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The following transcript is taken from the PBS Special, Classics: The Best Of Sarah Brightman. BIG Fan Sue was sooooo kind to send me the tape and then I thought: “all you, who don’t get the chance to see it, should at least get a transcript!”
As my English isn’t as developed as it could be, there are a few words, I do not understand. These words are marked with | |! If you have access to see the show, please check the words (and other paragraphs) and send the correct ones to me! Thank you!! Please remember, that I’ve sat in front of the TV and the computer for hours on my day off to do this, so I expect you to respect the copyright information at the bottom. You’re welcome to copy and publish the transcript ANYWHERE as long as the Copyright information is intact. To get a better quality one, with colours and such, please write to me at sarahbrightmannet@hotmail.com
Every time Sarah and Laura (the host) visit new locations this will be informed in the beginning of the paragraph. Text with < > around is the title of the song that Sarah sings in the show at the given time.
*The Hamburg House & Nemo Studios*
Sarah: Hi Everybody, welcome to Hamburg, Germany and welcome to the house where I do all my creating and come up with ideas, sing and do all my musical things. I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Laura Salvini.
Laura: Welcome to “The Best Of Sarah Brightman”. We are going to be on location here and Sarah’s home in London and also in Vienna and We’ll visit and chat, but most of all we are going to see some of Sarah’s finest musical performances.
Sarah: Come and see my music-room.
Laura: Ohh, I would love to. This is really where you come up with all your new specials…
*Her Majesty’s Theatre, London*
Laura: Sarah, The song we just heard was from the Phantom Of The Opera, which you performed here at “Her Majesty’s Theatre” for 6 months and that, literally set the stage for the rest of your career. How does it feel to be back here?
Sarah: Well, it’s amazing. It has been 15 years since I actually stood on this stage and looked at the set and...I don’t know...it’s a nice feeling but it’s weird because so many things have changed since then.
Laura: And now, coming up next, we’re going to hear you duet with José Cura. Tell me about it!
Sarah: I did this song called “Just Show Me How To Love You” with José Cura who is a very well known Argentinean classical singer. We filmed it in Paris and this is it:
*London Home*
Laura: I get the feeling that you really think out the costumes, the music, the set. Are you constantly looking for inspiration through other artists and things you read?
Sarah: I get a lot of inspiration from art, from times that people lived in, from the fashion of those times. I mean, for example the Anytime, Anywhere...the albinoni piece...the look of that...I suppose he was really sort of living through the |baroc| time
And he was born in Venice and he dies in Venice. And I actually saw a portrait of him and the look he had, the kind of wick and the |breaches| and everything. I kinda took that look for all my people, all sort of standing behind me with their strings and sort of bridges and the way the curtains were behind them; it definitely had that baroc style to it.
Sarah: Up till now, I definitely been an interpreter of music and it’s what I’ve always known what to do. I never tend to take on a piece; I don’t think I can give something different to or act something to, if I don’t feel like I can top the way it has actually been done.
Laura: Well, that makes me want to ask you about “Nessum Dorma”. That song is written for a man, it’s a strong strong song, yet you took it on.
Sarah: Well, I mean, my feeling is: “why do all the tenors get all the best pieces?” ‘Cause they do! Those [word missing] tenors. (Both laughing)
I always thought it was a beautiful melody and I thought I could bring something completely different to it. I didn’t...you know...when you hear the tenors they got this wonderful roar in their voices and I mean, there’s no way that a soprano like mine could take that on, so I thought I’m gonna do it my way.
*Her Majesty’s Theatre*
Laura: Sarah, that was amazing what you did. She really made “Nessum Dorma” her own. What else is coming up?
Sarah: Pieces like Figlio Perduto also Pie Jesu.
Laura: Stay Tuned!!
*Pledge Break*
Here a guy called Terrell tells about how to send money to PBS. He then talks to Sarah and Laura who are in Sarah’s Hamburg house.
Laura: Thank you, Terrell. Well, Sarah it’s so good to be back with you again, with this new show you have. It’s wonderful.
Sarah: It’s wonderful to be here with you again, talking to everybody.
Laura: You know, I thought it was really good, that you started the show with a song from Phantom, because that was really when you made that big breakthrough, when things started happening for you. But what do you feel when you sing these songs, so many years later?
