Does Sarah Brightman Terrify Anyone Else?

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 9:22pm

I have had nightmares about this woman. Am I the only one, or is she just really scary?

[Q]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 9:36pm

Hmmmm. Terrify? Not so much.

I might go with annoy/disturb/grate/mystify.

But, she doesn't enter my awareness if I don't let her. Perhaps that might work for you, as well.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 9:56pm

I created this thread in response to a video I was watching on youtube... something Phantom-related, I think it was "All I Ask Of You"... and then all of a sudden, the video stopped and a huge picture of Sarah Brightman filled the screen with a loud screaming noise, and I actually fell out of my seat. I hadn't realized how scary she was until then.

[Q]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 10:10pm

Oh.

Well, being exposed to the Sarah effect for over 20 years now, I'm not prone to such reactions.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off - and pick better YouTube clips

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 10:55pm

She always seems to fancy herself a forest nymph. A scary one.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 11:11pm

I can listen to her but looking at her is too much. She NEVER blinks.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 11:24pm

She's always done the ridiculous blank face/Quaalude thing that creeped me out, but somewhere between La Luna and Harem she had so much work done she was downright freaky. I couldn't watch any of the Harem promo because all I could see were garage doors where her lips used to be. She was frightening.

While I was watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics this year I noticed that the camera never panned in for a close-up and joked to a friend that it was because she'd had so much plastic surgery she looked like a circus freak. Imagine my surprise when she showed up on the Today show the very next day looking more wholesome and normal than I'd ever seen her, and she came off as very down-to-earth in her interview as well.

So, yes - she used to terrify me much in the same way as some people are terrified of clowns, but not so much anymore. I see a middle-aged woman beginning to finally find a persona she is comfortable in.

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 10/16/08 at 11:44pm

I saw a tv airing of a recent concert of hers in Vienna, and during the "Phantom of the Opera" number when she was vocalizing the end part (IE: Sing my angel of music!), the camera angle of her singing looked like a banshee (and sounded like one, too!) hovering above my bed. It was f-ing scary. Her eyes were all wide and vacant.

So yes, she terrifies me, and makes my ears even more sh*t-scared.

[roquat]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 1:30am

Several of you must know she is appearing in a movie musical entitled "Repo: The Genetic Opera" next month, in which her costars are Paul Sorvino and....Paris Hilton.

Who do you feel sorry for in THAT cast?

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 8:31am

Schmerg_The_Impaler, I liked you until you started this thread *hugs*

No, Sarah does NOT "terrify" me.

She is beautiful, talented and from what I hear and see in interviews, a pretty sweet lady.

Nothing scary about that.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 8:51am

I love her albums. Every one.
Eden, La Luna, Symphony, Dive, and all the rest.


I saw her Eden concert at City Center in NY and it was spectacular.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 8:56am

I saw her in PHANTOM, and she was pretty bad. She sang the role prettily enough, but the poor dear simply can't act. I could see her repeating her directions in her head, "Now two steps to the right, now two steps to the left, frown, roll my eyes left, indicate fear..." and so on. The big mystery about the show was what on earth the Phantom saw in her in the first place.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 8:58am

I agree she's not a very good actress. She's much more at home performing in a concert setting.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 8:59am

I saw one of her shows from (I guess?) about 10 years ago on television. It was an elaborate concert staged in Vegas, and I thought it was terrific. She has come so far since her "Phantom" days in the '80s.

And for a performer to actually improve significantly with age is a rare thing. Most either stay the same or decline a bit.

But Sarah has gotten better, both as a singer and as a performer.

And to that, I say, "Brava!"

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 9:14am

Who wants to see Paris Hilton in the Apple Tree?

sorry - off topic

Yeah, SB's eyes are creepy.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 9:17am

Don't get me wrong. I wish her well, God bless, she's not hurting anyone that I know of, she's not lying to the UN about weapons of mass destruction or anything like that.

