Line #45 Music/SarahBrightman


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sb.JPG]]
2	->''"I'm a very talented person, I know that. I'm a very gifted person. I have a lot of imagination. I work hard. I feel I have the attributes within myself to have achieved what I have done. There has been no luck, no miracles. The only miracle has been this voice."''
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4	Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960), depending on who you ask, is best known for one of three things: playing Christine in Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', being a classical crossover singer, or appearing in ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''. This is a consequence of her reinventing herself enough times to rival ''{{Music/Madonna}}'' (or perhaps Music/DavidBowie). A chronology:
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6	The disco era. Yes, there was an era before ''Phantom''. In her late teens, she and the British dance troupe Hot Gossip scored a hit with the song "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper," which is pretty much ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin and an attempt to cash in on the popularity of ''Franchise/StarWars'' and similar space films that came out during this time. She released many solo singles as well.
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8	The MusicalTheatre era. Long story short, she met Creator/AndrewLloydWebber when auditioning for his musical ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'', married him, and starred in a number of his musicals, most famously as Christine in ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' -- a part written specifically for her. Much tabloid attention was had.
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10	The early solo era. Brightman and Webber eventually divorced -- more tabloid attention was had -- and she released several now-obscure, rather uneven solo albums such as "As I Came Of Age." All this pales in comparison to:
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12	The Frank Peterson era. Around the early '90s, Brightman heard the work of Enigma, liked it a lot, and got in touch with one member of the group, Frank Peterson. He has been her producer ever since (and was her boyfriend for much of the decade.) Her albums since then include:
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14	* ''Dive'': Water-themed, unsurprisingly, and somewhat of a transition from the early solo era. Most fans consider it to be somewhat uneven.
15	* ''[[Music/FlySarahBrightmanAlbum Fly]]'': A rock/electronic album, the likes of which she has never recorded since. Also contains one of her first classical crossover singles, "A Question of Honor."
16	* ''Eden'': Her first true "classical crossover" album.
17	* ''La Luna'': Like ''Eden'', but more ethereal. Moon-themed.
18	* ''Harem'': Middle Eastern-themed and more influenced by electronic and dance music.
19	* ''Symphony'': Classical crossover again.
20	* ''Dreamchaser'': Space-themed (in celebration of her flight to the International Space Station in 2013). Time will tell as to what genre it falls under, but her first single, "Angel", seems to be classical crossover.
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22	She's also appeared in ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' as [[BrokenBird Blind Mag]], in one of the more pronounced QuestionableCasting in that film.
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24	----
25	!!Provides examples of:
26	* AdaptationDyeJob: Sarah Brightman is the reason why Christine is brunette in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, not blonde as in the book.
27	* BreakupSong: "Free," "So Many Things"
28	* ChristmasSongs: On ''A Winter Symphony'', an entire album of them.
29	* ConceptAlbum: Most of her earlier albums would qualify.
30	* CoverVersion: She does a lot of them.
31	* TheCoverChangesTheGender: Many of her covers, but averted with her cover of Music/{{Mecano}}’s song “[[http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb811.html Tú]]” (“You”). In effect, she's [[LesYay singing it to a woman]].
32	* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: Done quite memorably with "Once In A Lifetime" originally by Gregorian. Gregorian's version is a sweet love song about finding the one. Sarah's version is about a woman discovering a kinkier side of herself.
33	* ElegantClassicalMusician
34	* EpicRocking: Many of her songs, such as "A Question of Honor" and "Arabian Nights," are fairly long with several distinct sections. (In Arabian Nights, they're specifically delineated.)
35	* GreatestHitsAlbum: Several.
36	* HotterAndSexier: "Once In A Lifetime" was rewritten from its original version by Frank Peterson's old project Gregorian. This was the effect.
37	* IntercourseWithYou: Surprisingly, a lot of it. [[http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb305.html Once in a Lifetime]] is probably the most blatant example.
38	* LawOfInverseFertility: While in a relationship with George Peterson, she had an ectopic pregnancy and two miscarriages. Ouch.
