I have nothing but admiration for the quality of SARAH BRIGHTMAN's high soprano voice, but have less complimentary things to say about her stage presence (she looks like a frightened fawn with staring eyes and awkward hand gestures). Surely, she is someone who has spent a great deal of money on coaches and someone could certainly have pointed out that her limited gestures and unchanging expression (no matter what song she sings) detract from the luster of her singing voice.
She appears to be humble and modest about her own talent, however, and this does come through--also, she appreciates those who were enormously helpful in her career, such as ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, who joins her in one rather brief segment at the piano while she sings his show tune, "Whistle Down the Wind". And, of course, she does a brilliant vocal job on his songs from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.
She also joins forces with ANDREA BOCELLI in a couple of duets, does a fine job on "Les Filles de Cadiz" (one of my favorite songs for soprano voice), and does some compelling work on numbers from WEST SIDE STORY.
But the overall effect is offset by her lackluster and very one-dimensional stage presence--which must have been somewhat a handicap when she played Christine opposite Michael Crawford in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. At least there, her frightened expression made more sense...but it was Crawford who won all the awards and stole the show.
Nor is it possible to close without remarking that her enunciation of words is hindered by the pear-shaped tones she produces so diligently. Most of her words, however, are obscured.
