Sarah Brightman Keen to Try Her Hand at Composing

04/05/2004 5:21 PM, Reuters
Paul Majendie

Sarah Brightman tasted teenage fame as a disco diva and then shot to international stardom in "Phantom of the Opera."

Now, after selling 15 million albums around the world and carving out a career as a solo artist, the British singer has one big ambition she would love to fulfil -- as a composer.

"I need to do it. I have many sounds in my head and musical lines I want to play with," she told Reuters in an interview before embarking on a concert tour of Europe and Asia.

"It's all in here," said Brightman, 43, tapping her head.

"I love symphonic pieces. I would love to play with different sounds," she said.

"I would like to compose but I need to go back to school to learn orchestration. That takes time."

But this workaholic perfectionist shows no signs of slowing down -- the next four months see her performing in more than 30 cities from Sydney to Sapporo, from Moscow to Shanghai.

Already under her belt is a three-month concert trek across North America where her solo show was hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as being "like Britney Spears for grown-ups."

"ALWAYS A RISK"

"I am happy I have done the first leg," she said, pausing for breath in London. "This show took a year to prepare. There is always a risk."

Brightman has four homes in Europe and one in Miami -- but, she says, no permanent roots.

"I don't know where I will put my feet up eventually but I am sure it will all fit into place," she said.

Her homeland has at times been harsh to Brightman.

Critics said the teenage dancer turned Hot Gossip pop star only climbed to glory on the shoulders of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

She married him when she was 24. Two years later, he wrote the role of Christine for her in "Phantom of the Opera," the tale of an older man propelling a young girl to stardom.

After their divorce, Brightman spent the Nineties emerging from Lloyd Webber's shadow to carve out her own career as a concert performer and recording artist.

In 1992, she closed the Barcelona Olympics with Jose Carreras performing "Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life)" that became an international hit.

With blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli , she topped hit parades around Europe with the single "Time to say Goodbye."

She topped Billboard's Classic Crossover charts and ranks along with Sting and Elton John as one of Britain's top touring artists in the United States.

With an eclectic taste in music -- her latest "Harem" tour is heavily influenced by the sounds of the Middle East -- she has not been to easy to categorize.

After 25 years firing on all cylinders in showbusiness, Brightman said: "I do get a little tireder nowadays -- but there is more mental strength."