Sarah Brightman is often trumpeted as 鈥渢he world鈥檚 best-selling soprano.鈥� But it鈥檚 another marketing laurel that really captures her essence: She鈥檚 the only artist to top the Billboard classical and dance charts at the same time.
England鈥檚 ultimate crossover singer, Brightman, 65, scored her first U.K. hit in 1978 with the disco bon-bon 鈥淚 Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper.鈥� She finally found mass fame on this side of the pond in 1988, playing the ing茅nue Christine Daa茅 in The Phantom of the Opera, the smash Broadway musical created by her then-husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
She and Webber divorced in 1990, but they鈥檝e remained friendly. In 2024, she returned to musical theater in Webber鈥檚 version of the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard.
I spoke to Brightman by phone from the Nashville stop of her Christmas tour, which arrives in Dallas on Dec. 21. Our conversation has been edited for clarity.
When did you first fall in love with music?
I was born in 1960, and once the Beatles had come in, there was an open door to music, so I had extremely eclectic tastes. I went through the whole prog rock thing. I loved Bowie, then I went to Stevie Wonder. But all along, I was studying to be a ballerina, so I was listening to Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky.
Is there a record you adore that might surprise people?
When I was old enough to have a little bit of pocket money, the first album I bought was Emerson, Lake & Palmer鈥檚 Brain Salad Surgery.
And now on tour you鈥檙e singing Greg Lake鈥檚 鈥淚 Believe in Father Christmas鈥� along with holiday tunes by Linda Ronstadt and Vince Gill.
Absolutely. Everything鈥檚 in there. Contemporary pieces from the 鈥�70s up to now. Party pieces. Beautiful classical pieces, Christmas classics like 鈥淪ilent Night.鈥� We have a big orchestra and choir. It's very glittery and mystical-looking and I wear some beautiful things you would only see at Christmas-time.
You recently starred as the delusional Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in Australia and Asia. How鈥檇 you put your own stamp on the role?
I looked at it very much from a psychological view, and we鈥檝e never looked at it that way. She's not this hard, old, spoiled actress. She's actually an incredibly vulnerable person, and you really feel sorry for her. It was a wonderful journey for me, the acting and singing. I stopped taking on musical roles a long time ago, but [Webber] told me, 鈥淟ook, don鈥檛 worry, you鈥檒l find it familiar because a lot of those songs were written for your voice.鈥�
You seem to have handled fame reasonably well. Any advice for aspiring chart-topping singers?
Personally, I鈥檝e had my ups and downs. But I鈥檝e come through pretty sane, and that鈥檚 probably because I always [focus] on the mental health side. I was very lucky. I had a wonderful mother who helped me along the way, and I've created a very secure environment around me. When you're talented, and you work in the arts, you can really go too far on the work side. I鈥檝e learned to say, 鈥淎ctually no, I'm gonna turn that down.鈥� And I think that鈥檚 a very, very important [skill] to have.
DETAILS
7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., Dallas. $88.40 and up.
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