Angel

INCLUDING FOUR BRAND-NEW SONGS, ON ANGEL RECORDS' SARAH BRIGHTMAN: CLASSICS

The image you see evokes the antique loveliness of Botticelli's Venus while simultaneously transporting you to an evocative futuristic vision... the shimmering, crystalline sound is stunningly in the moment. The voice of Sarah Brightman is back, soaring to new heights on Sarah Brightman: CLASSICS, the essential collection showcasing the soprano voice from Angel Records that blends exciting new material with a selection of the singer's own favourite classical songs from her chart-topping albums Eden and La Luna, including her solo version of the international hit single "Time To Say Goodbye." Sarah Brightman: CLASSICS will be in stores November 20th.

This new collection is the ultimate Sarah Brightman experience, one that begins with the sexy, smouldering image of the singer on the cover, hinting at the pleasures within. Through Brightman's inimitable soprano, an edgy, here-and-now sensuality emerges from the sublime classical roots of these songs, reminding the listener why The Hollywood Reporter marvelled at her gift for being "a delicate waif one minute, operatic diva the next"

In addition to the title track from Time To Say Goodbye, Sarah has included "La Wally, another hit from that breakthrough album. Encore selections from Eden are "Lascia Ch'io Pianga," "Anytime, Anywhere" and "Bailero," and from La Luna come "Serenade/How Fair This Place," "Figlio Perduto" and the title track.

With her most recent album, La Luna, a unique crossover mix of classical and pop, Sarah exceeded all expectations, debuting in the top 20 on Billboard's Top 200 Pop Chart and is now approaching platinum certification - the highest American chart debut of her career and a major mainstream breakthrough for the singer. Brightman's version of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was the album's breakout single, inspiring a dance mix that became an international hit. The ATB mix of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" went to #1 on Dance Music Authority magazine's Hi-NRG Chart, debuted top 5 on Billboard's Maxi Single Chart and quickly soared up Billboard's Club Play Chart.

With worldwide sales exceeding 8 million, Brightman has single-handedly redefined the concept of the crossover artist. The international triumph of Eden and La Luna - echoed in the live concert films of both, and available from Angel on DVD and VMS - followed the revelatory success of her platinum breakthrough album in 1997. That album, Time to Say Goodbye, topped the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart in the U.S. for a staggering 35 weeks, sold over 3 million copies worldwide and went gold or platinum in 21 countries. Eden, released in 1999, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart (and at No. 67 on the Top 200 Chart), remaining on the chart for nearly 100 weeks.

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Sarah Brightman has gone where no woman has gone before - to the top of the international pop, classical and crossover worlds all at once. Now she celebrates that extraordinary fact with the release of Sarah Brightman: CLASSICS, an essential new collection from Angel/EMI Records that brings together four brand-new songs with the singer's favorite classical pieces from her worldwide hit albums Time to Say Goodbye, Eden and La Luna. In what is perhaps the ultimate celebration of the soprano voice. Sarah's shimmering, crystalline sound christens four new songs - "Ave Maria," "Winter Light," "Alhambra" and "Dans La Nuit" - as well as a new recording of "Tie Jesu," from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem, written especially for her voice. All five of these tracks, plus new recordings of the arias "O Mio Babbino Caro" and "Nessun Dorma," feature Sarah singing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to the title track from Time to Say Goodbye, she has included "La Wally," another hit from that breakthrough album. Encore selections from Eden are "Lascia Ch'io Pianga," "Anytime, Anywhere" and "Bailero," and from La Luna come "Serenade/How Fair This Place," "Figlio Perduto" and the title track. The rich variety in these pieces reflects one of the most magical qualities of Sarah's voice, through which an edgy, here-and-now sensuality emerges from the classical roots of these songs. This is why The Hollywood Reporter marvelled at her gift for seeming "a delicate waif one minute, operatic diva the next,"

"Being varied is something I do instinctively and naturally," Sarah notes. "I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Everything is in tune: the voice, the type of music, who I am and who people think I am. I've been trying to find my own niche, a style very much my own. At last I've found it."

Sarah Brightman: CLASSICS continues an important creative collaboration that has shaped Sarah's previous Angel Recordings: Time to Say Goodbye, Eden and La Luna. All were produced by Frank Peterson, who co-produced Enigma's first multi-platinum hit, and all represent what Sarah's artistic vision when she left her successful career in musical theatre, where she starred in Cats and became virtually synonymous with the role of Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's phenomenon, The Phantom of the Opera.

Indeed. Sarah has performed virtually her entire life. At the age of 12, she was already performing in London's West End in the musical / and Albert, an experience that doubtlessly fuelled her appetite for stardom. Upon leaving London's leading performing arts school at 16, Sarah joined Pan's People, best known as the resident dance troupe on BBC's Top of the Pops. A year later, she led another sexy, cutting-edge dance group - Hot Gossip - to their first Top Ten hit on the British Hit Parade with the disco cult classic "Starship Trooper."

At the age of 20, Sarah landed the role of Jemima in the original production of Cats. But it was not until she was cast in Charles Strouse's Nightingale that her ethereal soprano caught the attention of Andrew Lloyd Webber. They married in 1984, and soon after, Lloyd-Webber wrote his setting of the Requiem with her voice in mind, dedicating it to the victims of wars everywhere. In early 1985, Sarah and Placido Domingo premiered the Requiem to critical acclaim, and the soprano's recording of the "Pie Jesu" movement soared to the top of Billboard's charts.

