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Post by alwfan on Jul 10, 2024 6:11:40 GMT
So what's the latest on this? Since her 'return' has Sarah had any more time off? Have ticket sales increased? She has done all her performances last week including the two performances on Saturday. To be fair to her, she did all the shows she was scheduled to for the first three weeks as well despite the bad reviews. It was the three weeks after that which spoiled things for her. I've come to the conclusion that there is some truth to the severity of the calf injury. It would be nice to know how the ticket sales are. It is possible on the Sydney ticket site, but not on the Melbourne one. It'll be interesting to see if Sarah is consistent from now onwards as she was at the beginning. Silvie is to do the matinée today and she is bound to be amazing. |
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Post by ilovewemusicals on Jul 11, 2024 7:10:32 GMT
Sarah Brightman’s official Facebook page teased a fan who said they wanted a video recording, saying “You just never know, stay tuned.”
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Post by alwfan on Jul 11, 2024 18:13:03 GMT
Sarah Brightman’s official Facebook page teased a fan who said they wanted a video recording, saying “You just never know, stay tuned.” I saw this too and am very excited. However, I think it might just be a video of one of the main songs. I hope I'm wrong as a video is the only way I will get to see this. |
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Post by alwfan on Jul 11, 2024 20:08:02 GMT
A very interesting interview with Sarah. The part about the 'rehearsal nerves' in particular is fascinating because she is admitting to an insecurity in that area, and is also giving her side of the story and is seeminly addressing the rehearsal rumours head on. http://instagram.com/p/C9RbGa3TA5t |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Jul 12, 2024 7:06:47 GMT
So that bloke in the instagram post had never seen Sunset Blvd before and had never even heard of SB, and yet 'she gave a performance with such ease'
So basically had no idea if she was giving a good performance or not
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Post by justfran on Jul 12, 2024 8:02:42 GMT
I haven’t read the article but surely anyone can give their opinion/ review of a show without having to have seen it before and can just assess the performance in front of them?
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Post by anthony40 on Jul 20, 2024 10:47:51 GMT
Are any more drama's involving this show popping up?
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Post by alwfan on Jul 21, 2024 5:27:01 GMT
Are any more drama's involving this show popping up? Silvie Paladino seems to have done the Friday and Saturday performances. Sarah was on the previous two days, and indeed the whole of the previous 3 weeks since she returned, so it is a shame that she couldn't do the last two dwys. I hope it is nothing serious. There was an interview on social media of Tim Draxl and he was asked what it is like to work with Sarah. He was complimentary about her performance and called her a 'gentle soul' with a 'wicked sense of humour. He also, alluded to 'anxiety' on her part the night before rehearsals started, and how (as a result) the two of them had a full week where it was just them and the director. It was interesting because she spoke about something similar in her interview posted above. I think she hasn't sung live at a stretch like this without any sophisticated technological wizardry, and wouldn't have been comfortable doing it 'in front of many people at tables'. She did say she slowly got used to it and started to let more people in to the rehearsal room as time went on. Someone on facebook I spoke to who saw her on the first preview and was shocked at her voice etc, went to see it again last week and said it was like watching a completely different performer and that her voice now fitted it better and that she has 'found' her Norma. They were never happy with her casting in the first place, and prefer Silvie still as she is much better suited to it, but did say Sarah's performance is good nnow. It's a shame. Maybe she needed more rehearsal/previews to settle in. |
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Post by SuttonPeron on Jul 31, 2024 20:38:28 GMT
There´s a wonderful "slime tutorial" of Silvie´s As if we Never Said Goodbye floating around the red video app.
Simply phenomenal. What a brilliant performance of the song, perhaps my new favorite. And in the Patti key, no less. Long live alternates and covers!
