stars in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th Birthday Celebration singing Hossanaa with Dennis O'Neill
Dennis O'Neill
Dennis O'Neill CBE is a Welsh operatic tenor and recording artist.-Early career:Born of Welsh and Irish parents, he studied privately with Professor Frederic Cox in Manchester and then in London...
, Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent...
, Phantom of the Opera with Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
, All I Ask of You
All I Ask of You
"All I Ask of You" is a song from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of The Phantom of the Opera.It was released as a single on both 7 and 12 inch vinyl in 1986 by Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman.It was certified Silver in the UK....
with Michael Ball
Michael Ball (singer)
Michael Ashley Ball, born 27 June 1962) is a British actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad...
and Music of the Night. In 1999, she appeared on the album I Won't Forget You by Princessa
Princessa
Princessa, born Mónica Capel Cruz, is a Spanish pop/dance singer. Born on 18 May 1975, she first became known for her participation in "World On Ice" in Madrid and in Spain's Gran Circo Mundial. She was discovered by producer Frank Peterson at age 16 and a few years later recorded her first album...
, another artist with whom Peterson had worked.
2000–2004: Further international success
Later albums included EdenEden (Sarah Brightman album)
Eden is a 1998 album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It was released under license by Nemo Studios to Angel Records.Like Brightman's later album, La Luna, Eden juxtaposed mostly English pop songs with mostly Italian opera songs. This was a departure from her previous albums which was almost...
(1998) (the title track of which was a cover of a song by Belgian band Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic are a Belgian rock/pop group, formed in 1995. Though early on categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a lone genre, but rather encompass alternative, electronica, electropop, rock, and mixture of others...
), and La Luna
La Luna (album)
La Luna is a concept album recorded by English soprano Sarah Brightman in 2000. It was released under license by Nemo Studios to Angel Records. The album combines pieces written by classical and modern composers....
(2000). These albums, unlike Time to Say Goodbye, incorporated more pop music elements. Reviews were mixed – LAUNCHcast
LAUNCHcast
Yahoo! Music Radio is an Internet radio service offered by CBS Radio through Yahoo! Music. The service, formerly offered by LAUNCH Media, and originally developed by Todd Beaupré and Jeff Boulter, debuted on November 11, 1999, and was purchased by Yahoo! in October, 2001...
deemed Eden "deliriously sappy", while Allmusic called Eden "a winning combination" and La Luna "a solid, stirring collection".
Eden reached #1 on the US Billboard Classical Crossover chart and #65 on the Billboard 200 charts and was certified Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. La Luna peaked at #17, with 900.000 in US sales and receiving Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
as well. In addition, both albums reached #1 on Billboard's Classical Crossover charts. La Luna also reached #1 on the US Billboard Top Internet Albums and #1 on the Mexican Top 20 International Chart. In 2000, PBS's La Luna concert, Brightman sang There for Me
There for Me (Sarah Brightman song)
"There For Me" is a song composed by Angelo La Bionda, Carmelo La Bionda and Charly Ricanek. It originally appeared on the eponymous debut album of Italian disco duo La Bionda, which was released in 1978...
in a duet with an up and coming star, Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
. At the end of 2001, Billboard magazine noted Brightman as one of four classical crossover artists from the UK (the others being Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
, Russell Watson
Russell Watson
Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club...
, and bond
Bond (band)
Bond is an Australian/British string quartet that specialises in classical crossover music...
) with albums on both the Classical Crossover and Billboard 200 charts, a phenomenon which, it said, contributed to a resurgence of UK music in the US after "a historic low" in 1999.
In 2000, Brightman sold more records than Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and the Rolling Stones, becoming America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
's highest-selling
Selling
Selling is offering to exchange something of value for something else. The something of value being offered may be tangible or intangible. The something else, usually money, is most often seen by the seller as being of equal or greater value than that being offered for sale.Another person or...
and top touring
Touring
Touring may mean:* touring, the estate/wagon version of BMW cars* Bicycle touring* Ski touring* Touring * Carrozzeria Touring* Touring * Touring car racing* a model of Hymer campers* a song by The Ramones* Touring theatre...
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Brightman ventured into film acting in 2000 when she was part of the cast of the German film "Zeit der Erkenntnis", based on Rosamunde Pilcher book.
In 2001, Brightman released Classics
Classics (Sarah Brightman album)
Classics is Sarah Brightman's 2001 album, between La Luna and Encore. It consists in part of previously released material, such as "Time to Say Goodbye" and "Pie Jesu", and new titles such as "Ave Maria" and "Recuerdos de la Alhambra". Entertainment Weekly, although calling Brightman a "stronger...
, a compilation album of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s and other classical pieces including a solo version of "Time to Say Goodbye"; this was released worldwide except Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In the US the album peaked at #66 on the Billboard's 200 charts and went Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. It reached #2 on Billboard's Classical Crossover charts, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
although calling Brightman a "stronger song stylist than a singer", gave the album a grade of B-.
-. Classics was re-released in the Europe as "Classics: The Best of Sarah Brightman" in 2006. The European edition has the same cover art, but a different track listing.
In 2002, Brightman released "The secret" on SASH!
Sash!
SASH! is a German DJ / producer team, fronted by Sascha Lappessen , who works in the recording studio with Ralf Kappmeier and Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke. They have sold over 18 million albums worldwide and earned more than 65 Gold and Platinum awards.-History:Sascha Lappessen, Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke,...
's fourth studio album S4!Sash!
S4!Sash!
S4!Sash! is the fourth studio album by the German producer team Sash!. The album was a two-disc set, released in 2002. The most successful single was "Ganbareh!" released in Jun 24th 2002, which reached #43 in the German charts....
. This song was re-released in 2007 as "The secret 2007 (Unreleased)" on SASH!'s sixth album 10th Anniversary
10th Anniversary (Sash! album)
10th Anniversary is the sixth album by German DJ Sash!. It includes 16 hit singles, a Reloaded version of Ecuador, previously unreleased songs, plus a bonus DVD including videoclips to all the songs from the album.-CD 1:Note:...
.
Her 2003 album Harem
Harem (album)
Harem is a 2003 album by English singer Sarah Brightman. It mixes her operatic voice with Middle-Eastern and Indian rhythms and vocals. Thanks to an idea of Frank Peterson, the producer of this album, in the song "Mysterious Days", they included the vocals of the late singer Ofra Haza, who worked...
represented another departure: a Middle Eastern-themed
Middle Eastern music
The music of Western Asia and North Africa spans across a vast region, from Morocco to Afghanistan, and its influences can be felt even further afield. Middle Eastern music influenced the music of India, as well as Central Asia, Spain, Southern Italy, the Caucasus and the Balkans, as in chalga...
album influenced by dance music. On Harem, Brightman collaborated with artists such as Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemeni origin, an actress and international recording artist....
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i singer Kazem al-Saher. Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
contributed violin tracks to the songs "Free
Free (Sarah Brightman song)
"Free" is a song performed by English classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman from her ninth studio album, Harem . It was originally written in German by Matthias Meissner and Thomas Schwarz. The song was then re-written in English by Brightman in collaboration with Sophie B. Hawkins. The track...
