Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She began her career as a member of the dance troupes Pan's People and Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made her 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.
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 artist. She is among the most prominent performers in the genre, with worldwide sales of more than 30 million albums and over 2 million DVDs.] The Recording Industry Association of America has named her the best-selling female classical artist of the twenty-first century in the United States.
Apart from music, Brightman has begun a film career, making her major debut in Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008), a rock opera-musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.
Brightman, the eldest of six children, was born to businessman Grenville Geoffrey Brightman (1934[4]–1992) and Paula Brightman (née Hall). She was raised in Little Gaddesden, 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.
In 1976, she joined the dance group Pan's People and appeared on the BBC series Top of the Pops. She left a year later to lead 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. 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".
1981–1989: Stage career
In 1981, Brightman auditioned for the new musical Cats and was cast as Jemima. In rehearsals she met Andrew Lloyd Webber. 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. With Requiem she earned her first Grammy nomination.
Brightman starred as Christine Daaé in Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. The rôle 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, due to their policy that any non-American performer must be an international star. Lloyd Webber had to cast an American in a leading rôle in his next West End musical before the Equity would allow Brightman to appear (a promise he kept in casting Aspects of Love).
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.
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.
1990s: Solo career
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.
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, 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 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 5 million copies worldwide. Due to the song's success, a 1996 re-issue of Fly featured "Time to Say Goodbye" as the first track.
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 U.S. alone to date.
Brightman's mainstream exposure in the United States also began around this time, starting with an appearance on Bocelli's December 1997 PBS television special, duetting "Time to Say Goodbye"; later, 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.In 1999, she appeared on the album I Won't Forget You by Princessa, another artist with whom Peterson had worked.
2000–2003: Further mainstream success
Later albums included Eden (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 #65 on the Billboard 200 charts (certified Gold for selling over 500,000 copies), and La Luna peaked at #17 (La Luna has scanned 873.000 copies sold in the U.S.)]. In addition, both albums reached #1 on Billboard's Classical Crossover charts. 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 U.S. after "a historic low" in 1999.
In 2001, Brightman released Classics, an album of operatic arias and other classical pieces including a solo version of "Time to Say Goodbye". Its reviews were somewhat better than its predecessors: Entertainment Weekly, although calling Brightman a "stronger song stylist than a singer", gave the album a grade of B-.
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 Iraqi 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 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.
The albums Eden, La Luna, and Harem were accompanied by live 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 U.S., with concert sales grossing $7.2 million from 34 shows in 2000 and over $5 million from 21 shows in 2001.
Recently, the Harem tour grossed $60 million and sold 700,000 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 most grossing pledge events.
2006–present
Brightman released a DVD collection of her music videos on 3 October 2006 under the title of Diva: The Video Collection. Diva: The Singles Collection 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. (Classics, from 2001, featured seven new recordings in addition to the previously-released material, and her other reflective offering, The Best of 1990-2000, was a European-only release.)
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 cricketer 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 29 January 2008, Brightman released her first album in five years: Symphony, influenced by gothic music[30]. 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 31,463 copies in first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan. In Canada the album debuted and peaked at and in Mexico it entered at #9, where it peaked at #5. The Song "Symphony" is a cover of "Symphonie" by the German band Silbermond. "Fleurs du Mal" was the second single of the album and experienced extensive radio airplay.
Featured on the album are artists Fernando Lima, Andrea Bocelli, 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). To accompany 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 have never been seen before in any touring concert production. It grossed over $10 million on the first North American leg, and became one of the most successful tours in the U.S. and Canada.[31] On 16 January 2008, she also appeared in concert at Vienna’s Stephansdom Cathedral performing songs from her new album. Special guests that sang duets with Sarah 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 sang the Olympic theme song, "You and Me", with Chinese star Liu Huan in both Mandarin and English at the Beijing 2008 Olympics opening ceremony. The song 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.
On December 2008 Sarah sang "Silent Night" for the Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas parade, airing on ABC Christmas Morning.
ITV television show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway has featured Brightman's "Time to Say Goodbye" as part of their Ant vs. Dec: The Teams section. The song has been played in the 2008 and 2009 series when a team member is eliminated.
Following her performance at the Beijing Olympics, Sarah 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.
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, Sarah released only in Japan an album titled Amalfi – Sarah Brightman Love Songs which reached Gold status in the aforementioned country.
In autumn, 2009 starts a new concert tour called "Sarah Brightman In Concert" covering 13 cities in Latin America. The tour ended with a concert at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza in Mexico called "The Concert of the Pyramid", thus becoming the first woman to give a concert at this wonder of the world.
On November 2009 Brightman was in charge of the main theme song for the historical drama series Saka no Ue no Kumo. 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.
On January 2010 Panasonic Corporation launched the song "Shall Be Done" performed by Brightman at Panasonic's Olympic Pavilion at LiveCity Yaletown, official celebration site of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. Sooner, U.S. media announced that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo model, with the first flight expected to take off from Spaceport America, New Mexico, within the next few years. Around 300 wealthy would-be astronauts include Brightman, physicist Stephen Hawking, and X-Men director Bryan Singer.
Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan performing "You and Me" the Beijing Olympic theme song.
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:
"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. 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, including 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 Dream. 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 miscarriages 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.
Her personal assets have been estimated to be around £30m (about US$49m). (www.wikipedia.org)
