WITH album sales of 30 million and music awards from over 40 countries, Sarah Brightman – it’s safe to say – didn’t just mesmerise the Phantom with her voice.

She is the world’s best-selling soprano and also the original Christine Daaé in the West End and Broadway smash hit musical, The Phantom of the Opera. The role was written specially for her by her then-husband Andrew Lloyd Webber; some of her best-known songs from her four-decade strong career are from that show. They include the title track, The Music of the Night, and All I Ask of You.

The Phantom of the Opera is now the longest-running musical on Broadway and the second-longest on West End (after Les Miserables). 

In recognition of her contribution to stage and music, Brightman received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last month.

She is set to perform in Singapore this December and fans can expect to hear some of her hits, including the Phantom ones, with a festive twist in A Christmas Symphony. 

She said in an interview with The Business Times: “I know I am always a little disappointed if I don’t hear an artist’s hits, so what we have done is take some of my main hits (and) created a Christmas feel to those arrangements so that they fit in with all the other holiday-type pieces that the audience will be hearing.”

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Incredibly, A Christmas Symphony was originally conceived during the pandemic, when countries went into lockdown and “live” music venues were shut, in line with social-distancing rules.

Overnight, musicians like her suddenly found themselves without an audience to perform for. Some artists quickly took to cyberspace and staged shows online from their homes for their fans.

Brightman herself put one together just before Christmas in 2020.

“(I was thinking) it would help a lot of things – it would help me, it would help all the musicians and friends that I worked with, so they could make some money and also perform,” she said.

In the spirit of the holidays, some of the proceeds went to charity; the show turned out to be “incredibly successful”.

As travel restrictions eased gradually and borders reopened, A Christmas Symphony soon became a “live” stage production and toured America in 2021.

Its format has also been expanded. Brightman is accompanied by an orchestra and choir on-stage to perform carols alongside personal holiday favourites and her greatest hits.

The show is currently touring Japan and parts of South-east Asia this month and the next, including a one-night stop in Singapore on Dec 5. 

The setlist has been carefully thought through and curated to make sure A Christmas Symphony can be enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible. 

“The song choices are incredibly important, because there are those of different religions, so you don’t necessarily want to do a whole concert of Christian songs; but there are Christians in the audience, so you want to perform some of the more religious pieces,” she said.

And despite the show being a festive one, she is mindful that emotions can run high during the holiday season for some people.

Brightman said: “You want everybody to have a fun time so that it has that festive feel within it, but at the same time, you have to take into account the people at this time of year that have lost friends, family, so there is another side of Christmas.”

Sarah Brightman: A Christmas Symphony takes place at The Star Theatre on Dec 5. Tickets on sale from S$128-S$278, available at Ticketmaster.