" and "The War is Over", and Jaz Coleman
Jaz Coleman
Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is a musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is notable for his vocal contributions to rock band Killing Joke...
contributed arrangements.
The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 charts (with sales tracked by Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
figuring at approximately 333,000, or about one-third the total sales of La Luna), #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart and #1 on the Swedish Album Chart and yielded a #1 dance/club single with the remix of the title track. Some time later, another single from the album (the ballad "Free", cowritten with Sophie B. Hawkins
Sophie B. Hawkins
Sophie Ballantine Hawkins is an American singer, songwriter, musician and painter. Her biggest hits are "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover", "Right Beside You", and "As I Lay Me Down".- Career :...
) became a second Top-10 hit on this chart. A year later of the album's release, Harem was referred as a multi-million seller in EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's annual music sales report.
The albums Eden, La Luna and Harem were accompanied by live world tours which incorporated the theatricality of her stage origins. Brightman acknowledged this in an interview, saying, "They're incredibly complicated...[but also] natural. I know what works, what doesn't work, all the old tricks." In both 2000 and 2001, Brightman was among the top 10 most popular British performers in the US, with concert sales grossing $7.2 million from 34 shows in 2000 and over $5 million from 21 shows in 2001.
In 2004 the Harem tour grossed $60 million and sold 800,000 tickets, $15 million and 225,000 sales of which came from the North American leg, although with ticket prices raised 30% from previous tours, average sales per venue were up 65%. In North America, Harem tour promoters Clear Channel Entertainment (now Live Nation
Live Nation
Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....
) took the unusual step of advertising to theatre subscribers, in an effort to reach fans of Brightman's Broadway performances, and also sold VIP tickets, at $750 each, that included in-stage seating during the concert and a backstage pass
Backstage pass
A backstage pass is an employee pass which allows its bearer access to employees-only areas at a performance venue. They are most commonly associated with rock music groups....
. Tour reviews were mixed: one critic from the New York Times called the La Luna tour "not so much divine but post-human" and "unintentionally disturbing: a beautiful argument of emptiness." In contrast, a reviewer from the Boston Globe deemed the Harem tour "unique, compelling" and "charmingly effective."
Television specials on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
were produced for nearly every Brightman album in the U.S.; a director of marketing has credited these as her number-one source of exposure in the country. Indeed, her concert for Eden was among PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's highest-grossing pledge events.
2006–2008: Diva and Symphony
Brightman released a DVD collection of her music videos on 3 October 2006 under the title of Diva: The Video Collection. The Singles CollectionDiva: The Singles Collection
- Track listing :# "The Phantom of the Opera" – 4:39# "Music of the Night" – 5:25# "Pie Jesu" – 3:58...
is the accompanying CD, released on the same date. The album marked the first time Brightman has released a greatest hits album in the United States; it reached #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart. Her other reflective offerings for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
were The Very Best of 1990-2000
The Very Best of 1990-2000
The Very Best of 1990–2000 is a 2001 compilation album by Sarah Brightman. It features songs from the albums produced by Frank Peterson. Also notable is that the Richard Marx collaboration, "The Last Words You Said", makes its debut in the UK, as it was previously available only on the U.S...
and Classics: The Best of Sarah Brightman
Classics: The Best of Sarah Brightman
Classics: The Best of Sarah Brightman is a European-only compilation album by classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman. An earlier version of Classics was released Worldwide, except for Europe, in 2001...
. These four compilation albums were intended as a marketing strategy to bridge the gap between Brightman's previous 2003 album Harem
Harem (album)
Harem is a 2003 album by English singer Sarah Brightman. It mixes her operatic voice with Middle-Eastern and Indian rhythms and vocals. Thanks to an idea of Frank Peterson, the producer of this album, in the song "Mysterious Days", they included the vocals of the late singer Ofra Haza, who worked...
and her next album that would be released on early 2008.
Brightman was one of the artists featured on the January 2007 series of the prime time BBC One show Just the Two of Us, partnered with English cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Mark Butcher
Mark Butcher
Mark Alan Butcher is a former English Test cricketer, who played county cricket for Surrey from 1992 until his retirement from the sport in 2009. He was a left-handed batsman, and occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler....
. The pair finished the competition in third place.
Subsequent appearances include the Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the then new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death...
in July 2007, where she sang "All I Ask of You
All I Ask of You
"All I Ask of You" is a song from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of The Phantom of the Opera.It was released as a single on both 7 and 12 inch vinyl in 1986 by Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman.It was certified Silver in the UK....
" from The Phantom of the Opera with Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
. Around 15 million people from across the UK watched Concert for Diana at home, and it was broadcast to over 500 million homes in 140 countries; 7 July 2007 Chinese leg
Live Earth concert, Shanghai
The Live Earth concert in China was held at Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai on 7 July 2007.-Running order:*Evonne Hsu - "Love on July 7", "Lost in Venice", "I" *Anthony Wong - "The Little Prince", "The Season", "Venus"...
of Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
in Shanghai, where she performed four songs ("Nessun Dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
", "La Luna", "Nella Fantasia
Nella Fantasia
"Nella Fantasia" is an Italian song based on the theme "Gabriel's Oboe" from the film The Mission . With music by famed composer Ennio Morricone and lyrics by Chiara Ferraù, "Nella Fantasia" is popular among classical crossover singers, and was originally sung by Sarah Brightman...
" and "Time to Say Goodbye") and debuted her single "Running" at the 2007 IAAF
International Association of Athletics Federations
The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation...
Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
in Osaka, Japan on 25 August. She also participated at the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
, where she performed "The Journey Home" on the Jolly Polly Pirate Ship. She recorded a duet with Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
singing "Snowbird
Snowbird (song)
"Snowbird" is a song by the Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan. Though it has been recorded by many performers , it is best known through Anne Murray's 1970 version, which launched her into a long career of international exposure. It was a #2 hit on Canada's pop chart and went to #1 on both the...
" on Murray's 2007 album Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends.
On May 2007, Brightman was invited along with Lesley Garrett
Lesley Garrett
Lesley Garrett CBE is an English musician, broadcaster and media personality.- Early life :Garrett was born in the town of Thorne near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, into a musical family. She attended Thorne Grammar School, where she performed in school plays and musicals. As she grew up she...
to sing at the Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
the anthem " Abide With Me
Abide With Me
The hymn tune most often used with this hymn is "Eventide" composed by William Henry Monk in 1861.Alternate tunes include:* "Abide with Me," Henry Lyte, 1847* "Morecambe", Frederick C...
before the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final between Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
and Manchester United.
At a dinner held at The Mansion House
Mansion House, London
Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London in London, England. It is used for some of the City of London's official functions, including an annual dinner, hosted by the Lord Mayor, at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer customarily gives a speech – his...
, on 10 September 2008, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
highlighted the urgent need for action to halt tropical deforestation. The Prince invited Brightman to sing at the event they hosted to engage the financial community in the task of finding a solution to the problem of making rainforests worth more alive than dead. The music performed was Nella Fantasia
Nella Fantasia
"Nella Fantasia" is an Italian song based on the theme "Gabriel's Oboe" from the film The Mission . With music by famed composer Ennio Morricone and lyrics by Chiara Ferraù, "Nella Fantasia" is popular among classical crossover singers, and was originally sung by Sarah Brightman...
