Sarah Brightman
ministers to the faithful at the Garden.Brightman has a unique
fan base, drawing heavily on Riverdance's constituency.
Sarah Brightman has been a freak of musical nature for more
than 20 years now. First earning her diva stripes as a member
of the dance band Hot Gossip in the mid-1970s, Sarah ascended
to superstar status with her role as Christine Daaé
in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera.
But all that was a very long time ago.
Since then, Brightman, now 40, has become a weird blip
on the music scene. A huge hit in Europe, her music falls
into a category called "classical crossover," a hybrid of
opera, show tunes and pop classics that seems to have been
spliced together just for her. Brightman's latest pap-pop
recording, La Luna, currently sits at No. 1 on Billboard's
classical crossover chart.
Although many purists frown on her syrupy vocal stylings,
Brightman has developed a unique fan base, drawing heavily
on the same constituency that celebrates the commercial
Celtic trottings
of Riverdance.
On the eve of Halloween, Brightman brings her current world
tour, which takes her to Russia, Japan, Scandinavia and
South Africa, to the Rose Garden. While she has generally
refused to do interviews for this tour in order to rest
her voice, Willamette Week caught her for a phone
chat at the bewitching hour of midnight, following her show
in Minneapolis.
Willamette Week: Your fans are cultish. Does
this ever make you feel weird?
Sarah Brightman: My fans have never made me feel uncomfortable.
I think I make a connection with them because I am truthful
about the work I do. It's very real to me and it makes me
feel grounded and normal. I am the way I am. I can't be
any other way.
Your albums often have a theme. Do you ever feel pressure
from your label to record something because it fits with
a particular theme, whether you think it works or not?
No. I don't work for a label. I work for a company that
contracts to a label. I got tired of having record labels
telling me what music I should or shouldn't sing. That is
why today I have complete control over my music.
After working with so many classical artists, why did
you decide to sing a song with pop star Richard Marx on
your last album?
My record company in America thought I should do "The Last
Words You Said" for Eden. It took me a while to consider
it though. This song must be sung in a soulful way. Since
Richard wrote the music for this song, he was really helpful
in the phrasing and helping me to give it a more "souly"
feel.
Is it OK to call you a pop star then?
Yes, it's fine. Once you hit the top of the pop charts,
I guess that's what people call you.
You often add words to instrumental music that has never
had words to it before. Why do you think composers allow
you to add your voice to their music?
They often don't. That's why I have to keep asking them.
Most composers usually write an instrumental piece for a
particular instrument--not for a particular voice. But maybe
it's because they trust me, at the end of the day. I try
not to take anything away from the song, and I would never
record a piece if I didn't think I could do it.
Tell me about your show. How does the tour for La
Luna differ from the last one you did, for your album
Eden?
It's much, much bigger. La Luna is more futuristic
and less cozy than Eden. There are no props in this
show. The depth of the piece must be portrayed through the
music and the lighting. Everything is more alive than the
last one--and people all across the United States seem to
respond to it.
You once told me that your voice, besides work, gives
your life a purpose. Why is that?
The voice is meant to be used, and I get a great amount
of pleasure from it. I feel that we all have our little
jobs to do. Some find their job and some don't. I am happy
doing what I am doing.
|
