Sarah Brightman biography
Date of birth : 1950-08-14
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England
Nationality : British
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2010-09-16
Credited as : Actress, soprano-singer, sang for Alice in Wonderland
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Sarah Brightman was born to Paula and Grenville Brightman. Sarah is the eldest of the six children in the family. Sarah Brightman began taking ballet lessons from the age of three. By the time she turned eleven, Sarah was already learning acting and jazz from the Arts Educational Boarding School. Sarah Brightman has had her training in vocals first with Elizabeth Hawes, head of the Trinity Music College in London; and later with Ellen Faul of Juilliard; and later studied with internationally renowned voice teacher David Romano.
Though she failed to make it to the London’s Royal Ballet, the undeterred Sarah Brightman at age sixteen joined Pan’s People, the dance group that performed on the BBC’s “Top of the Pops” television show. Two years later, Sarah Brightman found a spot as the lead vocalist with the musical group “Hot Gossip” in 1978. With Sarah in the lead, the “Hot Gossip” created a chart-topping disco hit ‘I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper’, a space-themed number which sold 500,000 copies in 1978. After spending some time with “Hot Gossip” Sarah returned to the theater in 1981 bagging a role of Jemima on the new musical “Cats”. During the rehearsals of “Cats”, Sarah met composer Andrew Lloyd Webber who would later become her husband three years hence. Sarah Brightman joined her husband Lloyd Webber’s musicals including “Song & Dance”, and the mass “Requiem” which was specifically written for her to suit her voice and vocal range and she rightly earned her first Grammy nomination.
Later Lloyd Webber created a role of Christine Daae in the “Phantom of the Opera” for Sarah Brightman. But the American Actors’ Equity Association refused to allow Sarah to play the role when the show opened on Broadway. They objected on the grounds that Sarah Brightman either should be an American actress or an international star to play the lead role, which she is neither both. However the Association relented when Lloyd Webber promised to cast an American in a leading role in his next West End musical. A promise he dutifully fulfilled during the castings for “Aspects of Love”. She has since toured along with Lloyd Webber musicals throughout England, United States and Canada and their Requiem opened in Soviet Union too.
During her theatrical performances, Sarah Brightman released two solo albums: “The Trees They Grow So High” {1988}, a collection of traditional folk songs accompanied by piano; and “The Songs That Got Away” {1989}, a collection of musical theatrical songs cut from the shows by composers such as Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim. Sarah Brightman went on to perform theatrical plays along with her husband Lloyd Webber until they took divorce in 1990.
After her divorce, Sarah Brightman became a crossover artist with former Enigma producer Frank Peterson. Sarah Brightman blended her music with pop, classical vocals and instrumentation and created a crossover genre of music to capture the hearts of all sections of music lovers. Her first solo release was “Dive” {1993} a water-themed pop album. In 1995, Sarah’s sophomore album “Fly” catapulted her to fame in Europe with a hit single ‘A Question of Honour’. She then went on to release six more albums such as “Time to Say Goodbye” (1997), “Eden” (1998), “La Luna” (2000), “Classics” (2001), “Harem” {2003), and “Symphony” (2008) that propelled her singing career to the dizzying heights of successes across the world.
Sarah Brightman who peaked at #1 spots on the Billboard Classical and Dance charts simultaneously has also received 150 Gold and Platinum awards in over 34 countries across the world.
Sarah Brightman married music manager Andrew Graham Stewart at the age of eighteen. Their marriage ended in divorce and Sarah Brightman later married Lloyd Webber in 1984. The marriage with Lloyd Webber after lasting six years ended in divorce in 1990. She later dated Frank Peterson, her current producer. Sarah is reportedly dating Louis Oberlander.
Sarah Brightman along with Chinese singer Liu Han sang the Olympics Theme Song at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
She sang a song from "Alice in Wonderland" and her mother who was in the audience describe the raising moment.