(used in the soundtrack
The Mission (soundtrack)
The Mission is the soundtrack from the film of the same name , composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Ennio Morricone. The work combines liturgical chorales, native drumming, and Spanish-influenced guitars, often in the same track, in an attempt to capture the varying cultures depicted...
of the movie The Mission) and further declared a Hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
to the rainforests.
On 29 January 2008, Brightman released her first album in five years: Symphony
Symphony (album)
Symphony is an album from the English Soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in January 2008 . This classical crossover album is a contrast to her previous collaboration with producer Frank Peterson, 2003's Harem; using more Gothic influences instead of Eastern."Running" was the IAAF's Green...
, influenced by gothic music
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
. The Title track of the album "Symphony" is a cover of "Symphonie"
Symphonie (song)
"Symphonie" is a single released by the German band, Silbermond in 2004 -Cover versions:Soprano singer Sarah Brightman covered the song in English, with the title "Symphony" in 2008. Brightman also used it for the title of the respective album, Symphony...
by the German band Silbermond
Silbermond
Silbermond is a German rock band from Bautzen, Saxony. The band consists of Stefanie Kloß, Andreas Nowak, Johannes and Thomas Stolle.-Biography:...
.
In the United States, it became Brightman's most successful chart entry and also her highest ranked album on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums". It was also a #1 album on two other Billboard's charts: "Top Internet Albums" and "Top Classical Crossover Albums". The album moved there 32,033 copies in first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. However, the album's success was short-lived in the United States, with sales declining rapidly in the country and disappointing final results. In contrast, the album debuted in top five positions and received multiple Gold and Platinum awards in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Tawian, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and entered the top twenty across Europe.
Featured on the album were artists Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
, Fernando Lima
Fernando Lima
Fernando Lima is a Spanish language classical music singer and is a countertenor.At the age of 10 he moved to Madrid, Spain...
, and KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
vocalist Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
, who duets with Brightman on "I Will Be with You
Where the Lost Ones Go
"Where the Lost Ones Go" is a single from Norwegian singer Sissel's All Good Things album, released in 2001 . It is a duet with Espen Lind, written by Espen Lind and Magnus Rostadmo. It also appeared on Espen Lind's This Is Pop Music album...
", the album version of the theme song to the 10th Pocket Monsters
Pokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
motion picture, Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai (Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai). On 16 January 2008, she also appeared in concert at Vienna’s Stephansdom Cathedral, performing songs from her new album. Special guests who sang duets with Brightman include Italian tenor Alessandro Safina
Alessandro Safina
Alessandro Safina is an Italian operatic tenor.Born in Siena, Italy, Safina's love of opera was encouraged early in life by his mother encouraged his eagerness. His father was also a singer....
, Argentinean countertenor Fernando Lima
Fernando Lima
Fernando Lima is a Spanish language classical music singer and is a countertenor.At the age of 10 he moved to Madrid, Spain...
, and British singer Chris Thompson. Brightman made several appearances on television in the United States to promote Symphony, including Fashion on Ice on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on 12 January, The View on 30 January, Martha
Martha (TV series)
Martha, also known as The Martha Stewart Show, is an American, weekday one-hour talk show hosted by Martha Stewart. Previously airing in first-run syndication, the show began exclusively airing on cable network Hallmark Channel since September 13, 2010.-History:The program originally debuted on...
on 31 January and Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel.
She performed two songs, "Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent...
" and "There You'll Be
There You'll Be
"There You'll Be" is a song by Faith Hill, which became a hit single in 2001. Written by Diane Warren and Alan Menken, known for his Disney film scores such as "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Pocahontas" and "Tangled", it was featured on the Pearl Harbor soundtrack...
", at the United States Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
concert on 25 May 2008 held on the west lawn of the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
in Washington D.C.. The top-rated show was broadcast live on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
before a concert audience of 300,000 and millions more at home, as well as to American troops serving around the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network. Brightman made her feature film debut as Blind Mag in the rock musical
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
film Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich....
which was released on 7 November 2008. Brightman was cast in the film at the last minute after the original actress who was cast for the role was dropped.
On 8 August 2008, Brightman was honored to sing the Olympic theme song, "You and Me
You and Me (Olympic theme song)
You and Me is the theme song for the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, which was performed in the opening ceremony of the Olympics by Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman...
", with Chinese star Liu Huan in both Mandarin and English at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony
2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture...
. The event appeased the already established supreme popularity and recognition of Brightman in the Asian country. The performance was broadcast to over five billion viewers. In the 26 hours after the performance, "You and Me" was downloaded 5.7 million times.
On 4 November 2008, Brightman released her first holiday album, entitled A Winter Symphony
A Winter Symphony
A Winter Symphony is a Christmas album from the English soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in November 2008.-Album information:The album borrows its name from Brightman's earlier 2008 album, Symphony...
, the album debuted at number #38 on the Billboard Top 200 and scored a number six in the Top Holiday Albums, being the first entry for Brightman on this chart. To accompany Symphony
Symphony (album)
Symphony is an album from the English Soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in January 2008 . This classical crossover album is a contrast to her previous collaboration with producer Frank Peterson, 2003's Harem; using more Gothic influences instead of Eastern."Running" was the IAAF's Green...
and A Winter Symphony
A Winter Symphony
A Winter Symphony is a Christmas album from the English soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in November 2008.-Album information:The album borrows its name from Brightman's earlier 2008 album, Symphony...
, Brightman embarked on a tour in Autumn 2008; "The Symphony World Tour" featured new and groundbreaking technology, with virtual and holographic stage sets that had never been seen before in any touring concert production.
In addition to the tour, there were other appearances to promote the Christmas album such as the Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
Very Merry Christmas parade
Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade
The Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade is an American television special that airs on Christmas Day on the ABC, taped primarily inside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, approximately one month prior to Christmas Day...
where Brightman sang "Silent Night" airing on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the Christmas Morning. Brightman also performed in the Japanese TV show Happy Xmas Show (Nippon Television Network) which was aired on NTV
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
(Japan) on 23 December. Filmed at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the songs performed included Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" and "Symphony
Symphony (album)
Symphony is an album from the English Soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in January 2008 . This classical crossover album is a contrast to her previous collaboration with producer Frank Peterson, 2003's Harem; using more Gothic influences instead of Eastern."Running" was the IAAF's Green...
". Finally, the "I Believe in Father Christmas" music video was premiered on Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
as part of their Twelve Days of Christmas program. The video was featured on the Music Homepage.
2009–present: Rise in Latin American and Asian markets
Following her performance at the Beijing Olympics2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, Brightman was appointed as the Shanghai 2010 World Expo Promotion Ambassador in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In anticipation of the Expo, she launched "Shanghai Week in London", which showcases the city's heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
.
