I have to feel good when singing: Brightman

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A woman lies writhing on the floor in a provocative outfit as vibrant music with strong influences from the Middle East plays in the background.

Is it Madonna? Or Britney Spears? Or any of the other female singers who compete with each other by baring their midriff?

As the distinctive soprano is heard the next second, people recognize the powerful voice of Sarah Brightman, who has enchanted millions around the world.

To many, Brightman is still synonymous with Christine of The Phantom of the Opera, the musical phenomenon created by Brightman's ex-husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

After working on Broadway, where she also performed in Cats, the British pop/classical songstress launched a career as a solo artist with the release of her platinum breakthrough in 1997 Time to Say Goodbye. The album topped the Billboard Classical Crossover chart in the United States for 35 weeks, and sold three million copies worldwide.

The success continued with her next albums Eden, La Luna and Sarah Brightman: Classics, which have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, earning her rave reviews and sold-out live performances.

Brightman has just released a new album called Harem, with a new and old repertoire, in which she showcases her songwriting ability. Featuring an orchestra, it resulted in an exotic combination of sounds from the East and the West.

Joining Brightman on this album are classical violin superstar Nigel Kennedy, Iraqi singer Kadim Al Sahir, Natasha Atlas, Ofra Haza and Shweta Shetty.

Aside from the contemporary Middle Eastern sound, Brightman also mixed the sound of grand opera into her songs, such as in Puccini's Un bel di from Madame Butterfly to spark It's A Beautiful Day.

The Journey Home, meanwhile, comes from Indian film composer A.R. Rahman's West End Bollywood musical hit Bombay Dreams, produced in London by Webber.

Brightman was in Taiwan recently and journalists here were given the opportunity to have a video conference with her. Below is an excerpt from the interview with the warm and friendly singer.

Question: Why did you decide to make an album with a tangible Middle Eastern flavor?

Answer: I've always been fascinated by the whole Arabian Nights feeling, an Asian theme, the desert. I love Lawrence of Arabia, English Patient. I wanted to record an album with a Middle Eastern feel. It just felt like the right way to go, just a feeling at first, which is how I begin all my albums.

Q: With the conflict in Iraq, weren't you afraid of anti-Middle East sentiment in Europe and the United States?

A: I started working on this album a very long time ago. It's purely a coincidence with the war in Iraq. There is no political message in this album. It's purely about fantasy, and Middle Eastern and also Asian stories and poetry.

Q: There is a song called The War Is Over in this album, where you perform a duet with an Iraqi singer, Al Sahir. How did you come up with the duet? And what is the song about?

A: I was introduced to Kadim Al Sahir one and a half years ago. He is a well-known Middle Eastern singer. And the chemistry worked well between us.

We asked Kadim to do the song. When he came into the studio, we didn't know what he would do. I told him, 'Just do anything, feel like you're flying over the melody'. So, he just started and it was beautiful. That was the take we used.

The song is actually about ... the message is about love. It's about a war we didn't love. When the Iraq war happened we were actually very worried. But it has nothing to do with it.

Why did you give the album the title of Harem?

In the end, I didn't choose that. We came up with many different titles. Harem means 'a forbidden place' in Arabic. It's very interesting. It's a secretive, mystical place; a place that you can think about but cannot get to.

Q: What do you love most about Middle Eastern music?

A: That's difficult to say, well, not that difficult. I've always loved the sound of the voices. The singing is very soulful, although I can't understand the lyrics most of the time.

When it comes to music, I'm interested in the scale, it's different. I have to say that I had a certain ignorance about the different type of music instruments (of Arabic music). There are so many instruments. But we do that in this album. We listened to many, many traditional songs. They inspired us to do many, many things on this album.

Q: What is your philosophy in singing?

A: I need to feel good when I'm singing. I need to be very, very peaceful and happy, and to be able to collect different feelings. Singing is a spiritual, spiritual thing.

Q: Are you happy with your level of success? Or do you plan to have global domination like Celine Dion, perhaps?

A: I don't think about that too much. What I would like is my music to be accepted by people. People enjoy my work. It was proven in several countries. But it's up to the public to decide.

Q: Are you influenced in any way by the mainstream, pop music scene?

A: I'd like to be aware of everything. I like mainstream because mainstream generally can come up with more offbeat things. I listen to many, many things all the time from all directions. My taste is pretty eclectic.

Q: What are you listening to now?

A: I'm listening to Coldplay. Let's see, what's on my CD players? I like Goldfrapp, Lou Reed, Pink Floyd ...

Q: What direction will your music take in the future?

A: I don't really calculate what I'm going to do next. It's always been very organic, nothing is calculated. I would come up with feelings and ideas, and if it feels right than I go ahead with it. I think I'll continue to record things, listen to different types of music, do different sounds.

Q: Do you plan to take part in another musical?

A: I've spent 10 years of my life working in musicals ... For me it was not a very creative process. I needed a diversion. I'm a creative person, I like to come up with new ideas. No, I don't have any agenda (to do another musical) for the moment.