She also got a lot of heat when PHANTOM first opened, over Lloyd Webber's insistence that she open the show in NYC. It can't have been easy for her. I remember when I saw the show, each cast member got mobs of admirers, except her. She came out the stage door in a huge fur coat and people kept their distance, as opposed to the crowds who went for Michael Crawford etc.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 9:30am

Oh, she was as welcomed in the Big Apple during "Phantom" as Typhoid Mary.

It was also known (or at least I knew, and so did all my friends) that Patti Cohenour had auditioned for and won the role of Christine in the OBC. It might have even been announced in the media. Then a few weeks later, Andrew said that "Mrs. Lloyd Webber" would come to the U.S. to play the part. And for a brief moment, there was a stink with Actors' Equity, where finally Webber said that if they didn't approve her for the work, he would pull the entire production out of America. They quickly changed their minds.

But there was a lot of bitterness after that. Patti agreed to stay on as Sarah's "alternate," and do Thursday nights and Sunday matinees. She was also guaranteed to replace Sarah, once she left. Still, it felt like a giant act of nepotism, and most of the heat landed on Ms. Brightman. It was pretty awful.

I remember one of the major reviews (maybe even the NY Times) actually saying of her acting ability, "Sarah Brightman couldn't act scared on a subway at 3 o'clock in the morning."

Ouch.

Updated On: 10/17/08 at 09:30 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 9:59am

Besty, I was going to quote that review, too.

I also remember "7Days" posting a picture of her and Andrew kissing, and the caption was "Muskrat Love."

I've always found her . . . odd. I think her voice is a little bit of a "made up" one; it's not a natural sound to me. But I confess I do have two of her sort of Euro-pop-New-Agey albums, which I used to enjoy. Haven't listened in years, though.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 10:04am

I agree with the "made up" quality. I think once she stopped trying to be either legit or theatrically conventional, and she reinvented herself as this "Euro-pop performance creature," that's when she really blossomed. I thought the concert I saw (and the mammoth production surrounding it) was outstanding on television. I couldn't believe it was that very same "Mrs. Lloyd Webber."

It's to her credit that she kept going until she found her real ("made up") voice!

EDIT: I will add this... her version of "Pie Jesu" still gets me. I think her duet with Paul Miles Kingston is the best version recorded. That was the first time I realized there was more to Sarah than just a bad actress floating around in a boat singing high notes.

Updated On: 10/17/08 at 10:04 AM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 10:13am

I love her. She doesnt terrify me in anyway. Actually, I think she was at her worst when she was doing Phantom. I think she was quite unhappy and people were downright mean to her, usually attacking her looks (AND WE WONDER WHY SHE GOT SURGERY WHEN REVIEWERS CALLED HER A RACCOON!)

She is stunning now and her last tour was phenomenal. She is very kind hearted and intelligent and well schooled in music. She is very thoughtful about song selections and chooses both classical pieces and contemporary pop. No one else is really doing what she does and she fills a niche. Her stage productions are state of the art and the current tour is supposed to be on the cutting edge of stage craft.

I adore her. She had to go to Europe and re-invent herself-the US gave her no choice. European and Asian audiences are kinder and open minded. I think she has a lot of tenacity and discipline and her body is smoking hot.

Updated On: 10/17/08 at 10:13 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 10:29am

This blew me away when I first saw it on MTV (Yes, MTV ran this video a lot.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3mTANHqZLI

It still overwhelms me emotionally on a very fundamental level. I think everything about it is perfect.

And this is from a Vegas concert, years later. Do you think anyone involved with "Wicked" might have seen this? Hmmm....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKVP4oEoMn0

Updated On: 10/17/08 at 10:29 AM

[Becky2]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 10:54am

I really don't find her the least bit terrifying. Well, maybe in "I Fell In Love With A Starshiptrooper..." But that's not so much Sarah Brightman as it is the entire video/song...

But really, it takes a lot to scare me. I go to school and work in Flint, MI.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 11:07am

LOL

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 11:16am

The Harem Tour was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Stunning. And unlike WICKED, Sarah actually flew, she wasn't hoisted on a forklift.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 10/17/08 at 12:13pm

I think she's pretty.....heck she's 6 years older than me and she looks darn good.