The holiday season is finally here in Orlando, and so is international singing superstar Sarah Brightman’s elaborate Christmas performance, “A Winter Symphony” tour.
The Phantom of the Opera sensation, who also gave us “Time to Say Goodbye,” has pulled from a vast catalog of Christmas music to create a setlist filled with classical pieces, hymns, nostalgic Charlie Brown selections and festive pop favorites.
Brightman even manages to thread in some hits from The Phantom of the Opera and Time to Say Goodbye, which she says fit well within the Christmas arrangements as they’re full of emotion and drama.
“There’s a complete mixture of things in there for everybody, and it’s beautiful because they tie together amazingly,” Brightman tells Orlando Weekly ahead of her Sunday, Dec. 7 show at the Dr. Phillip’s Center’s Walt Disney Theater. “And it goes by in a flash with all those beautiful choirs and orchestras and lighting and beautiful gowns. It’s an experience, my show.”
For Brightman, carefully curating the show’s setlist was a difficult task. As with any holiday performance, she says there are high stakes in play.
“I feel quite responsible for people’s emotions when they come to see a Christmas concert, because there’s a lot of expectation,” Brightman says. “I think people want fun, but at the same time, they want to be transported into a beautiful story, which, of course, Christmas at this time of year is all about.”
As “the most wonderful time of the year,” Brightman says the Christmas holiday has always been special in her life. She says her family has always made the most of the season; one of her favorite holiday memories was waking up as a young child to find her living room decorated with presents underneath a brightly lit Christmas tree.
More so, Brightman loves the music that’s tied to Christmas, be it older classical pieces or modern holiday-time compositions, as they tend to stir up childhood memories or remind us of loved ones.
Touring for the holiday had been on Brightman’s mind for quite a while, but until COVID-19 hit, her career had never allowed for time to do so. So, as we all sat miserable in our houses, Brightman says she decided to put together her very first Christmas tour.
“We found a beautiful old church in England, in London, and we got permission to do this performance right at the beginning of Covid, and we filmed it, and it went out live on my YouTube channel, and anybody that wanted to watch it, they could donate to charity,” Brightman says. “And it was just a very, very positive thing to do.”
This holiday cheer also finds its way into the process of working with the accompanying orchestra, choir and special guests. Brightman says the orchestras, which are pulled locally from each tour stop, are especially lively when playing Christmas tunes.
Although rehearsals stay incredibly practical, on the night of the show, everything transforms into something far more magical. Once Brightman steps out in front of the audience, she says the metaphysical hits, and all the hard work pays off.
As the world’s best-selling soprano, Brightman’s artistic energy continues to be fueled by a deep-seated passion for her craft, one she says will keep her performing as part of as long as she can.
“The beautiful thing about art, it’s always moving, and sometimes it moves in a way, and you don’t feel attached, and then it will move a different way, and then suddenly think, ‘Oh, I understand that’,” Brightman says. “And you get very motivated by it. So I think it’s just, I’ll do it until the passion leaves.”
Being an international female performer, Brightman has had much to navigate. She speaks very humbly about her talent, saying that she has always felt privileged to have received her gifts and grateful for the strength to nurture them and carry them to audiences.
Whereas Brightman doesn’t have an exact favorite song to sing, she says there have yet to be any she’s weary of.
“I never get tired of singing the songs that I do,” Brightman says. “And I’m definitely one of those artists that if fans come, and they want to hear always the hits, I always give them the hits. Because I know I’m really disappointed if I go and see a concert with an artist who has had particular hits in their in their career, and they don’t sing them, I’m so upset. So I always find a way to get my hits in.”
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