Fans of acclaimed singer-actress Sarah Brightman will soon get to hear her iconic voice live this February as she steps into the role of Norma Desmond in a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard.
Based on the classic Paramount film about the relationship between a screenwriter and a former silent film star, this adaptation of Sunset Boulevard will have its Asia premiere at Singapore's Sands Theatre.
CNA Lifestyle recently spoke to Brightman about her preparation for the role as well as her illustrious career.
I am actually not a star in opera or operatic pop. I decided when I was young that, although I had been training as a classical singer, I didn’t want to go into the opera field directly.
I felt I was too eclectic in my taste in music and wanted more freedom. In what you call operatic pop, it's really just a fusion of all the things I was doing and training with my voice classically.
So it was very natural – there was nothing very calculated about it.
I have always taken it all very seriously. I think as I got older, it became more serious and deeper. With experience, you actually understand what you don’t know – so it’s a tougher route as you get older.
I have been very privileged and lucky to have performed in really beautiful places but the one that jumped out a lot to me – because it was so different – was performing at the Chinese Olympic Games in 2008.
We were performing outside, and we were standing on top of this huge globe which was hovering in the sky. I have not had an experience like that, and I don’t think I will ever have an experience like that again. It was truly magnificent.
Probably the most obvious one was Time To Say Goodbye which was recorded in two takes.
I had flown in quickly from Italy where I was training and I think Andrea Bocelli had flown in also from another place in Italy. We literally said hello to each other and started to sing and it was done in about half an hour.
I think it had a lot to do with the song being exactly right for both of us – we were the perfect duet partners for that particular piece and that was why I suppose we got together. The rest, as they say, is history.
It was age-appropriate. I felt that with the experience I had in my career and life, I could bring some of that to the role.
It was great fun researching the character and I think the writing was taken from about five actresses at that time – some of whom went downhill very quickly when they couldn’t make it into the talkies.
I was told by the composer that some of the music was written on my voice and it is just a wonderful meaty role to play for someone with my experience as a performer and of my age.
Although I have a lot of respect for other artistes, I think you can’t really learn from each other because you need to bring your own self to these roles.
I saw Norma Desmond as an incredibly vulnerable character and of course, there is a huge vulnerability to my voice. It has a sort of silvery quality and we are talking about the silver screen here.
When you look at a lot of those actresses of that time – especially the young ones – they were delicate and would run around with their beautiful long hair and dramatic arms and faces.
It must have been a wonderful time for them but also very frightening. I felt the vulnerability of myself being very strong but being quite a vulnerable person all at the same time. I felt that I could bring something different to the role compared to the other actresses.
I don’t think playing the role has changed anything. When you want to get into the subtext of a role like Norma Desmond, you have to really reflect on your past and what you have gone through in the entertainment business.
What we have now comes from the past, so it didn’t change my mind of things but I certainly became more educated on how I navigated things and how other people in the past had navigated this business.
For the career that I have had, I have actually done very little of musical theatre. It has taken up a very small part of my career, although people think of me as that type of artiste.
If a wonderful part comes up that is really interesting and I feel I can bring something good to it, it would be wonderful to do. But it is not something that I am looking out to do or what I am trying to procure.
Singer-actress Sarah Brightman poses on her new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a ceremony for her on October 2022 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Go out there and work as hard as you can. Don’t expect too much but always be very positive about what could happen for you.
Singapore in itself is a beautiful place. The weather is lovely, it is just a lovely lovely place to be.
I love the food – it is exceptional there. Being a performer as I am, I have to be careful not to eat too much.
Tickets for Sunset Boulevard are available for purchase via Marina Bay Sands.
Continue reading...
Based on the classic Paramount film about the relationship between a screenwriter and a former silent film star, this adaptation of Sunset Boulevard will have its Asia premiere at Singapore's Sands Theatre.
CNA Lifestyle recently spoke to Brightman about her preparation for the role as well as her illustrious career.
YOU'RE ONE OF THE BIGGEST STARS IN OPERA AND OPERATIC POP. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO EXPLORE THIS UNIQUE FUSION?
I am actually not a star in opera or operatic pop. I decided when I was young that, although I had been training as a classical singer, I didn’t want to go into the opera field directly.
I felt I was too eclectic in my taste in music and wanted more freedom. In what you call operatic pop, it's really just a fusion of all the things I was doing and training with my voice classically.
