International world superstar Sarah Brightman brought her “Dreamchaser” tour to the Buffalo area this past Wednesday. This tour has been primarily hitting arenas but it was a special treat to see her perform in the intimate setting the University of Buffalo Center for the Arts.
Brightman can be classified operatic pop, world music, symphonic rock, neoclassical, etc. etc. All of these and more were incorporated into her show. Brightman’s new album deals with a lot of outer space and time travel themes. Brightman’s show had an LED screen that accompanied the entire backdrop, where she primarily sang in front of.
Her first song “Angel” featured a large illuminated blue ribbon on the LED as she was set above on a lift, where she then went into another song off “Dreamchaser” entitled “One day Like This.” Brightman thanked the crowd for coming and did this at various times throughout her show. She was truly appreciative of her crowd and the crowd offered the sentiment right back.
Her show was broken up in two acts with a 20 minute break. As Brightman came out for her second set to perform “Closer,” a satellite orbited around space, keeping with her backdrop theme. She also had two dancers to accentuate various songs and also just laid at the bottom of the stage as Brightman bellowed out “La Luna.”
Brightman also went through a slew of costume changes, but what should be talked about was her voice. The ranges were incredible, but when she sang the song that started her career, “Phantom of the Opera,” what she did vocally was something I never had heard before. She raised her voice higher and higher, breaking through multiple octaves. It was incredible!
Though lyrically, some of the songs were a bit trite, Brightman’s elegance and beauty, along with one of the best voices on the planet, carried her through. Usually Buffalo gets the short end when artists of this caliber bypass the area to play larger markets. It should be noted that UB and Brightman’s team were willing to take a chance to play this show on a smaller scale. This was a homerun for UB and the area to show Buffalo can compete with the larger markets.
Setlist:
Angel
One Day Like This
Glósóli
Interlude (Contains elements of Hijo de La Luna)
Hijo De La Luna
La Luna
Eperdu
It’s a Beautiful Day
Interlude (Contains elements of It’s A Beautiful Day and Ave Maria intro’)
Ave Maria
Canto Della Terra (with Erkan Aki)
Nessun Dorma
Act 2
Closer
Breathe Me
Breathe Me (Outro)
Figlio Perduto
Scarborough Fair
A Song Of India
Interlude (Contains elements of The Phantom Of The Opera Overture)
Phantom of the Opera (with Erkan Aki)
Time to Say Goodbye
Encore:
Venus And Mars
Deliver Me
A Question of Honour
We would like to thank Dave Wedekindt from UB Center for the Arts for the assistance in obtaining the credentials for the show.
