A four-year gestation led to the delivery of Sarah’s latest musical baby, her first since 2003. Symphony topped the US classical and dance album charts within days of its release there earlier this year, the first time one artist has held the number one spot in both charts. Its extraordinarily eclectic mix of tracks includes a version of the Adagietto from Mahier’s Fifth Symphony, a classically accented song inspired by Baudelaire’s provocative poem Les fleurs du ma!, a winning duet with Andrea Bocelli, Canto del/a terra, and power ballads once heard, never forgotten.

“Whereas most singers gravitate towards vocal works, I have always been far more drawn to symphonic work,” explains Sarah, “where the composer paints a story that the listener can see without opening their eyes. Over the past four years of recording this album, I find myself approaching my music even more visually than I ever have before. I found that the canvas was endless for this album.” Her colourful crossover

creations were developed in collaboration with long-time Brightman producer, Frank Peterson. “Throughout my career I have worked in so many different styles of music,~ the singer observes. “This is the first album where all of these styles come together to create a very diverse musical landscape.”

Symphony is the latest in a long line of smash-hit Brightman recordings. In fact, Sarah cut her first disc exactly thirty years ago, scoring an instant pop hit with ‘I lost my heart to a Starship trouper’. The soprano’s gilt-edged career credits include creating the role of Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera for the West End and on Broadway, duetting with Spanish tenor Jose Carreras in the official song of the 1992 Olympic Games, recording an album of Benjamin Britten’s folksong arrangements. and appearing in last year’s A Concert for Diana. She has sold over 26 million albums worldwide, capturing over 150 gold or platinum discs in 34 countries along the way.

Sarah recalls the pleasure of working again with Andrea Bocelli on Canto del/a terra. “There’s a lot of light and a lot of gold in this particular song,” she says. “His voice and mine really blend. It’s quite rare. I’ve sung with different duet partners all over the world — classical, non-classical — and it’s not very often where you come across a partner where the voices seem to fit with each other. And ours do.”

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