I enjoy much of Sarah Brightman’s singing, but realize many can’t stomach her. Since her “Phantom of the Opera” debut, Brightman has been on the receiving end of blistering criticism from stalwarts in the theater (and, later, operatic) world.
Some critics alleged she was a success only because husband Andrew Lloyd Webber foisted her on the public. And, yes, her speaking voice is rather girlish and she’s become increasingly flamboyant. Last, I will admit she’s no Bartolli, Netrebko or Fleming, but then she’s not an opera singer.
All that said, she’s easy on the ears, begging the question: Why all the smirking and sharp criticism?
Because artsy people are snobs, and that’s very hard on artists who try to cross genres.
Sarah Brightman has a voice that is way too good for popular music, but not quite good enough for opera. So the devotees of these respective genres heap scorn upon her when she tries either one.
There are detractors? Man, people are picky. I don’t think she’s bad at all…as the OP says, she is easy on the ears and I love her “Contempo partiro”…we (the SO and I) find her voice rather charming.
That right there is most of it I would say. I personally love Sarah B, I have a bunch of her music and anxiously await the chance to see her live. (If I hear she isn’t going to tour again I might cry)
She has a beautifully expressive voice that flows wonderfully from pop, like Deliver Me from the Brokedown Palace soundtrack; to broadway, where she gained most of her fame; to opera standards like Nessun Dorma. As far as I’m concerned the detractors are more than welcome to take a flying leap.
The trouble with Sarah B isn’t so much her voice — lots of pop singers really don’t sing all that well — but the irredeemable cheesiness of her music and her stage shows. From what I’ve heard of her music, it’s hollow and bombastic, with little real feeling to it; in a previous thread, someone compared her to John Tesh, and that’s spot-on.
But Tesh is cool. How can you not like a guy that says, of his own concerts, “Some of them are dragged there by their wives or girlfriends but then they’ll come backstage and say, ‘Wow, this was far less boring than I thought it would be.’”
BTW, it’s pretty self-evident that Sarah Brightman is flamboyant because flaboyance lands prime media spots, gets people talking, and sells CDs and $150 concert tickets.
Talent takes you only so far. Clever packaging does the rest.
Her normal voice is a bit too girly for me, but not really a turn-off. When she does opera, her voice is kind of brittle (I can’t really describe what I mean here; it’s just the word that comes to mind). Also, she has an annoying tendency to scoop notes. She may have gotten better.
That said, I credit her with getting me into opera. I was watching her special on PBS four years ago or so, and I thought it was cool the way she’d go from her normal voice into operatic mode in some of her songs. Something sort of clicked in me, and I suddenly decided I liked operatic singing, which I never had before. So I have a real soft spot for her, since I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of opera since that time.
I don’t mind her show. It’s bombastic and silly, but she’s awful purty, so she can get away with a lot in my book.
Perhaps, Lord Lissener but much of opera is liberally sprinkled with cheese and saccharine, drenched with flamboyance, accented with silliness, and crowned with middlebrow production values. All that’s missing is, well, Michael Flatley.
I think for many of us “artsy snobs” it has more to do with her artistic choices than her voice. To begin with, someone who is “not quite good enough” for opera should therefore not sing opera. That’s a pretty basic tenet in the industry. Beyond that, when she tries to sing opera, there is a considerable something missing. When she sings Nessun Dorma, the problem is less that she’s singing a tenor aria (although it is considerably less effective as a soprano aria), it’s that she doesn’t appear to have the least clue what it’s about. It’s very “nicely” sung (except for the B, which is pretty weak), but it’s not a nice aria. There is more to singing, especially opera, than making pretty sounds. There is no passion in her interpretation. It’s a failure to understand the entirety of the art, and those of us who appreciate and even live that art find it offputting, even insulting. On the other hand, we all appreciate the need and desire to make a buck, so really, as long as people pay her, what is there to complain about? I don’t have to listen to her.
I wouldn’t disagree with that assessment. I mentioned it mostly because it was the first aria that came to mind when thinking of her body of work. But at least it was better than Michael Bolton’s rendition!
There’s nothing in this post that I didn’t already know, so I’m not exactly sure what you’re getting at. None of what you pointed out in any way disproves–or even really disagrees with–my opinion that Sarah Brightman is the Michael Flatley of cheesey popera.
Which is, of course, an opinion, so I don’t have a problem with your disagreeing with it. But pointing out the obvious, that there are some Great Operas (although ‘opera’ itself is plural, so ‘operas’ always looks wrong to me) with major elements of camp. Nonetheless, Sarah Brightman is the Michael Flatley of cheesey popera.
Funny; I almost said, in my first post above, that Sarah Brightman is the Michael Bolton of cheesey popera. She should tour with the two Michaels, and maybe with Phil Collins. That would something to stay away from.
With John Tesh on piano, Sting (the modern Disney version of Sting, not the one who was really cool in 1981) on bass, Kenny G on the sax, and featuring guest vocalists Gloria Estefan and Norah Jones, all performing the works of Christopher Cross. The highlight is a 27-minute rendition of “Sailing.”
