Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English
classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer.
Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe
Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made her
West End
West End most commonly refers to:
* West End of London, an area of central London, England
* West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England
West End may also refer to:
Pl ...
musical theatre debut in ''
Cats'' and met composer
Andrew Lloyd Webber, whom she later married. She went on to star in several West End and
Broadway musicals, including ''
The Phantom of the Opera'', where she originated the role of
Christine Daaé. Her original London cast album of ''Phantom'' was released in CD format in 1987 and sold 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling cast album ever.
After retiring from the stage and divorcing Lloyd Webber, Brightman resumed her music career with former
Enigma producer
Frank Peterson, this time as a classical
crossover artist. She has been credited as the creator and remains among the most prominent performers of this genre, with worldwide sales of more than 25 million albums and two million DVDs, establishing herself as the world's best-selling
soprano.
Brightman's 1996 duet with the Italian tenor
Andrea Bocelli, "
Time to Say Goodbye Time to Say Goodbye may refer to:
* "Time to Say Goodbye" (Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman song), a version of Andrea Bocelli's song "Con te partirò" with Sarah Brightman
* ''Time to Say Goodbye'' (album), a 1997 album by Sarah Brightman
*''Tim ...
", topped the charts all over Europe and became the highest and fastest-selling single of all time in Germany, where it stayed at the top of the charts for 14 consecutive weeks and sold over three million copies.
It subsequently became an international success, selling 12 million copies worldwide, making it one of the
best-selling singles of all-time.