Sarah Brightman, famous for role as Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera, has
come a long way since then. For proof of that, one needs to look no further than her 2000
CD, La Luna.
The CD is incredible in its diversity, which could have been an issue, had she not
had such talented producers and an incredible voice. Helping her along is the motif of the
CD, which the title alludes to. “La Luna” is based almost entirely around night time, the
moon and dreaming.
Opening with a short track ”La Luna”, it acts like an introduction to the rest of the
CD and features a sample from the first moon landing. Throughout the rest of the CD,
Sarah tackles traditional songs and new material with, for the most part, a great deal of
success. She does a great rendition of “Scarborough Fair” that conjures up great imagery.
Since she is called “classical crossover” she does offer pieces by Beethoven,
Rachmaninov and Handel all of which are delivered beautifully, Beethoven’s “Figlio
Perduto” being one of the highlights of the CD.
Though she does have the capacity to handle operatic pieces, she does delve into
other genres, sometimes with less success than her traditional forte. She renders a version
of Dido’s “Here With Me”, which her voice is to light to carry, especially when one
considers Dido’s own version of the song, with her much deeper, soulful voice. Another
track she probably could have left alone was the jazz tune “Gloomy Sunday”, which is yet
another one that should be left to someone (for example Billie Holiday) who can handle
jazz tunes.
Overall, this CD is worth picking up, especially for anyone who is just becoming
interested in classical music. And her performance of the not listed track “Moon River” is
so sweet that it makes up for the places where the CD falters.
