The world-renowned best-selling soprano, top classical artist, songwriter and dancer, Sarah Brightman, was in town last month for her debut in Macau. And what a performance it was: the British soprano showed why she is considered one of the best “classical crossover” performers, with more than 150 gold and platinum awards in 34 countries.
The number “Time to Say Goodbye”, of course, was one of the highlights of the night.
Ms Brightman avoided a big arena production in Macau, preferring a more intimate performance. This allows her to connect better with her audience, she said before the show. “I myself really enjoy it,” she said.
Although this was her first performance in Macau, Ms Brightman is no stranger to the city, which she first visited in the early 1990s. “Things have changed dramatically,” she said.
“I was actually in Macau not very long ago, scouting places for a movie I am producing,” she said. Although no final choices have been made yet, Ms Brightman was impressed with some of the spots she checked out. But she gave no details, stressing that the project is still in its early stages.

No more musicals
Early in her career, Ms Brightman starred in several Broadway musicals, including “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats”, both being the work of her former husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber. She is now long retired from that genre, describing her retirement as “a huge relief”. She does not go to musicals any more.
“Before, I felt I was more, like, working rather than enjoying myself,” she said. Ms Brightman believes that after she decided to go solo, she really started finding herself as an artist.
Looking at showbiz nowadays, Ms Brightman thinks a lot has changed. “With so many talent shows, everything is very fast and rapid. The main goal is fame, while when I started, the goal was to be very good at what you were doing.”
Although critical of talent shows, Ms Brightman sang in one recently. The soprano performed a duet in September with “America’s Got Talent” finalist Jackie Evancho. Ms Brightman said she had decided to accept the invitation to do the duet because it came from a very talented 10-year-old singer.
Ms Brightman sang the Olympic theme song “You and Me” with Chinese superstar Liu Huan in both Mandarin and English at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. The song was broadcast to over five billion viewers. In the 26 hours after the performance, “You and Me” was downloaded 5.7 million times.
Unlike some Western artists, Ms Brightman feels no difference when singing to an Asian audience. “They are people, too, and I don’t know many people in the world that don’t enjoy music,” she says.

Double treat
If the name “Twins” conjures up a 1988 comedy featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, you must be a complete stranger to the local Chinese pop scene. For the average Macau resident, it means Charlene Choi Cheuk-Yin and Gillian Chung Yan-Tung, arguably the most successful female Cantopop duo in Asia.
Twins will make their return to the Cotai Arena on November 13, having performed there in August for the Venetian Macao birthday concert.
In their joint musical career, the Hong Kong duo have released over 30 albums and sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Many Twins songs have topped the regional pop charts, including “After School”, “Back to School”, “Next Station Queen”, “Kite and Wind” and “Love Bigger than Sky”.
The duo split in 2008 after Ms Chung was among the people involved in a sex photo scandal involving several Hong Kong starlets and actor and singer Edison Chen. However, Twins announced their reunion earlier this year.