Bravo Profiles "Angel of Music" Sarah Brightman -- Premiering Wednesday, April 4 At 10:00PM/ET&PT.

Entertainment Editors

Sarah Brightman 

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 1, 2001

"I think I've probably re-invented myself three or four times now,

if that's what one calls it." -- Sarah Brightman

On Wednesday, April 4, 2001, Sarah Brightman finishes the last performance of her La Luna tour in Miami, Florida and Bravo brings viewers a side of the performer they have never seen before with the premiere of Bravo Profiles: Sarah Brightman at 10:00PM/ET. Bravo Profiles traces Brightman's rise to the top of classical crossover charts from her beginnings as a ballet dancer, pop disco queen and a musical theater icon. At age 40, the only character Sarah is playing is herself -- a world-renowned artist and producer. Bravo Profiles captures the women behind the voice -- funny, irreverent, ambitious, occasionally self-deprecating, and she speaks openly about the controversies that have surrounded her and her career, including her past as Andrew Lloyd Webber's wife and muse.

As those interviewed for this exclusive Profile explain, Sarah Brightman is beloved for taking classical music off its pedestal. Bravo takes a look at the criticism that Sarah has endured from the classical community about whether she has the talent to be performing the arias she has become known for. But despite the controversy, she has made classical music more accessible to the masses and considers her work on her past two albums, Eden and La Luna, all the areas of music she has worked in (classical, pop and musical theater) coming together. Exclusive interviews with Frank Peterson (her producing and life partner), her mother, and composer and ex-husband Andrew Lloyd Webber are featured in this episode.

Lloyd Webber addresses the past controversy over Brightman's role in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera and explains that though people believed she was there because of her relationship with him, it simply wasn't true. Brightman's voice inspired much of Webber's work in the time they were together, including her classical debut, Requiem, and The Phantom of the Opera, written entirely for her voice. "Had Andrew never met Sarah would Phantom ever have happened? I don't know. I'm not sure it would have," says Arleen Phillips, a choreographer who has worked with Sarah over her entire career. During the episode, viewers will see Sarah's performance of -more- Page 2/ Bravo Profiles: Sarah Brightman

Music of the Night, the first song written for Phantom, which was originally written as a love song for her. Both Brightman and Webber speak candidly about their past working and romantic relationship and the causes of their eventual divorce.

Sarah discusses how her marriage to Webber eventually stifled her creativity. When they divorced, Sarah left musical theater and began to redefine her career. In 1992, she closed the Olympics with Jose Carraras performing Amigos Para Siempre, which became an international hit. In 1996, she performed Time To Say Goodbye with the then obscure Andrea Boccelli. The song became a top seller all over the world and Boccelli rose to international stardom. Her follow-up to Time To Say Goodbye was the album Eden, which was a critical and commercial success, hitting number one on Billboard's Classical Crossover chart. The episode contains footage of the concert performances of both Eden and her latest tour and album La Luna.

A successful touring and recording artist, Sarah Brightman has sold over 8 million albums worldwide and nearly 3 million albums in the U.S. alone. Her latest release La Luna is well on its way to becoming a Platinum record, and Brightman has joined the ranks of Sting and Elton John as one of the top British artists touring in the U.S. Bravo Profiles takes viewers with Sarah into the recording studio to get a first hand look at the creative process at work -- producing and recording La Luna, making the music video for her first single from the album, and on tour to experience a typical day as it leads up to that night's performance of the visual extravaganza that Brightman, herself, had a hand in creating. As Sarah states, "When I'm on tour and it's working, I'm at my happiest."

Bravo Profiles goes beyond traditional boundaries and refuses to limit itself to simply recounting the lives of its subjects. Instead, Bravo Profiles explores and dissects the creative process, inviting viewers to experience every aspect of the subject's art from its inception to its execution. Bravo Profiles provides viewers with a continuing stream of visual, true-to-life portraits of some of the most creative minds of our time.

BRAVO offers critically acclaimed American and international films as well as performing arts, including dance, theater, classical music and jazz.