39	* LyricalDissonance: "Once in a Lifetime."
40	* MistakenForCheating: "Hijo de la Luna." A gypsy woman makes a deal with the moon to find her a husband, as long as she agrees to give up her first-born child in return. The baby ends up as pale as the moon. Bad things happen.
41	* MoodWhiplash: "Once in a Lifetime" starts off as an upbeat, romantic song about finding what seems to be true love. Then toward the end the music slows and it suddenly becomes apparent that this was an abusive relationship from which the singer has finally freed herself:
42	-->''Giving you my soul, letting you control''
43	-->''Took away a part of my lifetime''
44	-->''Memories of you left me black and blue''
45	-->''Now I know you're once in a lifetime''
46	* MurderBallad: "Hijo de la Luna" counts as one, and so does "[[WhatItSaysOnTheTin Murder in Mairyland Park]]", but her folk-ballad album ''The Trees They Grow So High'' is unusual for NOT containing these.
47	* TheMuse: To Andrew Lloyd Webber, arguably to Frank Peterson.
48	* NeverAcceptedInHisHometown: Though quite successful elsewhere, Sarah is not very well-liked in her native Britain. Many still see her as the ex-Hot Gossip dancer that Andrew Lloyd Webber made a star and left his first wife to marry. It is likely for this reason that Sarah rarely tours there, much to the dismay of the British fans she ''does'' have.
49	* NewSoundAlbum: At least three times in her career.
50	* OfCorsetsSexy: Many of her costumes.
51	* OminousLatinChanting: At the end of "Murder in Mairyland Park".
52	* PhraseSaladLyrics: "The Fly"
53	-->''I know a colourful room''
54	-->''Where we can fly''
55	-->''And take a spin to the moon''
56	-->''On Aunt Angelica's pie''
57	-->''I am a fly, pie in the sky''
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59	-->''Across a harvest of stars and constellations''
60	-->''We'll drink a starjuice on Mars''
61	-->''Miss our connection and cry''
62	-->''Coz I don't know why''
63	-->''I am a fly''
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65	-->''The major is dead''
66	-->''It went to his head''
67	-->''We gonna fly''
68	* PimpedOutDress: Her concerts are famous for these. [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NjUov1-0KnU/SVAreEXpTxI/AAAAAAAAH6Y/QwHxvYKdI0Y/s400/Sarah+Brightman.bmp Just one glorious example.]]
69	* PosthumousCollaboration:
70	** "Mysterious Days", on the ''Harem'' album, features vocals from the late Ofra Haza.
71	** She did a duet of "Hawaii '78" with the recorded voice of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. This song was released as a bonus track on certain editions of ''Dreamchaser''.
72	* RockMeAmadeus: There are plenty of examples of this in her repertoire. One of the most notable is "A Question of Honour", which features portions of "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana" from ''La Wally''.
73	* {{Sampling}}: An interesting variation; a lot of her early work contains samples from songs off "Sadisfaction," an earlier Frank Peterson album.
74	* ShoutOut: Over half the lyrics of "I Loved You"; a few in "As I Came Of Age". Nearly ''all'' of the lyrics in "I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper" consist of references to many different SciFi and SpaceOpera works.
75	* SopranoAndGravel: Most of her non-classical duets end up like this, particularly anything involving Chris Thompson.
76	* SpokenWordInMusic: "I Loved You" samples a ''UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan speech''.
77	* SweetPollyOliver: A rendition of the TropeNamer ballad is on her album "The Trees They Grow So High."
78	* ToTheTuneOf: "Running" is set to Holst's "Jupiter". "Figlio Perduto" is set to Beethoven. "Schwere Traume" is set to Mahler. It's a crapshoot whether these are credited or not. It's also been noted that "On the Nile" bears a striking similarity to "My Own Home", from the soundtrack to Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'' of all things.
79	* TruckDriversGearChange: Several songs -- "The War Is Over" for one.

Context Music / SarahBrightman