Throughout her marriage to Lloyd Webber, Sarah played vocal muse to his musical genius, serving as the inspiration for many compositions, most notably the theatrical phenomenon The Phantom of the Opera. In 1986, Sarah created the role of Christine, both in the West End and on Broadway, setting the standard for the many ingenues who have since followed in her footsteps. She also recorded Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance for television broadcast, starred in The Merry Widow and released three solo albums -Early One Morning, Songs That Got Away and As I Came of Age - as well as numerous other singles. Sarah and Andrew quickly became the most celebrated couple in the West End and on Broadway, but by the late eighties, their respective work pressures had weighed irreparably on their relationship.

The Lloyd Webber-Brightman professional collaboration remained intact despite their breakup in 1990. Sarah continued to tour in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and starred in the London, New York and San Francisco productions of Aspects of Love. In 1992, she and Jose Carreras performed Lloyd Webber's Barcelona Olympic Games hit anthem, "Amigos Para Siempre," to millions of television viewers worldwide.

Sarah's life and career were, however, about to take a decisive turn. Upon clinching a recording contract with a major label, Sarah moved to Los Angeles to embark on a solo career. Yet finding the right producer who understood her sensibilities proved difficult. "They kept sending me American producers but it just wasn't gelling. Enigma had just been very big in America and there was something about them that felt European, that felt like it was exactly my taste. It was what I would have done if I were producing and doing instrumental pieces - not a symphony, but with a classical dance vibe."

Sarah's instincts once again proved correct. Enigma's co-producer, Frank Peterson, was based in Germany where she -was still virtually unknown. It was a time of working, experimenting, learning and training. She lived in Italy part of the time and worked with a vocal coach to improve her bel canto style. And it allowed her to return to her roots in classical music. But, as Sarah recalls, it was not without its risks:

"It took a lot of courage to seize control. I literally from one day to the next said 'no more.' I just thought I wasn't going to be happy unless I moved on. I knew I'd have to take the risk. There were great offers coming in from all over the world and I just sort of had to blank out really and start again. Germany didn't know me from Adam. They had no idea who I was, they didn't care and it was great because I had a fresh start. I had to really struggle in another area but it was an area I knew that I should be in and I should be doing because it's actually what I came from originally before I went into musical theatre. I only went into theatre at first because I was out of work. Sometimes life takes you down those paths," she adds with a laugh.

Between flying to Milan for classical voice lessons and back to London's West End to play dramatic roles - Relative Values, Dangerous Obsession and The Innocents - Sarah shuttled to Hamburg over the next few years to record the albums Dive and Fly. From the pop and edgy rock overtones in these two albums to the classical crossover repertoire of recent years, Sarah's collaboration with Peterson has produced an astoundingly diverse body of work. Indeed, it is a partnership that has yielded magic, with Peterson's lush, wall-to-wall soundscapes providing the consummate backdrop for Sarah's vocal gymnastics.

Since then, Sarah has recorded an unbroken string of crossover hits, with worldwide sales of her albums surpassing eight million units. Her platinum breakthrough, 1997's Time to Say Goodbye topped the Billboard Classical Crossover chart in the U.S. for a staggering 35 weeks, sold 4 million copies worldwide and went gold or platinum in 21 countries. The title track, a duet with Andrea Bocelli, sold 5 million copies worldwide, and stands as Germany's biggest selling single in history. She followed that up with her 1999 release, Eden, which hit #1 on Billboard Magazine's Classical Crossover chart (for a total of 51 weeks), is far past gold in the U.S. and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Even greater success greeted the release of La Luna, marking the highest American chart debut of her career and representing a major mainstream breakthrough. The album debuted in the top 20 on Billboard's Top 200 Pop chart - and debuted #1 on the Classical Crossover chart. The album is rapidly approaching platinum certification. The album's breakout single, the singer's version of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale," inspired a dance mix that became an international hit. It went to #1 on Dance Music Authority's Hi-NRG chart, debuted in the top five on Billboard's Maxi Single chart and quickly soared up Billboard's Club Play Chart.

In 1999, Sarah embarked on her biggest tour yet. The remarkable One Night In Eden tour, which included a 60-date, sold-out North American leg, was seen by nearly 200,000 people and garnered rave reviews. Filmed for a PBS TV special, Sarah Brightman: One Night in Eden repeated the success of 1998's Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Both ruled the airwaves during pledge drives and rank among the most successful pledge events to date. One Night in Eden was released as a home video with bonus footage on both VHS and DVD in October 1999 and it too (like all that Sarah seemingly touches) went gold.

Last year, Sarah returned to North America with a magnificent new production featuring a dramatic stage design, playing 41 cities (including sold-out shows in New York and Los Angeles) in the La Luna concert tour that The Washington Post called "a breathtaking production... the most memorable concert of the year," and that the Los Angeles Times praised as being "comparable to an ancient Greek display of sight and sound intended to affirm the powers of Athena." With this triumphant tour, Sarah distinguished herself as the number one British touring artist, performing more concerts than any other British act in the U.S. The DVD and VHS of the La Luna concert extravaganza, capturing Sarah's live show in Florida, were released this past spring. That concert is the third PBS special containing never-before-seen rare interview and backstage footage. The concert was directed by Bruce Gowers, who has helmed recent TV specials starring Britney Spears and Ricky Martin. Sarah will be in Tokyo and Moscow this fall with Jose Carreras, where both artists will perform solo pieces, as well as duets. She will also be heading to the U.S. over the holidays for special television appearances.

"I love a challenge. The last four years it has all come to fruition and it has been wonderful," simply states the singer hailed by Billboard as, "one of the truly glorious voices..."

Doreen D'Agostino

Angel Records/EMI Classics

212.253.3038

doreen.d'agostino@capitolrecords.com

www.angelrecords.com