Sarah Brightman Profile Follows the Numbers

There’s a telling moment near the beginning of the Sarah Brightman profile that can be seen tonight on Bravo. Looking deceptively wide-eyed and ingenuous, she giggles for a moment, then says, almost apologetically, “I wish I could do it all.”

What she is referring to is the long list of elements that go into the making of her larger-than-life concert productions--choreography, orchestrations, lighting, etc. And it’s no surprise that the clip is immediately followed by comments from the various aides, with each unequivocally noting that they do precisely what Brightman wants.

Unfortunately, the balance of the documentary isn’t nearly as incisive, generally following an “and then she sang” chronology without making meaningful connections.

In the process, it misses the intriguing thought that Brightman’s determination to control seems to have emerged full blown in the period after her 1990 divorce from composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Which suggests that she made a surprisingly quick transition from playing the central figure on Lloyd Webber’s stage to stepping into the personal spotlight of her own. The documentary only alludes to the extent to which that transition reflected Brightman’s constant drive to succeed, a drive that has triumphed over a roller-coaster career.

It began early on, when, as a coddled and praised young dancer, she was unexpectedly turned down by London’s Royal Academy of Ballet. No problem: Brightman saw the rejection as a sign she should pursue a singing career. And she did, producing an off-the-wall pop music hit titled “I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper” with the group Hot Gossip.

When her follow-ups failed to reach the same success, she auditioned for the London production of “Cats,” won a small part and, eventually, the heart of Lloyd Webber, marrying him in 1984. A musical theater career followed, highlighted by a starring role in the London and New York City productions of “The Phantom of the Opera.” It essentially ended after her divorce from Lloyd Webber.

Brightman once again re-created herself, this time as a kind of light-classical diva, via special-effects-driven concerts and recordings--most visibly “Time to Say Goodbye” with Andrea Bocelli--of accessible works.

For the millions of Brightman devotees, the recounting of this string of events, interspersed with a few performance segments and some lighthearted interview passages with her mother, Lloyd Webber, a former choreographer and Brightman herself, will probably be more than enough.

The less dedicated will not find much in the way of meaningful Brightman insights. The documentary offers little illumination of the angels or the demons that drive this fascinating, uniquely talented diva.

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* “Bravo Profiles: Soprano Sarah Brightman” can be seen tonight at 7 on Bravo. The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).