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Post by chernjam on Jul 31, 2024 23:52:54 GMT
There´s a wonderful "slime tutorial" of Silvie´s As if we Never Said Goodbye floating around the red video app. Simply phenomenal. What a brilliant performance of the song, perhaps my new favorite. And in the Patti key, no less. Long live alternates and covers! From the sounds of things, Sarah has turned into Silvie's alternate |
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Post by theatreian on Aug 1, 2024 10:30:36 GMT
There´s a wonderful "slime tutorial" of Silvie´s As if we Never Said Goodbye floating around the red video app. I've just watched the video. I wasn't impressed with the costume. Vocals however were very good. |
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Post by danb on Aug 1, 2024 11:53:45 GMT
There´s a wonderful "slime tutorial" of Silvie´s As if we Never Said Goodbye floating around the red video app. I've just watched the video. I wasn't impressed with the costume. Vocals however were very good. Yes they were very good, but not OMG outstanding. |
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Post by alwfan on Aug 1, 2024 13:50:07 GMT
There´s a wonderful "slime tutorial" of Silvie´s As if we Never Said Goodbye floating around the red video app. Simply phenomenal. What a brilliant performance of the song, perhaps my new favorite. And in the Patti key, no less. Long live alternates and covers! From the sounds of things, Sarah has turned into Silvie's alternate I adore Sarah but she really does seem to have turned into the alternate. It is very sad. Something interesting. In a video of the curtain call from today's performance, Sarah was wearing shoes and walked very uncertainly. It hasn't been like that before, even in the official costume sketches. She was also out the whole of last week. Wonder what has been going on. |
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Post by theatreian on Aug 1, 2024 13:59:35 GMT
Yes they were very good, but not OMG outstanding. My thoughts exactly, it was good but by no means the best I have heard it sung. |
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Post by ukpuppetboy on Aug 11, 2024 0:18:47 GMT
crabtree - I thought Sarah was good - her acting and physicality was great - she must have run up and down those stairs a dozen times lol - not bad for someone that's 63. Vocally she was better than I expected- but very breathy and didn't appear to have a lot of power in the lower register which was a bit muffled at times. Her voice really isn't right for the role, and the night I saw her she tended to be drowned out by the orchestra (which is incredible by the way). Norma is not a soprano role- which is clearly shown when the magnificent Silvie Paladino plays the role. All in all Sarah didn't deserve the bad reviews she got but unfortunately with her continuing absences and the non-communication by Opera Australia it really is leaving a bad taste for the Melbourne production- which deserves more praise and audience attendance than it is getting- especially when Melbourne is considered the theatre capital of Australia. It will be interesting to see how things develop for the rest of the Melbourne run and the subsequent Sydney run. I feel 100% the same. Great response. I saw Sarah both shows I attended. She shines in the acting of Act 2. But now I want to see Silvie in Sydney. Patti has always been Norma for me, so I want the role belted that way. |
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Post by ukpuppetboy on Aug 11, 2024 0:20:59 GMT
There´s a wonderful "slime tutorial" of Silvie´s As if we Never Said Goodbye floating around the red video app. Simply phenomenal. What a brilliant performance of the song, perhaps my new favorite. And in the Patti key, no less. Long live alternates and covers! From the sounds of things, Sarah has turned into Silvie's alternate Not entirely unlike in Phantom. |
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Post by reggieg on Aug 12, 2024 5:27:28 GMT
The Melbourne leg closed on Saturday (to a full house, which was nice to see).
Sydney performances start on August 28th and they've introduced a new trailer. Nothing much new to see except it now makes mention to see Sarah or Silvie (and includes some footage of Silvie, no singing from either though).
Nice to see Silvie getting some recognition at last, although they've superimposed Sarah over Silvie in the group still at the end of the trailer. Awks.
I hope they get a good turnout in Sydney.
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Post by blamerobots on Aug 12, 2024 10:05:38 GMT
Could we not get a second take on that "Sunset Boulevard"..? I mean, I know an announcer is talking over it, but I never was a fan of just announcing the words at the end of this song pitch be damned. Maybe they're paying tribute to when Hugh Jackman did it  (I'm really nitpicky, I'm sure it's pretty good) |
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Post by magnificentdonkey on Aug 28, 2024 23:56:44 GMT
Wow!