In response to persistent calls for a global release of the Symphony: Live in Vienna
Symphony: Live in Vienna
Symphony: Live in Vienna is a live concert by Sarah Brightman, inspired by her Symphony album. It was originally only available as a premium for a donation to the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States...
concert, EMI Music launched worldwide the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
special which features Brightman's landmark performance at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
’s St. Stephen's Cathedral on January 16th, 2008, in both audio and visual formats. The Symphony — Live in Vienna television special debuted on PBS in March 2008 during the network’s spring pledge drive and aired throughout the month. The album broke all-time records of sales in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and experienced success in certain Latin American markets.
The music of Brightman was featured in the movie Amarufi: Megami no hôshû (international title: Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess
Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess
is a 2009 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Nishitani.TV drama sequel Diplomat Kosaku Kuroda....
), which was a special production to mark Fuji Television
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
's 50th anniversary. The first Japanese movie to be shot entirely on location in Italy. In conjunction with the release of the movie Amalfi, Brightman released only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
an album titled Amalfi - Sarah Brightman Love Songs which reached Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
status in the aforementioned country.
Autumn 2009 saw Brightman starting a new concert tour called Sarah Brightman In Concert
Sarah Brightman In Concert
Sarah Brightman In Concert is a concert tour by the British singer Sarah Brightman.After the Symphony World Tour, Brightman started another world tour in October 2009, visiting first Mexico closing Festival Internacional de Chihuahua in Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium...
covering Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
with 13 sold-out performances in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The last venue of the tour, "The Concert of the Pyramid" featured Brightman performing a concert at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
, an UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World
New Seven Wonders of the World
New7Wonders of the World was an initiative started in 2001 by the Swiss corporation New7Wonders Foundation to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. A popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation based in...
.
Japanese network NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
premiered in november 2009 the historical drama series Saka no Ue no Kumo
Saka no ue no kumo
, "Cloud over the slope," is a popular Japanese historical novel by Shiba Ryōtarō originally published serially from 1968 to 1972 in eight volumes...
; to give a boost to the rating of the series they put Brightman in charge of the main theme song for the first season. The song's lyrics are entirely in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. Titled "Stand Alone," the song was composed by Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
and written by Kundo Koyama. It was included on the drama's soundtrack album, released on 18 November 2009.
Since January 2010, Brightman is Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
's global brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
. Together they launched the song "Shall Be Done" at Panasonic's Olympic Pavilion at LiveCity Yaletown, the official celebration site of the 2010 Winter Games held in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The lyrics of the song express Panasonic's vision
Vision
Vision or visions may refer to:* Visual perception, interpreting what is seen* Visual system, the sensory mechanism of eyesight* Vision , inspirational experiences* Hallucination, vivid conscious perception in the absence of a stimulus...
for the next generation as well as Brightman's vision, infusing the spirit of 'ideas for life' of contribution for a sustainable society. The song has been used in a wide range of global promotional activities including stores, advertising, exhibitions and other events.
Back in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
she appeared on 15 September 2010 on America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
's finale episode before that season's winner was revealed. The soprano was the celebrity guest duetting with ten year old contestant Jackie Evancho
Jackie Evancho
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the...
.
Given the increasing popularity of Brightman in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, the artist toured there in late 2010 with 5 gigs in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
alone, followed by presentations on Kanazawa
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.-Geography, climate, and population:Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers. Its total area is 467.77 km².Kanazawa's...
, Nagoya, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. The singer headed to perform in private events in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
as well as part of the tour.
On 3 November 2010, Brightman was invited to sing at the Tōdai-ji
Todai-ji
, is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall , the largest wooden building in the world, houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu . The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the ...
Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The temple is a listed UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara". The concert was recorded and later broadcasted nationwide by TBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
network.
On 27 January 2011 Hunan Broadcasting System, China's second biggest television network after China Central Television (CCTV) invited Brightman to participate in their Spring Festival, analogous celebration to the New Year's celebrations in the Western countries. She sang Scarborough Fair
Scarborough Fair
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional ballad of the United Kingdom.The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she...
-Brightman's evergreen song in China- and Nessun Dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
. For the first time it was revealed that Brightman charges an average of US$ 150,000 for interpretation in such events as Chinese media remarked.
When announcing the arrival of Brightman in their country, local press took the opportunity to mention China's appreciation and gratitude for the singer by her donations for the development of that area of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Her popularity continues to rise remarkably in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, with high profile appearances and sales. Brightman was South Korea's best-selling international artist of 2010 with her album Diva: The Singles Collection
Diva: The Singles Collection
- Track listing :# "The Phantom of the Opera" – 4:39# "Music of the Night" – 5:25# "Pie Jesu" – 3:58...
charting the almost the whole year in the #1 spot ahead Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, among others. The album was released in 2006, but charted again in both 2009 and 2010 when Brightman toured there with the Symphony World Tour
The Symphony World Tour
Symphony The World Tour was a concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman that started on January 16, 2008 in the city of Vienna, Austria and concluded on April 5, 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan. There were special guests that joined Brightman in the concerts: Argentinean countertenor Fernando...
and Sarah Brightman In Concert With Orchestra
Sarah Brightman In Concert With Orchestra
Sarah Brightman In Concert With Orchestra is a tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman in October 2010 with performances in Canada, Japan, Macau, Korea and Ukraine.These performances were from a more traditional classical standpoint...
. Diva was certified Double Platinum in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. Also, her digital single "Nella Fantasia
Nella Fantasia
"Nella Fantasia" is an Italian song based on the theme "Gabriel's Oboe" from the film The Mission . With music by famed composer Ennio Morricone and lyrics by Chiara Ferraù, "Nella Fantasia" is popular among classical crossover singers, and was originally sung by Sarah Brightman...
" has sold 2 million copies in the country.
Brightman's multifaceted profile grants her importance in the music scene that she has today. As her solo version of the single Time to Say Goodbye is a best-seller in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and goes Gold in the same country, SC Films International release their new production under the direction of BAFTA winning producer Stephen Evans
Stephen Evans
Stephen Evans is a British actor and comedy writer in theater, film, radio and television. He graduated with a BA degree in Theatre at Dartington College of Arts in Devon ....
bringing Sarah Brightman and Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
as stars. The film was first screened at 2011' Glasgow Film Festival
Glasgow Film Festival
Glasgow Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Glasgow, Scotland, started in 2005.-2010:2010's festival took place between 18-28th February. The opening gala featured Jean-Pierre Jeunet's latest film, Micmacs with the director there to present the film. Other guests included Peter...
, and is to be released on late October, November and early December worldwide. First Night is a story of love's fluctuating fortunes set against a backdrop of visual and vocal beauty.
In parallel, on 1 and 2 October 2011, she made a special appearance during the finale of The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
at The Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
; a fully staged production performed at the famous London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
venue - marking 25 years since the musical received its world premiere. Brightman performed the title song backed by five past, present and future Phantoms.
As 2011 ends, Brightman is continuously embraced by global audiences. In Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
she dominates the charts and holds with her albums the #1,#2,#3,#4,#7,#8 and #11 positions on the country's top 20's list of the best-selling classical records of the year.
