Sarah Brightman doesn’t disappoint

Published 10:49 pm Sunday, December 14, 2008

When Sarah Brightman opened the second half of her Sunday night show singing “You Take My Breath Away,” you sort of felt like shouting, “Likewise!”

The famed soprano played Comcast Arena in a go-for-broke show designed to please every listener and arrest every eye. And it seemed to do just that.

The concert drew several thousand people to downtown Everett. The crowd, some dressed in gowns, others in suits, looked ready for a theatrical show. They would not be disappointed.

Brightman, perhaps best known for starring in the original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” played hits from throughout her 30-year career.

Now 48, Brightman is not a woman heading quietly toward 50. Instead, like Madonna, she revels in spectacle. Every two or three songs led to a costume change for the British star. She wore swooping necklines that begged for a wardrobe malfunction.

Somewhat amazingly, she was not the most stunning sight onstage.

The show constantly employed high-tech stagecraft. During a performance of “What a Wonderful World,” Brightman was surrounded by lights mimicking butterflies. At another point, she and eight dancing girls were projected onto a screen, giving the illusion they were floating in midair, swimming through a virtual pool, as if in a Busby Berkeley movie.

Every now and then, Brightman would simply stand center stage, bathed in a spotlight, and sing. That was pretty neat, too.

Really, it almost seemed like the show was a dare. It was as if Brightman, who has said she was highly involved in the staging, wanted to know if people would still listen to her, even as she was surrounded by enough special effects to make director Michael Bay blush.

At times, you lost sight of Brightman. You found yourself staring at all the frippery — the falling paper rose petals, the dancing girls with umbrellas. It inspired wonder.

But then Brightman would hit a note during an aria. You would put aside the fact that the singer was sitting on a swing about 20 feet above the stage, and that the trail of her dress stretched all the way to the floor.

And then you would wonder instead, how in the world did she do that?

Reporter Andy Rathbun: arathbun@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3455.