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Post by chernjam on Aug 29, 2024 4:28:36 GMT
Sorry my friend... on this one we disagree... Completely underwhelmed and its kind of too little too late for them to be sharing videos of Sarah at this point. It's telling that on this song they only shared the softest moments nowhere near the dramatic climax or in the verses leading up when Norma grows more exhilirated... I'm surprised they just didn't let Sarah leave after Melbourne and let Sylvia run with this |
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Post by magnificentdonkey on Aug 29, 2024 5:02:22 GMT
Sorry my friend... on this one we disagree... I was just happy to see a production clip shared online at last, since I did not expect to see any footage of this production at all, hence the 'Wow' That doesn't necessarily mean I think much of the performance itself, obviously Sarah isn't 'the greatest Norma of them all', but I'm still happy with what we've been given, it made my day a little brighter, it's always nice to see some professionally shot footage of an ALW show, we don't get that too often, sadly, so each time it happens is a joyous occasion for me |
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 29, 2024 7:32:03 GMT
obviously Sarah isn't 'the greatest Norma of them all' She is the greatest star of all! Caught inside that flickering lightbeam is a youth that will not fade! |
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Post by alwfan on Sept 1, 2024 10:50:16 GMT
Limelight - 5 Stars Goes into Sarah Brightman's performance in depth and actually makes a lot of sense, having heard a recent audio where she had improved very much. limelight-arts.com.au/reviews/sunset-boulevard-opera-australia-gwb-productions/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYzWgLPLdWvPZiWhWATHuYSxhSiSU8V9_haleuNbkKsxh13NNZ_l3VUt4Q_aem_vZqkykLq0Uo5dSgojwMy5w''Brightman’s portrayal of Norma is a revelation. She effortlessly transitions from girlish excitement to adult disillusionment, prancing about joyously one moment and drowning her sorrows the next. There is real fear in her eyes when she faces the prospect of being left alone with Max, and we get a real glimpse of what might have been, had she been allowed to pursue her dreams instead of being locked away in their reclusive existence.'' And ''Equating Gloria Swanson’s anachronistic performance in Wilder’s movie, Brightman sings Norma as if she were performing in one of Victor Herbert or Sigmund Romberg’s operettas in the 1920s, with a healthy dose of Sprechstimme thrown into The Lady’s Payingfor good measure. It’s an audacious interpretation but Brightman pulls it off superbly – her throwback to the operatic style of her Italian recording of With One Look (Guardami) in 1995 serving as a musical parallel to the self-referential use of a clip from Swanson’s Queen Kelly in Wilder’s film. But that’s not all. Brightman also demonstrates extraordinary interchangeability of vocal tone, becoming audibly younger as the show progresses. Throughout the First Act, the darker, more mature colour of her voice becomes sultrier the longer she spends around Joe. Then, at the top of Act Two, she emerges revivified and sings in an entirely youthful voice – her “There’s been a call, what did I say?” contrasting sharply with the verses of The Perfect Year in the previous act, despite being sung to the same melody. Likewise, her As If We Never Said Goodbye is sung in a much lighter voice than, say, With One Look, and we enjoy a brief glimpse of what might have been, had Norma been allowed to adapt rather than being secreted away. Sadly, with her resolve broken, she ricochets back to a more mature voice for her final mad scene. It’s thrilling stuff, proving Brightman’s artistry is still second to none.'' |
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Post by alwfan on Sept 1, 2024 10:54:07 GMT
The Sydney Morning Herald - 3 stars This also gives a very fair critique of Sarah's performance. amp.smh.com.au/culture/live-reviews/sarah-brightman-plays-a-great-sarah-brightman-but-that-s-not-enough-20240901-p5k6xo.html''But this Sunset Boulevard finally confirms what I’ve long suspected: that Sarah Brightman is spectacularly, extraordinarily successful at being Sarah Brightman … but stray too far from that and the signal starts to get shaky. Unfortunately, the Brightman-Christine persona is light years apart from unhinged Hollywood has-been Norma Desmond, the grotesque, manipulative and ultimately pitiable star of Sunset Boulevard. There’s a fierce magnetism in Norma’s character and songs, which are best sung with a tormented, complex vocal belt. Powerful actresses capable of danger and madness, like Glenn Close, Nicole Scherzinger and Patti LuPone (the original Norma), all sizzled in the role. Brightman doesn’t sizzle so much as sweetly simper. There’s little difference in her acting when Norma is happy, suicidal, sane, mad, loving or murderous. Brightman’s “arrested development” interpretation – that Norma is developmentally stuck in being an ingenue – is simply unsuited to carrying the vocal or theatrical weight of this tragic role. Her voice retains its recognisable Brightman sound. Other commentators question her current singing ability, but in my view the decades have simply made more obvious what she always had: a very sweet voice with less tonal complexity, and a wide vibrato now more audible without youth’s sheen. She sings Norma’s line “Let me kiss his severed head … he fought to his last breath” stylistically like Christine’s “Wishing you were somehow here again”. If you ever, in your wildest dreams, asked what it might be like to see Christine in Norma Desmond’s body, this is it. Apart from Brightman, the other elements of Sunset Boulevard are solid. Veteran performer Tim Draxl is outstandingly charismatic as jaded scriptwriter (and Norma’s victim) Joe Gillis, with smoothly shining vocals and a confident, cynical stage presence. Ashleigh Rubenach radiates charm as Joe’s love interest, Betty Schaefer. The ensemble is polished and unusually age-diverse, and there are top-notch 1950s costumes and a brooding Palazzo mansion from designer Morgan Large. Showbiz has always used big names over substance to sell seats. Brightman fans will adore this production. Those unfamiliar with Sunset Boulevard might also enjoy it. For my part, I think I might stick to Phantom.'' |
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 5, 2024 2:49:55 GMT
Sarah is taking the show to Singapore in February.
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