Symphony Review

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(More customer reviews)I simply love the CD. Picked up my copy this morning and popped it into the CD player. Wow, totally worth the 4-year wait! I was more than thrilled to hear the eclectic array of songs Sarah has chosen for Symphony. There's an edge to the album, which was coming sooner or later, and I'm relieved to finally hear something a little more close to home, rather than her fully themed albums from before. Symphony offers a little something for everyone. The songs which caught my attention are: Gothica, Symphony, Sanvean, Attesa and, surprisingly, Running. "Sanvean" is a Dead Can Dance cover tune, which is beautiful. Even though I reviewed the MP3 of "Running" and bashed it, I've grown to liking it because of that tribal beat which pops up around the middle of the song. I still think that Gustav Holst's original (Jupiter, from "The Planets") should've been left untouched, but Sarah has put her touch on that such classic just the same.
Symphony is voluptuous and living proof that Sarah is truly the best-selling Soprano of all time. Sarah uses a lot more of her higher, not necessarily operatic range on the album, which is pleasing to the ears, cos she's got a really lovely pop voice too. I haven't heard some notes she belts out, in a long time! The whole ethereality of the photos throughout the digipack & booklet are really nice, though some clever editing & airbrushing has been done, giving Sarah a truly different appearance in the photos. Her blonde wig is interesting with that braid across the front top portion of her head. I don't think she makes a great blonde, compared to her long, cascading raven tresses. And the backdrops...how ethereal and lofty everything seems. I like it. It's theatrical and playful at the same time. Sarah has picked up on a totally different fashion style. I love that white angelic number she wears, looking down upon her altar ego in the red dress down below.
Glad to know that Andrea Bocelli has been brought back to Duet with Sarah on "Canto Della Terra". So pretty and breathy and really packs a wallop of sound! I don't really care for Paul Stanley's voice on "I Will Be With You", compared to the original SB version, sung with Chris Thompson. His is a more soothing, smooth voice. But I realize Sarah was going for something a little more edgier, so I presume that is why they settled with the Paul Stanley version for the album.
Tracklisting is as follows:
01. Gothica - 1:20
02. Fleurs Du Mai - 4:10
03. Symphony - 4:47
04. Canto Della Terra - featuring Andrea Bocelli 3:59
05. Sanvean - 3:50
06. I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go) - featuring Paul Stanley - 04:31
07. Schwere Träume - 3:22
08. Sarai Qui - featuring Alessandro Safina 3:56
09. Storia d'Amore - 4:03
10. Let It Rain - 4:17
11. Attesa - 4:26
12. Pasión - featuring Fernando Lima
13. Running - 6:09
I don't know about the American edition, but my Canadian edition (the cd itself) is glossy red with silver lettering. It's very pretty and unlike any of Sarah's previous discs. I highly recommend purchasing Symphony, because it's really a wonderful album with a lot to offer.
Bonus material is available, through visiting Sarah's official website, once you've purchased the CD.