Legal action against YouTube
Frank Peterson, a German composer, producer and copyright holder for several of Sarah Brightman's performances, sued YouTube in Germany for allowing Brightman's work to be posted by users. The Hamburg state court has now ruled that Google Inc.'s subsidiary YouTube LLC must pay.Music and voice
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
in London, and later with Ellen Faull
Ellen Faull
Ellen Hartla Faull was an American operatic soprano and distinguished voice teacher. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was primarily associated with New York City Opera, where she sang from 1947 until 1978 and created the role of Abigail Borden in Jack Beeson's opera Lizzie Borden in its 1965...
of Juilliard
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. She currently studies with internationally known voice teacher David Romano. She has a three-octave vocal range. According to Brightman, her voice sometimes reaches an F6.
However, her highest note sung in public and in studio is the E6 final of "The Phantom of the Opera".
David Caddick, a conductor of Phantom, has stated:
"What is amazing about Sarah is that she has two voices, really. She can produce a pop, contemporary sound, but she can also blossom out into a light soprano. The soprano part of her voice can go up to an E natural above high C. She doesn’t sing it full out, but it is there. Of course, she has to dance while she is singing some of the time, so it’s all the more extraordinary."
She sometimes uses her pop and classical voices in the same song. One example is "Anytime, Anywhere" from Eden, a song based on Albinoni's Adagio in G minor
Adagio in G minor
The Adagio in G minor for violin, strings and organ continuo, is a neo-Baroque composition popularly attributed to the 18th-century Venetian master Tomaso Albinoni, but composed by the 20th-century musicologist and Albinoni biographer Remo Giazotto and based on the disputed discovery of a...
. In the song, she starts out in classical voice, switches to pop voice temporarily, and finishes with her classical voice. Another example is heard in the Lions Gate film Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich....
, during the songs "Chase The Morning" and "Chromaggia" by her character, Blind Mag.
Brightman's music is generally classified as classical crossover. According to Manhattan Records
Manhattan Records
Manhattan Records is a United States record label, owned by EMI and operates as a subsidiary of The Blue Note Label Group.-Company history:Manhattan Records was formed in 1984 by Bruce Lundvall, and was later renamed EMI Manhattan Records after absorbing EMI America Records imprint...
GM Ian Ralfini, she is largely responsible for the popularity of the genre. In a 2000 interview with People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
, Brightman dismissed the classical crossover label as "horrible" but stated she understood people's need to categorise music. Her personal influences include '60s and '70s musicians and artists such as David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, and she incorporates aspects of genres from pop/rock to classical. Her work has also been compared to that of Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
and Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
. The material on her albums ranges from versions of opera arias from composers such as Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
(on Harem, Eden, and Timeless), to pop songs by artists such as Kansas
Kansas (band)
Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...
("Dust in the Wind
Dust in the Wind
"Dust in the Wind" is a song by American progressive rock band Kansas, first released on their 1977 album Point of Know Return.The song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 22, 1978, making it Kansas' only top ten Billboard Hot 100 charting single...
" on Eden), Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
("Here with Me" on La Luna), and Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
("A Whiter Shade of Pale
A Whiter Shade of Pale
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well...
" on La Luna). She sings in many languages which are English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
Personal life
At age 18, in 1979, Brightman married Andrew Graham-Stewart, who then managed the German band Tangerine DreamTangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
. In 1983, she divorced Graham-Stewart. She met Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
when she performed in Cats, and Lloyd Webber later divorced his first wife, Sarah Hugill, to marry her on 22 March 1984. in Hampshire. Their marriage saw intense media and tabloid scrutiny. Brightman acknowledged the marriage in a 1999 interview as a "difficult time" but also one of much creative output. They are currently on friendly terms; at the 20th London anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera, Lloyd Webber called Brightman a "wonderful woman" and "absolutely beloved mentor". He appeared as a special guest in her 1997 concert
Sarah Brightman: In Concert
Sarah Brightman: In Concert is a live concert recording by English soprano Sarah Brightman. Taped in the Royal Albert Hall, it was released on DVD and VHS in 1998 and reissued in 2008 in DVD and CD. Guests in the concert include Adam Clarke, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Andrea Bocelli...
at the Royal Albert Hall (London).
Brightman has suffered several personal crises. In February 1992, her 57-year-old father committed suicide by asphyxiation in his car in Hertfordshire after divorce and financial issues. Later, she experienced an ectopic pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy, or eccysis , is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo implants outside the uterine cavity. With rare exceptions, ectopic pregnancies are not viable. Furthermore, they are dangerous for the parent, since internal haemorrhage is a life threatening complication...
and two miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
s with Peterson. In an interview with British magazine Hello!
Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
, she said motherhood would have been "lovely" but accepted that she would never have a child.
Sarah Brightman has a younger sister, Amelia Brightman, who has collaborated with both Sarah and Gregorian
Gregorian (band)
Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...
.
Awards
- 1986 Grammy Nomination, Best Classical Artist, USUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- 1996 Echo Award nomination: Best Female Artist, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 1996 RSH Gold: Best Female Artist, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 1997 Echo Award nomination: Best Female Artist
- 1998 Echo Award: Best Song Time To Say Goodbye
- 1998 Golden Lion Award: Best Live Performance, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 1998 Goldene Europa Award: Best Female Artist, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 1998 Guinness Book Entry: Germany’s Best-Selling Single of All Time Time to Say Goodbye
- 1998 Grammy TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
: Best Selling Record TimelessTime to Say Goodbye (album)Time to Say Goodbye, known as Timeless in Europe, is Sarah Brightman's most popular album, released in 1997. . The SACD 5.1 version released by EMI is entitled Time to Say Goodbye and follows the American track listing...
- 1998 UnescoUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Hand-in-Hand Award
- 1999 Czechoslovakian Grammy: Singer of the Year
- 1999 Echo Award nomination: Best Female Artist, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 1999 The Point Trophy, Dublin-IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
: Highest-Grossing Ticket Sales One Night in EdenOne Night in EdenOne Night in Eden is a live concert recording by Sarah Brightman, inspired by her Eden album. The premiere concert held in Johannesburg, South Africa was recorded in 1999 and has been released on DVD and VHS.- Track listing :# "Introduction"...
- 2000 IFPIIFPIThe International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland...
Award, Europe: Album sales exceeding one million copies in Europe TimelessTime to Say Goodbye (album)Time to Say Goodbye, known as Timeless in Europe, is Sarah Brightman's most popular album, released in 1997. . The SACD 5.1 version released by EMI is entitled Time to Say Goodbye and follows the American track listing...
- 2001 New Age Voice Music Award, USUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
: Best Vocal Album
- 2003 Media Control Award, GAS: Biggest Hit of All Time Time To Say Goodbye
- 2004 Arabian Music Award: Best Collaboration (“The War Is Over” with Kazim Al Saher)
- 2004 Arabian Music Award: Best Female Artist
- 2005 New York Film Festival: First Prize, Music Documentary (A Desert Fantasy)
- 2005 New York Film Festival: Third Prize, Music Video Time to Say Goodbye
- 2007 The 21st Japan Gold Disc Award 2007: Classic Album of the Year Diva: The Singles CollectionDiva: The Singles Collection- Track listing :# "The Phantom of the Opera" – 4:39# "Music of the Night" – 5:25# "Pie Jesu" – 3:58...
