For Curtains Up by Samantha Wexler
Last night was the long anticipated Sarah Brightman concert at the Bell Centre, the fourth show on the North American leg of her Dreamchaser tour, and Ms. Brightman did not disappoint.
Brightman is a classical crossover soprano who had not been to Montreal in almost five years. The Bell Centre was pleasantly filled with around five thousand people who were dressed up for a sophisticated evening full of beautiful music and wonderfully lavish, sparkly costumes. The stage was simple, two band members on either side, the rest was reserved for Brightman and in some segments two young dancers. At first glance the backdrop seemed plain but as soon as the show started, it was clear that Ms Brightman’s imagination and love of space was in full force. The background was an enormous screen that had different projections for each song such as planets, galaxies, laser shows and space shuttles just to name a few themes.
The show started with Brightman in a rich gold coloured dress standing high on a podium while she sang “Angel” which was the first single that was released on the new Dreamchaser album that came out in its entirety this past April. After the song was over the crowd went wild, it was refreshing to see that so many people are truly fans. The next songs were “A Day Like This” and “Glosoli” both from Dreamchaser. During a quick wardrobe change two dancers came onstage to entertain us with their very fluid dance moves where they almost seemed like jewelry box dancers with the music that was playing warming us up for the next song. Sarah Brightman came back and sang an old favourite ‘Hijo de la Luna” from the La Luna album in a white sparkly dress and crystal encrusted tiara. Brightman went through many costume changes throughout the night, each one more impressive and sparkly than the next. She sang most of the songs that are on the Dreamchaser album as well as many old favorites including a duet with Swiss tenor Erkan Aki where they sang “Canto della Terra” to thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
After a sublime version of Ave Maria where Brightman resembled a heavenly being both in appearance and voice Aki later returned to accompany Brightman in a highly anticipated version of Phantom of the Opera where the crowd went completely wild until she said that it was “Time to Say Goodbye” and sang the ubiquitous song solo. That was her final song of the evening until she came back for an encore in a black dress that lit up in colours of blue and magenta. During her encore she sang Venus and Mars also from Dreamchaser as well as a very energetic and upbeat “A Question of Honour” complete with light show and space themed backdrop.
The show was otherworldly and etherial. Brightman’s voice was nothing less than glorious and goose bump inducing. There is a good reason why she has been dubbed the Angel of Music, her professionalism, grace and poise are beyond compare.
