Music: Sarah Brightman - One Night in Eden (Live) DVD
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: A
DVD Special Features: B

         I remember taking a trip to Toronto quite a few years back and trying to
impress the man I'd already been dating for a year or so by pretending to
know something I really didn't. We were in one of the music stores when he
became rather animated upon seeing one of the new releases. "Look! A new
Sarah Brightman." "Oh," I replied, "I LOVE Sarah Brightman!" This immediately set off an alarm in his head. It must have been that first year we spent together. "Do you even know who Sarah Brightman is?" "Sure," I lied, "she sings that one song." Yeah, I was really going to get away with that one.
"WHAT one song?" He challenged me. "You know…that one." I smiled, but he was on to me like Kirstie Alley at a buffet. "You don't even know who Sarah Brightman is, do you?" How was I going to get out of this one? "Oh, SARAH BRIGHTMAN? I thought you said Belinda Carlisle. "We spent the next several hours working on my ignorance and listening to "Time To Say Goodbye" and I've been listening to Sarah ever since.

When "Eden" came out in 1999, I was bound and determined to get a head start on the latest Sarah Brightman album and impress my other half.  It amuses me to do things like that. In any case, I ended up falling in love with the
album and seeing her "Eden" concert on two separate occasions. This DVD does an absolutely wonderful job capturing the magic of the tour and Sarah
herself. Armed with an orchestra, dancers, backup singers, a local choir and
the voice of an angel, Sarah introduces us to her idea of "Eden."  It's very
red, very lush, and the stage opens up a little at a time to reveal all the places she's going to take us.

The choreography never overshadows her singing, but rather compliments it and amazes the audience on a number of occasions. Some highlights of this can be found when Sarah sings Queen's "Who Wants To Live Forever," which still gives me goose bumps, "La Mer" in which she and two of her dancers appear to be swimming and doing flips in midair and, last but not least, during the "Phantom Overture" and "Little Lotti." The stage also turns into a tiny snowstorm during "First Of May," of which I have a cute little story about regarding my father and some enthusiastic applause at the end of the song if anyone ever wants to hear about it.

While "One Night In Eden" boasts a number of more operatic selections, it
also features some of Sarah's contemporary hits like "Only An Ocean Away"
(which I'm not afraid to admit that I cry when listening to this one every
time), "Deliver Me," and "Time To Say Goodbye." In the two performances I
saw, she sang "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" instead of "Deliver Me," but I
prefer the latter.

The video on the disc looks as beautiful as the Dolby Digital audio sounds.
As for extras, there aren't often very many on concert discs, but this one
boasts a sweet and insightful interview with Sarah. Anyone interested in the
artist and the way she works, what inspires her and all the different musical
influences that shaped the album will find something to smile about here.
It's an interview worth having and it's certainly enjoyable.

Any fan of Sarah Brightman is going to want this concert. My future
grandmother-in-law swiped mine a year ago. I'd like to think it's because
she's a fan of Sarah Brightman and not because she dislikes me. Only time
will tell, I suspect. Until then, happy watching and listening!

Kage holds degrees in Creative Writing, as well as Film & Video. He has been featured in a Life Journey Tele-Course, published poems in several national anthologies, been a contributor to The Third Coast Magazine and written several novels.   

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