- 2009 The 23rd Japan Gold Disc Award 2009: Classic Album of the Year A Winter SymphonyA Winter SymphonyA Winter Symphony is a Christmas album from the English soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in November 2008.-Album information:The album borrows its name from Brightman's earlier 2008 album, Symphony...
- 2009 The 24th Japan Gold Disc Award 2010: Classic Album of the Year Amalfi - Sarah Brightman Love Songs
- 2009 Mexico's Lunas del Auditorio nomination: Best Pop-album in foreign language Symphony: Live in ViennaSymphony: Live in ViennaSymphony: Live in Vienna is a live concert by Sarah Brightman, inspired by her Symphony album. It was originally only available as a premium for a donation to the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States...
- 2010 Mexico's Lunas del Auditorio nomination: Best Pop-artist in foreign language
- Golden KeyGolden keyGolden key or Golden Key can mean:* the Latin phrase clavis aurea, used metaphorically in literature* Golden Key International Honour Society...
to the city of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- Golden KeyGolden keyGolden key or Golden Key can mean:* the Latin phrase clavis aurea, used metaphorically in literature* Golden Key International Honour Society...
to the city of IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
Musicals
- I and AlbertI and AlbertI and Albert is a 1972 musical by composer Charles Strouse, and lyricist Lee Adams. The plot is based on the lives of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and was adapted for the stage by Jay Presson Allen.-Production:...
(as Vicky and street waif), 1973 Picadilly Theatre, London - CatsCats (musical)Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
(as Jemima), 1981 New London Theatre - The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
(as Kate), 1982 - Masquerade (as Tara Treetops), 1982
- NightingaleNightingale (musical)Nightingale: A New Musical is a musical in one act, with book, music and lyrics by Charles Strouse...
(as Nightingale), 1982 Buxton Festival and the Lyric, Hammersmith - Song and DanceSong and DanceSong and Dance is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a love story.The first part is Tell Me On A Sunday, with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, about a young British woman's romantic misadventures in New York...
(as the girl), Palace Theatre in London on 28 April 1984 - The Merry WidowThe Merry WidowThe Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
(as Valencienne), 1985 - The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
(as Christine Daaé), 1986 Her Majesty's Theatre London, 1988 Broadway - Aspects of LoveAspects of LoveAspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
(as Rose Vibert), 1990
Plays
- Trelawny of the WellsTrelawny of the 'Wells'Trelawny of the 'Wells' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society.-Synopsis:...
(as Rose Trelawney), 1992 - Relative ValuesRelative Values (play)Relative Values is a three-act comedy by Noël Coward. A satire of snobbery in all its guises, it deals with the clash of cultures between Hollywood stars and the English aristocracy, and with "the ancient and inaccurate assumption that, as we are equal in the eyes of God, we should be equal in the...
(as Miranda Frayle), 1993 Chichester Festival and Savoy Theatre - Dangerous ObsessionDangerous ObsessionDangerous Obsession is a psychological thriller written by N. J. Crisp which premièred at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on 9 November 1987.Crisp's play was filmed in 1999 as Darkness Falls, starring Ray Winstone, Tim Dutton and Sherilyn Fenn...
(as Sally Driscoll), 1994 Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke - The InnocentsThe Innocents (play)The Innocents is a 1976 play written by William Archiblad. The show opened at the Morosco Theatre on October 21, 1976 and closed on October 30, 1976 after 12 performances.-Setting:...
(as Miss Giddens), 1995 Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke
Filmography
- Granpa, 1989 animated children's film, singing "Make Believe" over the end credits
- Brokedown PalaceBrokedown PalaceBrokedown Palace is an American film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for drug smuggling. Because it presents a critical view of the Thai legal system, most scenes were filmed in the Philippines;...
, 1999 singing "Deliver me". - Zeit der Erkenntnis, 2000 feature film (Germany), as herself
- Repo! The Genetic OperaRepo! The Genetic OperaRepo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich....
, 2008 feature film, as Blind Mag - Amarufi: Megami no hôshûAmalfi: Rewards of the Goddessis a 2009 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Nishitani.TV drama sequel Diplomat Kosaku Kuroda....
(Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess), 2009 feature film (Japan), as herself - First Night (aka Cosi), 2010 feature film, as Celia
Studio albums
- 1988: The Trees They Grow So High
- 1990: As I Came Of AgeAs I Came of AgeAs I Came Of Age is a studio album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. Sarah follows up The Songs That Got Away with a completely different solo album...
- 1993: DiveDive (Sarah Brightman album)Dive is a concept album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It is her first album with producer Frank Peterson, and a marked departure from her previous operatic works. Its unifying theme is water and the ocean. The song "Captain Nemo" is a cover of the 1990 Dive single...
- 1995: FlyFly (Sarah Brightman album)Fly is an album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It is her second album with producer Frank Peterson and has a stronger pop and rock influence than her previous Broadway and operatic albums; it included collaborations with Andrea Bocelli, Tom Jones and Chris Thompson...
- 1997: Time to Say GoodbyeTime to Say Goodbye (album)Time to Say Goodbye, known as Timeless in Europe, is Sarah Brightman's most popular album, released in 1997. . The SACD 5.1 version released by EMI is entitled Time to Say Goodbye and follows the American track listing...
- 1998: EdenEden (Sarah Brightman album)Eden is a 1998 album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It was released under license by Nemo Studios to Angel Records.Like Brightman's later album, La Luna, Eden juxtaposed mostly English pop songs with mostly Italian opera songs. This was a departure from her previous albums which was almost...
- 2000: La LunaLa Luna (album)La Luna is a concept album recorded by English soprano Sarah Brightman in 2000. It was released under license by Nemo Studios to Angel Records. The album combines pieces written by classical and modern composers....
- 2003: HaremHarem (album)Harem is a 2003 album by English singer Sarah Brightman. It mixes her operatic voice with Middle-Eastern and Indian rhythms and vocals. Thanks to an idea of Frank Peterson, the producer of this album, in the song "Mysterious Days", they included the vocals of the late singer Ofra Haza, who worked...
- 2008: SymphonySymphony (album)Symphony is an album from the English Soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in January 2008 . This classical crossover album is a contrast to her previous collaboration with producer Frank Peterson, 2003's Harem; using more Gothic influences instead of Eastern."Running" was the IAAF's Green...
- 2008: A Winter SymphonyA Winter SymphonyA Winter Symphony is a Christmas album from the English soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in November 2008.-Album information:The album borrows its name from Brightman's earlier 2008 album, Symphony...
Albums with Lloyd Webber
- 1989: The Songs That Got AwayThe Songs That Got AwayThe Songs That Got Away is an album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. Based on an idea by then husband Andrew Lloyd Webber, all the songs were taken mostly from West End theatre or Broadway theatre that were either unsuccessful, never made it across to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, were...
