DVD Review: Sarah Brightman - Live From Las Vegas

[Sonnie]

Sarah Brightman - The Harem World Tour - Live From Las Vegas (DVD)

Upon the recommendation of several forum buddies I bit the bullet and picked up one of Sarah Brightman's DVD concerts. I chose this particular one because it was the only one I could find in widescreen format, plus it came highly recommended, not to mention it is her latest.

Here me out... I had never heard of Sarah Brightman so this was a pretty big risk for me. I'll get right to it... I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I sat down to watch maybe 3-4 tracks and ended up watching the entire concert... all 23 tracks.

I guess I'd call this a cross between opera and contemporary pop. Several tracks were upbeat and jammin'. Sarah's voice is remarkable and the she takes full control of the stage in a big way with a stunning show including colorful lighting and the full compliment of dancers.

I recognized a few of the songs prior to watching the show... Dust in the Wind, A Whiter Shade of Pale, and Phantom of the Opera... as well as I know I've heard the song What a Wonderful World, but I'm not sure who was singing it when I heard it. Sarah does absolute justice to the classic rock songs previously mentioned.

To describe the experience of watching the show and listening to her voice in one word... mesmorizing! I can only imagine how great this show is live. I'm positive many of her songs will grow on me even more as I watch the DVD over and over... this in not one you'll only watch once.

The PQ was merely acceptable... not as good as I was hoping for... although the use of so much fog might have had something to do with this. SQ on the other hand was awesome in DTS 5.1.

PQ
SQ

I must sincerely thank those who influenced my decision to give Sarah a trial. Excellent recommendation! It is no doubt now one of my top 5 favorites after only watching it once.

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Dolby Surround 5.1 - English
DTS Surround 5.1 - English
Released: 2004 (Filmed in 2004)
Running Time: 110 minutes (Concert)
Total Run Time: 210 minutes
Studio: Angel Records
Produced by Frank Peterson and Sarah Brightman

Tracks:
1. Kama Sutra
2. Harem (Cancao do Mar)
3. Beautiful
4. It's A Beautiful Day
5. Dust In The Wind
6. Who Wants To Live Forever
7. Anytime, Anywhere (interlude)
8. Anytime, Anywhere
9. Nella Fantasia
10. Stranger In Paradise
11. La Luna
12. Nessun Dorma
13. No One Like You
14. Arabian Nights
15. The War Is Over
16. Free
17. What A Wonderful World
18. A Whiter Shade Of Pale
19. The Phantom Of The Opera Suite
20. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again
21. Time To Say Goodbye
22. The Journey Home
23. A Question Of Honour

Featurettes:
1. THE MAKING OF SARAH BRIGHTMAN: LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS
2. Backstage Footage

Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Multiple Angles
Harem Quiz Game

Text/Image Galleries:
Photo Gallery

Here are a few clips from the show:

















































This is one you'll want to make a part of your collection.

[gsmollin]

Thanks for the review Sonnie, I think I'll try it. I am a Sarah Brightman fan for many years. Sarah Brightman opened on Broadway in the role of Christine in "Phantom of the Opera" about 20 years ago. (You can't see it on DVD, because the movie version stars Emmy Rossum.) She is no stranger to stage performance, and I expect to be mesmerized, like you.

[gsmollin]

..."The PQ was merely acceptable... not as good as I was hoping for... although the use of so much fog might have had something to do with this. SQ on the other hand was awesome in DTS 5.1.

PQ (4 stars)
SQ (5 stars)"...

I agree about the picture quality, except I would degrade it to 3 stars. I was disappointed with the graininess of the image. It resembled something I would get with my home video camera. This is the result of low light levels used in a live performance, but surely the producers knew that before they started filming. They needed better lenses, duh. I saw the cameras in operation, and they were certainly big enough to house 300 mm objective lenses.

The DTS sound was very good, but compressed. Once again, this is partly the live performance problems with sound reinforcement, but once again, surely they new what they were doing, and could have recorded an uncompressed vocal feed. It was most disappointing at the end of the Phantom suite. If you had heard Sarah sing that in the broadway show, you would understand that this was badly compressed. Her real dynamic range has got to be 12 dB more. 4 stars on the audio.


The show was still pure Sarah Brightman, though. She hasn't lost one note from her incredible voice. 5 stars on Sarah's voice. (The wife pointed out she was only a kid when she did Phantom, and I replied, "So you're saying the Phantom was a pedaphile?") The swing on What a Wonderful World was priceless, as were Sarah's legs... The wife really groaned at that bit of theater, which was ala Moulon Rouge, but I thought it was very good, indeed. The only number I didn't like was Whiter Shade of Pale. It's a bluesy, gritty song, and really, it's just not for her. But it was sung well, if incongruously, and it was short.

If you like Vegas stage shows, this one's for you. If you haven't heard or seen Sarah Brightman perform, try it, you'll like it.

[bsheldon]

Definately worth looking into. I like Ms Brightman and I have seen one of her older concerts on a regular TV--they are quite visually stunning. Put that on a big screen combined with her haunting voice and you have a recipe for a good show.