Sarah: I think it’s about 14 or 15 years ago, that I did it and I went through a face “oh no, not another Phantom song”, but now when I sing them, it’s a real pleasure, because I think I’ve grown as an artist and gone onwards and I’m able to give them something different which is, I think, interesting for my audiences.
Laura: And why do you think they like these songs so much?
Sarah: I think they’re just beautiful music, I think, that’s probably why so many classical pieces go on for so long, because they are purely that!
Laura: Well, look at that, you maybe part of music history singing these new classics!
Sarah: oh no no no no no!
Here Terrell tells about how to send money to PBS. He then talks to Sarah and Laura who are in Sarah’s Hamburg house again.
Laura: Sarah, I have to say, every time a new concert of yours comes out, I’m so exited to see what it is that you’re doing this time. Because you really love trying new things, it’s very obvious from these and I was looking at that video you did with José Cura, that’s in the programme, what was going through you mind when you put that one together?
Sarah: Well, Actually, that of all the videos I’ve done, I didn’t come up with any ideas. It was actually my video director that did, but it was great because we filmed it in Paris and he really did sort of lots of very different things, which I would never had thought of. And the collaboration was really good and it was wonderful working with José Cura as well. And to sort of work with him on that.
Laura: wow, really, it’s a beautiful song and you look very, like an angel (of course she do!!!) in that one. You have got the red lips and the white face it’s beautiful. It really is!
Sarah: Actually, I felt more like Snow-white that day! (Both laughing)
Here Terrell tells about how to send money to PBS again. He then talks to Sarah and Laura who are in Sarah’s Hamburg house.
Laura: Sarah, in this next act we’re going to hear 4 songs that are from your new CD, Classics. And I’m wondering| _____ mixes| from all different stages in your career, is that what the concept is behind that CD?
Sarah: What I wanted to do, because I’m moving on to new things and I’ve had such a wonderful success with the last 3 albums, was to take all the more classical pieces from those albums, put them together and then just ad a few more that people haven’t heard me sing before. And therefore, made Classics and it was really beautiful putting it together, ‘cause suddenly...I suppose it was...it is my first classical album.
Laura: And you know, there really aren’t a lot of places to hear classical music on television, except Public TV.
Sarah: that’s right!
*Vienna: the Wien Concert House*
Laura: Welcome to Vienna. We are in the Wien Concert House, which is one of the worlds greatest performance house. Sarah, have you ever performed here?
Sarah: Yes, I’ve performed here lots of times!
Laura: We’re in front of this statue of Beethoven, who actually played a significant role in the cultural history of Vienna. And ties in your next song!
Sarah: Yes, Figlio Perduto, which is a melody from the beginning of the amagretto from Beethoven 7th symphony. And the story behind this, we actually took from Gerta’s poem, |elkernich|, which in English means elf king.
Laura: The next piece is from Andrew Lloyd Webbers “Requiem”, Pie Jesu which was written in the mid-eighties for Sarah’s voice and it actually has a sorrowful sound to it. What was the inspiration?
Sarah: Andrew wrote this in honour of children |university|, who had lost their life’s through political conflict.
Laura: well, that makes it a very timeless piece.
Sarah: yes, but I think that the Pie Jesu is really an expression of help, it’s actually saying: “Sweet Jesus, who takes away the sense of the world, grant us piece”.
Laura: The next song, La Luna is the title track from one of your CDs and throughout the concert, La Luna or the Moon is always there. What make you select that theme??
Sarah: I was very taken by the folklore figures, |stantoller|. And there’s a wonderful moment at the end of the story, which is looking up to the heaven and the stars fall down and turn into gold coins. And that’s the reason; I wear the crown of stars on my head. I also have the moon always shining in the background, which I think presents a very mystical theme.
Laura: Yesterday, in your studio, I heard you singing “Dans La Nuit”. Tell me about that!
Sarah: it’s a piece by Chopin and it’s normally played on the piano. It’s a song I knew as a child and it’s just a beautiful melody, it’s like a lullaby. I’ve always wanted to perform it as a song.
*Nemo Studios below the Hamburg House*
Laura: Frank Peterson has been producing Sarah’s music for the past 11 years and they’ve developed quite a partnership and I’m wondering; Are you the force behind the changes in Sarah’s style?
Frank: Nothing really happens without Sarah saying yes, so ________ Sarah. I’m just trying to make a _______.