- 1992: Sarah Brightman Sings the Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber
- 1995: SurrenderSurrender (Sarah Brightman Album)Surrender is a Sarah Brightman-Andrew Lloyd Webber collaborative album released in 1995, a precursor to "The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection ," "Encore ," and "Love Changes Everything ," but a successor to "Sarah Brightman Sings the Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber ."-Track listing:#"Surrender"...
- 1997: The Andrew Lloyd Webber CollectionThe Andrew Lloyd Webber CollectionThe Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection is a compilation album by classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman. All of the tracks on this album are previously available on other albums.The album has sold 787,000 copies in the U.S.- Track listing :...
- 2002: EncoreEncore (Sarah Brightman album)Encore is an album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It includes tracks from two previous Sarah Brigtman/Andrew Lloyd Webber albums , and four previously unreleased tracks...
- 2005: Love Changes EverythingLove Changes Everything (Sarah Brightman album)Love Changes Everything - The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, Volume 2 is an album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. It contains songs from various shows for which Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music. The album contains eight previously released songs along with six new recordings.Note: The song...
Compilation albums
- 2001: The Very Best of 1990-2000The Very Best of 1990-2000The Very Best of 1990–2000 is a 2001 compilation album by Sarah Brightman. It features songs from the albums produced by Frank Peterson. Also notable is that the Richard Marx collaboration, "The Last Words You Said", makes its debut in the UK, as it was previously available only on the U.S...
& ClassicsClassics (Sarah Brightman album)Classics is Sarah Brightman's 2001 album, between La Luna and Encore. It consists in part of previously released material, such as "Time to Say Goodbye" and "Pie Jesu", and new titles such as "Ave Maria" and "Recuerdos de la Alhambra". Entertainment Weekly, although calling Brightman a "stronger... - 2006: Classics: The Best of Sarah BrightmanClassics: The Best of Sarah BrightmanClassics: The Best of Sarah Brightman is a European-only compilation album by classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman. An earlier version of Classics was released Worldwide, except for Europe, in 2001...
& Diva: The Singles CollectionDiva: The Singles Collection- Track listing :# "The Phantom of the Opera" – 4:39# "Music of the Night" – 5:25# "Pie Jesu" – 3:58... - 2009: Amalfi - Sarah Brightman Love Songs & Bella VoceBella Voce (Sarah Brightman album)Bella Voce is a Compilation album by English soprano Sarah Brightman. This is a USA only compilation from Green Hill music.- Track listing :#Deliver me - Eden#Scarborough Fair - La Luna#Time to Say Goodbye - Classics...
|-
Duets
- Andrea BocelliAndrea BocelliAndrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
– "Time to Say Goodbye", "Canto Della TerraCanto della Terra"Canto della Terra" is the second single from Italian pop tenor Andrea Bocelli's 1999 album, Sogno. The song was written by Francesco Sartori and Lucio Quarantotto, the same writers of Bocelli's biggest hit "Con te partirò", and is among Bocelli's most popular and well-known songs.Like "Con te...
" - Plácido DomingoPlácido DomingoPlácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
– Requiem (Lloyd Webber), "The Closing of the year", "La ci darem la mano", "Love Unspoken", "Time to say goodbye", "La Traviata: Libiamo ne' lieti calici... Brindisi", "Die Lustige Witwe – Lippen Schweigen","The Phantom Of The Opera: All I Ask Of You", "West Side Story: Maria & Tonight" - Sir John Gielgud – "Gus: the Theatre Cat"
- José CarrerasJosé CarrerasJosep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
– "Amigos para Siempre ", "Love Unspoken", "La Traviata: Libiamo ne' lieti calici... Brindisi"", "Subaru" - Michael CrawfordMichael CrawfordMichael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
– The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
(Andrew Lloyd Webber) - José CuraJosé CuraJosé Cura is a prominent operatic tenor known for his intense and original interpretations of his characters, notably Verdi’s Otello and Saint-Saëns’ Samson, as well as for his unconventional and innovative concert performances. He is also able to perform high baritone roles with the extended...
– "Just Show Me How to Love You", "There for Me" - Josh GrobanJosh GrobanJoshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
– "There for Me", "All I Ask of You" - Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
– "Whistle Down the Wind" - Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
– "Something in the Air" - Antonio BanderasAntonio BanderasJosé Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
– "The Phantom of the Opera" - Cliff RichardCliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
– "All I Ask of You", "Only You" - GregorianGregorian (band)Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...
– "Moment of Peace", "Join Me", "Héroes", "When A Child is Born", "Send Me An Angel", "Voyage Voyage", "Don’t Give Up" - Riccardo CoccianteRiccardo CoccianteRiccardo Cocciante, also known in French-speaking countries as Richard Cocciante , is an Italian singer-songwriter and actor. His oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, and Spanish; he has recorded some of his songs in all three languages.He was born in Saigon, French Indochina, now Ho Chi...
– "Frohlice Weihnacht", "Cantemos Rapaces", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "Silent Night" - Kadim Al Sahir – "The War is Over"
- Nigel KennedyNigel KennedyNigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
– "Free" - Ofra HazaOfra HazaOfra Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemeni origin, an actress and international recording artist....
– "Mysterious Days" - Chris Thompson – "How Can Heaven Love Me", "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)", "The Phantom of the Opera"
- Fernando LimaFernando LimaFernando Lima is a Spanish language classical music singer and is a countertenor.At the age of 10 he moved to Madrid, Spain...
– "Pasión", "Ave Maria" - Alessandro SafinaAlessandro SafinaAlessandro Safina is an Italian operatic tenor.Born in Siena, Italy, Safina's love of opera was encouraged early in life by his mother encouraged his eagerness. His father was also a singer....
– "Sarai Qui", "Canto Della Terra", "The Phantom of the Opera" (Symphony World Tour – México, Asia) - Mario FrangoulisMario FrangoulisMario Frangoulis is a Greek tenor and is best known for his song, "Vincerò, Perderò". He sings in Italian, Spanish, English, French, and Greek; he is fluent in all 5 languages.-Early life:...
– "Carpe Diem", "Sarai Qui", "Canto Della Terra", "The Phantom of the Opera" (Symphony World Tour – EE.UU., Canadá) - Paul StanleyPaul StanleyStanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
– "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)" - Liu HuanLiu HuanLiu Huan is a Chinese Mandopop singer and songwriter.-Biography:Liu graduated from Yaohua High School in Tianjin in 1981. Four years later, he graduated from the University of International Relations in Beijing, majoring in French...
– "You And Me" - Dj Schiller – "The Smile", "I've Seen it All"
- Sash!Sash!SASH! is a German DJ / producer team, fronted by Sascha Lappessen , who works in the recording studio with Ralf Kappmeier and Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke. They have sold over 18 million albums worldwide and earned more than 65 Gold and Platinum awards.-History:Sascha Lappessen, Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke,...
– "The Secret Still Remains" or "The Secret" & "The Secret (2007)" - Prince Ital JoePrince Ital JoeJoe Paquette , better known as Prince Ital Joe, was a Dominican-American reggae musician best known for his collaborations with Marky Mark...