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Japanese pressing of the famed vocalist's 2008 featuring one bonus track: 'Forbidden Colours'. Symphony is Sarah Brightman's firststudio album for five years. Recorded in Germany, Symphony features all new songs and is created with Sarah's long-time producer Frank Peterson. The repertoire ranges from beautiful ballads 'Symphony', 'Fleur du Mal' and epic power rock scores 'I Will Be With You' to interpretations of the work 'Jupiter' from Holst's The Planets on 'Running' to Faith Hill's 'There You'll Be' sung in Italian as 'Sarai Qui' and many more.On this album Sarah reunites with Andrea Bocelli to sing 'Canto Della Terra', as well as singing duets with Fernando Lima (Mexican tenor) on 'Passion' and Paul Stanley (Kiss) on 'I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go) '. The album showcases Sarah linguistic vocal skills by singing in Spanish, Italian, French and for the first time German.EMI.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Symphony: Live in Vienna (CD & DVD) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's great to finally have the opportunity to review this spectacular concert DVD and CD. The clarity of the audio recording and the picture itself is amazing, and they didn't hack the concert in the editing room when it was put from DVD to CD. You get almost the entire audio recording on the CD, including most of the verbal contact Sarah has with the audience. I think this CD is 100 times better than the Harem World Tour CD recording, which makes this package a totally worthwhile purchase. The photos are stunning and the printing of the glossy booklet make everything look so nice. The DVD is purple and the CD is black, with silver lettering on both. As for the artwork of the DVD insert, there is silver lettering on both front and back. The interview with some of the Cathedral's staff is really nice and they show just how appreiative they were of having Sarah perform in their majestic historical building.
Sarah's costumes and hair are gorgeous and she is definitely glowing and looking more pretty than ever. There is one small difference from the studio recording of "Fleurs Du Mal" and the recording in this package. What I'm saying is...Sarah doesn't do that high-pitched vocalise while the violin solo comes in in the intro of the song, compared to the studio album recording. I wonder if it would've wrecked the intro to the song if she did sing it while moving down the middle aisle.
"Sanvean" written by Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance) is a beautiful vocalise consisting of no lyrics but just sounds. That is what I love about this song. It's just so haunting and original, and Sarah does it very well, even if some say she's too breathy. "Canto Della Terra" is beautiful and Alessandro Safina looks and sounds amazing as Sarah's duet partner. Together, they blow everyone away with their breathtaking live rendition of the song. "Atessa" is very pretty and much better than expected. It really doesn't appear they used any playback for this concert, meaning Sarah used her own voice for the whole recording. I was actually expecting Atessa to be dubbed from the studio recording because of that very outstanding high note at th end, which is incredibly hard to do without screaming it.
"POTO" turned out to be quite nice, although it was a little too fast-paced compared to the original version. But the rock concert edge gives it a totally new edge and Sarah was still able to sing over the volume of the rock band and the pipe organ high above her and Chris Thompson. Oh, that reminds me, my only negative comment would be....Chris Thompson looks like someone they dragged off the street to duet with Sarah. He sounded a little tired in "I will be with you". He sounded winded although he still had a rock edge to his voice...and to his style. But, on "POTO" he and Sarah really blew me away when I watched the performance for the 1st time.
It's really wonderful to have this beautiful DVD&CD package and I'll cherish it for many years to come. This is by far, Sarah's best live performance on DVD, to date...although there are some really amazing live performances on her other live DVDs. But this one really showcases Sarah's live singing voice, and how well she can work with a rock band. Get this item and you'll agree, it's totally worth the wait and the money.

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In January 2008, Sarah Brightman recorded and filmed Symphony -- Live in Vienna within the mystical walls of Stephansdome Cathedral in the heart of where classical music evolved -- Vienna, Austria. Renowned for its awe-inspiring Gothic architecture, the cathedral was the perfect setting to enter the magical world of Symphony lead by the voice of the beautiful, gothic-angel. The concert includes repertoire from her album Symphony and some of her most popular songs ("Phantom of the Opera," "Time to Say Goodbye"). COMBO PACKAGES TRACKLISTING* 1. Pie Jesu 2. Fleurs du Mal 3. Symphony 4. Sanvean 5. Canto della Terra (duet w/Alessandro Safina) 6. Sarai Qui (duet w/Alessandro Safina) 7. Attesa 8. I Will Be with You (Where the Lost Ones Go) (duet w/Chris Thompson) 9. Storia d'Amore 10. Pasión (duet w/Fernando Lima) 11. Running 12. Let It Rain 13. The Phantom of the Opera (duet w/Chris Thompson) 14. Time to Say Goodbye 15. Ave Maria 16. Vide Cor Meum (*bonus track) DVD extras: The Production (interview with Sarah Brightman) The Songs (interview with Sarah Brightman) The Location (interview with Father Anthony Faber and historian Elisabeth Lloyd-Davis) Photo Gallery Extras RT approx. 45 minutes Total RT for combo pkgs approx. 75 minutes

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