Sarah: it actually takes the mixture of both of us, to make everything work and even on |outside| things, like tours, I always work a lot with Frank and my ideas, I come up with…he’s good to bounce off of, he has a lot of knowledge in these areas and I think also with all this sort of mixture of our _____ in pop and rock and classical, them coming together, have actually really help us to sort of make the fusion that we have. It’s a bit of each that makes it ________.
Sarah: Don’t you think? (To Frank)
Frank: Thank you (touching her! And all laughing!)
*Pledge Break*
Here Terrell tells about how to send money to PBS. He then talks to Sarah and Laura who are in Sarah’s Hamburg house again.
Laura: Thanks, Terrell! Sarah, that last act was fabulous and you really had some incredible diversity of music in there. You had sounds by Beethoven, Dvoøák, Webber and Peterson. Yes, there is quite a mix. I was wondering; which one was the most challenging to perform?
Sarah: I think probably, the Dvoøák. Although it sounds very simple, sort of mystical, it’s actually quite hard to sing because you have to hold the notes for a long time and the end of the phrases, so it took me a long time to actually get that one together.
Laura: Is he a composer that you would sing other songs of his?
Sarah: I try not to, because you have to sing in Czech and it’s really really difficult. (Both Laughing) So that’s probably the only one I try.
Laura: How many languages do you actually speak?
Sarah: I would say: I’m a master in none of them (Both Laughing), but I think living in continental Europe, it does helps you a lot, because you got all these languages in your world all the time. So that helps and also when you’re learning to do classical music, you automatically jump from Russian to Czech to Italian and to Spanish, so it’s sort of in your system.
Here Terrell tells about how to send money to PBS (for the 100th time). He then talks to Sarah and Laura who are in Sarah’s Hamburg house again
Laura: You know, Sarah, there aren’t a lot of artists on public television, that have had as many successful specials as you have and I think a lot of that goes to the incredible theatrics you do. Whether it’s the costuming or you being carried around or whatever it may be. Did you come up with all these ideas?
Sarah: yes, I do! The sort of vision comes from myself and then I sit with an amazing team of people that then carry out the idea for me. The lighting people and other people would make the sets and costumes, but I think the idea have to come from the artist, for it to be the best show possible.
Laura: And I’m so impressed by that, because that’s what makes your show so enjoyable, so you’re not only singing, you’re coming up with these ideas like flying.
Sarah: oh yes!
Laura: How can you sing, when you’re doing flips and...Don’t you need to support your voice?
Sarah: Yes you do, but it’s wonderful because you’re actually sat in such of contraction that sort of hold your whole body together. In a way it’s actually easier to sing in them, than just standing normally. Believe it or not because they support you so well.
Laura: I would love to try that it looks like great fun.
Sarah: it is! It’s wonderful. I’m gonna take you up there next time. I will.
Laura: And I’ll hold you to it!
*Vienna: Mozart’s Apartment*
Laura: So now we are in Mozart’s apartment and he lived here in Vienna for a while, wrote some of his work here and it works out perfectly, because your next piece is by Mozart.
Sarah: that’s right! It’s called “La Ci Darem La Mano” and it’s a duet with, the tenor, Placido Domingo and this is the moment where |zaninni| is being seduced by the very naughty, Don Giovanni at her own wedding party.
Laura: so, let me see if I can get this straight. We got an English soprano, a Spanish tenor, a Japanese orchestra, an Austrian composer and the |librettos| from Italy. Truly International.
Laura: The next piece that you’ll perform is the very popular aria from Puccini.
Sarah: That’s right. Its called “O Mio Babbino Caro”, meaning “my darling daddy” and this is the moment where |Derreta| is begging her father, |Janis giggi| to let her purchase a wedding ring.
Laura: uh, I wonder who wins that argument!
Laura: You mentioned earlier that “the best of Sarah Brightman” television special and Sarah Brightman Classics CD are a look back at your career.
Sarah: it’s a look back at more classical pieces, that I actually sang on the last 3 albums. But I felt that that style I’ve been using for those albums or CDs, would...I wanted to move on, I wanted to change, do something different, so this is really the end of that little time.
Laura: we’ve almost come to the end of our musical journey, but we couldn’t let you go without hearing the song that topped the charts around the world. The duet between Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli.
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FULL PBS Transcript!!!