So it was very natural – there was nothing very calculated about it.
OVER THE YEARS, HOW HAS YOUR APPROACH TO MUSIC AND PERFORMING CHANGED?
I have always taken it all very seriously. I think as I got older, it became more serious and deeper. With experience, you actually understand what you don’t know – so it’s a tougher route as you get older.
YOU’VE PERFORMED MANY MASTERPIECES AT MULTIPLE ICONIC VENUES WORLDWIDE. WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE OR LOCATION?
I have been very privileged and lucky to have performed in really beautiful places but the one that jumped out a lot to me – because it was so different – was performing at the Chinese Olympic Games in 2008.
We were performing outside, and we were standing on top of this huge globe which was hovering in the sky. I have not had an experience like that, and I don’t think I will ever have an experience like that again. It was truly magnificent.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE DUET OR PERFORMANCE?
Probably the most obvious one was Time To Say Goodbye which was recorded in two takes.
I had flown in quickly from Italy where I was training and I think Andrea Bocelli had flown in also from another place in Italy. We literally said hello to each other and started to sing and it was done in about half an hour.
I think it had a lot to do with the song being exactly right for both of us – we were the perfect duet partners for that particular piece and that was why I suppose we got together. The rest, as they say, is history.
SUNSET BOULEVARD IS YOUR FIRST MUSICAL THEATRE STAGE COMEBACK AFTER 30 YEARS. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RETURN TO MUSICAL THEATRE?
It was age-appropriate. I felt that with the experience I had in my career and life, I could bring some of that to the role.
It was great fun researching the character and I think the writing was taken from about five actresses at that time – some of whom went downhill very quickly when they couldn’t make it into the talkies.
I was told by the composer that some of the music was written on my voice and it is just a wonderful meaty role to play for someone with my experience as a performer and of my age.
OVER THE YEARS, MANY TALENTED ARTISTES HAVE STEPPED INTO THE ROLE OF NORMA, INCLUDING PATTI LUPONE AND GLENN CLOSE. DID YOU LOOK TO THEM FOR INSPIRATION?
Although I have a lot of respect for other artistes, I think you can’t really learn from each other because you need to bring your own self to these roles.
I saw Norma Desmond as an incredibly vulnerable character and of course, there is a huge vulnerability to my voice. It has a sort of silvery quality and we are talking about the silver screen here.
When you look at a lot of those actresses of that time – especially the young ones – they were delicate and would run around with their beautiful long hair and dramatic arms and faces.
It must have been a wonderful time for them but also very frightening. I felt the vulnerability of myself being very strong but being quite a vulnerable person all at the same time. I felt that I could bring something different to the role compared to the other actresses.
SUNSET BOULEVARD IS A STORY ABOUT FAME AND ITS AFTERMATH. HAS PLAYING NORMA DESMOND CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AND BEING A CELEBRITY?
I don’t think playing the role has changed anything. When you want to get into the subtext of a role like Norma Desmond, you have to really reflect on your past and what you have gone through in the entertainment business.
What we have now comes from the past, so it didn’t change my mind of things but I certainly became more educated on how I navigated things and how other people in the past had navigated this business.
YOU’VE ACHIEVED SO MUCH IN YOUR CAREER, FROM CHART-TOPPING ALBUMS TO BROADWAY PERFORMANCES. ARE THERE ANY OTHER AREAS IN MUSIC OR THEATRE THAT YOU’D LIKE TO PURSUE?
For the career that I have had, I have actually done very little of musical theatre. It has taken up a very small part of my career, although people think of me as that type of artiste.
If a wonderful part comes up that is really interesting and I feel I can bring something good to it, it would be wonderful to do. But it is not something that I am looking out to do or what I am trying to procure.
Singer-actress Sarah Brightman poses on her new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a ceremony for her on October 2022 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING SINGERS?
Go out there and work as hard as you can. Don’t expect too much but always be very positive about what could happen for you.
YOU'VE PERFORMED IN SINGAPORE BEFORE. ANY PARTICULAR MEMORIES OF YOUR PREVIOUS VISIT HERE? WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU'RE LOOKING TO DO HERE?
Singapore in itself is a beautiful place. The weather is lovely, it is just a lovely lovely place to be.
I love the food – it is exceptional there. Being a performer as I am, I have to be careful not to eat too much.
Tickets for Sunset Boulevard are available for purchase via Marina Bay Sands.
Continue reading...