Feat. Marky MarkMark WahlbergMark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
– "Happy People", "Life in the StreetsLife in the StreetsLife in the Streets is the debut album by reggae musician, Prince Ital Joe and the third album by rapper, Marky Mark. The album was released in 1994 for Ultraphonic Records and blended Prince Ital Joe's reggae with Marky Mark's Pop rap. Life in the Streets was not released in the United States, but...
" (Background vocals Sarah Brightman) - Michael BallMichael Ball (singer)Michael Ashley Ball, born 27 June 1962) is a British actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad...
– "All I Ask of You", "Seeing is Believing" - Andrzej LampertAndrzej LampertAndrzej Lampert is a Polish singer.In 1997 Lampert appeared on the popular Polish show Szansa na sukces. A year later he formed the short-lived boy band Boom Box.In 2000 he enrolled at the University of Music in Katowice...
– "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)" - Sergey Penkin – "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)"
- I MuvriniI MuvriniI Muvrini is a Corsican folk music group who sing traditional Corsican music in their native Corsican language.-History:The group was formed in the early 1980s by the brothers Jean-François Bernardini and Alain Bernardini who were born in the village of Tagliu-Isulacciu in the north of Corsica...
– "Tu Quieres Volver" - Eric AdamsEric Adams (singer)Eric Adams has been the singer of the heavy metal band Manowar since 1980. Before he became the band's singer in 1980, he had sung for a group, called LOOKS. In the band was also future Manowar bassist and childhood friend, Joey DeMaio.-Early life:Eric Adams was born on 12 July 1954, in Auburn,...
– "Where The Eagles Fly" - Jacky CheungJacky CheungJacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
– "There For Me" * Steve HarleySteve HarleySteve Harley is an English singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still occasionally tours .-Biography:As a child, Harley suffered from polio, spending four years in hospital up to the...
– "The Phantom of the Opera" - Erkan Akin – "Just Show Me How To Love You","The Phantom of the Opera", "Canto della Terra" and "Sarai Qui" in "Sarah Brightman In Concert 2009" a Tour in South America "Latin American Tour".
- Paul Miles-KingstonPaul Miles-KingstonPaul Miles-Kingston , is a British singer who achieved fame as a boy soprano classical singer.-Childhood and Singing career:In 1982, Paul Miles-Kingston won a choral scholarship into Winchester Cathedral Choir...
– "Pie Jesu" - Connar Burrowes: "Pie Jesu" (This Is Your Life: Andrew Lloyd Webber, 1994)
- Adam Clack: "Pie Jesu" (In Concert "At The Royal Albert Hall" – 1997)
- Ben De'Ath: "Pie Jesu" (The Andrew Lloyd Webber Celebration, 1998)
- Andrew Swait: "Pie Jesu" (The Classical Brit Awards – 8 May 2008)
- Eric Scott Kincaid – "The Phantom of the Opera"
- David Malek – "The Phantom of the Opera: All I Ask Of You"
- Mark ButcherMark ButcherMark Alan Butcher is a former English Test cricketer, who played county cricket for Surrey from 1992 until his retirement from the sport in 2009. He was a left-handed batsman, and occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler....
– "Take The Weather With You", "Heroes", "Leaving On A Jet Plane", "Let's Face The Music And Dance", "Music Of The Night", " Ain't No Sunshine", "The Rose", "Moon River" - PrincessaPrincessaPrincessa, born Mónica Capel Cruz, is a Spanish pop/dance singer. Born on 18 May 1975, she first became known for her participation in "World On Ice" in Madrid and in Spain's Gran Circo Mundial. She was discovered by producer Frank Peterson at age 16 and a few years later recorded her first album...
– "Calling You" (1996) (Background vocals Sarah Brightman) - Anne MurrayAnne MurrayMorna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
– "Snowbird" - Betty BuckleyBetty BuckleyBetty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...
– "Memory" (Kennedy Center Honor – 3 December 2006) - Lesley GarrettLesley GarrettLesley Garrett CBE is an English musician, broadcaster and media personality.- Early life :Garrett was born in the town of Thorne near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, into a musical family. She attended Thorne Grammar School, where she performed in school plays and musicals. As she grew up she...
– "Abide with me" (FA Cup Final 19 May 2007) - Jackie EvanchoJackie EvanchoJacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the...
– "Time To Say Goodbye" - (America's Got TalentAmerica's Got TalentAmerica's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
- 15 September 2010)
These Duets were announced but were never made:
- Florent PagnyFlorent PagnyFlorent Pagny is a French musician. He has also acted in many French films. He records work in French, Italian, Spanish and English, and his greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer", "Ma Liberté de penser" and "Caruso" .As of 2008, he has sold 4,268,980 copies of singles,...
– "Just Show Me How To Love You" - Biondo – "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)"
Tours
- "A Timeless Evening With Sarah BrightmanA Timeless Evening With Sarah BrightmanA Timeless Evening With Sarah Brightman was the first concert tour by English soprano Sarah Brightman accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra. The repertoire performed by Brightman was a balanced combination between well-known Classical and Broadway pieces by composers such as Puccini,...
" (UK and Germany) 1997 - "One Night In Eden TourOne Night In Eden TourOne Night In Eden was a worldwide covering concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman. The singer embarked on the tour after success of the multi-platinum release of the 1998' album "Eden". It starts in South Africa and then continued through Europe and completed with several dates in...
" 1999 (Worldwide) - "La Luna World TourLa Luna World TourLa Luna World Tour was a worldwide-covering concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman supporting the Brightman's 2000s' release La Luna. Brightman was Britain's top touring artist in the United States during the North American leg of the tour...
" 2000–2001 (Worldwide) - "Harem World TourHarem World TourThe Harem World Tour was a concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman following the release of the Harem album. The Harem tour grossed $60 million and sold 800,000 tickets, $15 million and 225,000 sales of which came from the North American leg...
" 2004–2005 (2004: Worldwide, 2005: Mini-Tour in Japan) - "The Symphony World TourThe Symphony World TourSymphony The World Tour was a concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman that started on January 16, 2008 in the city of Vienna, Austria and concluded on April 5, 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan. There were special guests that joined Brightman in the concerts: Argentinean countertenor Fernando...
" 2008–2009 (America & Asia) - "Sarah Brightman In ConcertSarah Brightman In ConcertSarah Brightman In Concert is a concert tour by the British singer Sarah Brightman.After the Symphony World Tour, Brightman started another world tour in October 2009, visiting first Mexico closing Festival Internacional de Chihuahua in Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium...
" October 2009 (Latin America) - "Sarah Brightman In Concert With OrchestraSarah Brightman In Concert With OrchestraSarah Brightman In Concert With Orchestra is a tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman in October 2010 with performances in Canada, Japan, Macau, Korea and Ukraine.These performances were from a more traditional classical standpoint...
" October 2010 (Japan, Korea and Macau)
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the US dance chart
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of Operatic Pop artistsOperatic popOperatic pop, pop opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic style, or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The term popera and adjectives poperatic and popical are used by some media editors and music reviewers...