Sarah Brightman - One Night in Eden CD | Live Concert Album | Classical Crossover Music | Perfect for Relaxation, Dinner Parties & Romantic Evenings

Anyone who has seen or heard her perform cannot fail to recognize what an amazing person she is. Her music is always wonderful, her performance is always spot on, and every concert she churns out is always fantastic and wonderfully entertaining.I truly adore this concert. Ms. Brightman brings all her talent and charisma one-hundredfold (like always) to this great performance and makes it stand out as possibly her best production to date.This is the fourth concert I've seen of hers. In Concert at Royal Albert Hall was outstanding but not as unique as her later concerts; Harem is an obsession with me and was what really first introduced me to her unique grasp of all styles, and La Luna was a little too off-beat for my taste and not one of my favorites. For some reason, this one really struck a chord with me. I generally enjoy more classical-minded concerts, with not too much overproduction and fairly simple songs. One Night in Eden fits the bill to perfection.She has such a unique, otherworldly voice that she can sing anything and make it sound good. The songs she chose to perform for this concert are simple, powerful, catchy (not to mention downright beautiful), and when taken together show off Sarah at her best. This was one of her first albums where she contributed some of the music/lyrics herself, which gives it a very intimate, personal feel. Although there are so many songs on here I love, I selected out a few to elaborate my thoughts on.1. "In Paradisum", a gorgeous ballad sung in Latin begins the concert. She then travels through an amazing world of fantasy with a dream combination of opera arias, pop songs, and musical show-stoppers.2. "Nessun Dorma" is amazing; it's surprising that no female vocalists have taken up the song before. It sounds great sung by a soprano, and Sarah really takes it to new heights. Puccini would be pleased!3. "Il Mio Cuore Va", A.K.A., "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic but sung in Italian, is a major highlight. Between the evocative set (a mock bow of a ship with stars twinkling in the background) to Sarah's beautiful costume and angelic voice, the piece takes on a new life and is far more memorable than Celine Dion's original take on it.And, I mustn't forget Number 3., Ms. Brightman's performance of "Music of the Night" towards the finale. It is, in few words, thrilling. Her inflections and gestures are just right, and the moody atmosphere with the candles and the mist is nothing short of spectacular.I thought the tracks from "Dive" a little unusual, as well as the male dancers, but aside from that, I really enjoyed the package as a whole. You really get the softer, more gentle side to Sarah's voice as well as her character with this show. In the brief explanatory interludes proceeding some songs as well as during the songs themselves, she comes through as a real person, and not just some performer standing on a stage and singing without any apparent notice of the crowd at all.Besides the music, the visuals are stunning. The lighting is bright and warm; red seems to be the prevalent color scheme here, and puts Ms. Brightman where she should be: right in the spotlight. One thing that made Eden really stand out for me was how you really get to see Sarah just being Sarah. Instead of constantly flying around for extreme panoramic views of the AUDIENCE, of all things, the camera is always right there with her, usually right in front of her face. In this way, all of her facial expressions are captured perfectly, and you never feel like you've "missed something", a pet peeve of mine from Harem. A major pratfall was skillfully avoided thanks in no small part to David Mallet for his great direction and excellent choice of camera-operator.Ms. Brightman is such an astoundingly pretty woman, and she absolutely glows throughout the whole production. She doesn't have as much makeup on as in La Luna, but honestly she doesn't need it. She has such a natural beauty that too much just looks put on, if you'll pardon the pun. The costumes she wears are gorgeous and show off her beautiful figure without being too risky.To sum it all up, Eden makes for a good in-between concert for bridging the gap between her operatic, soft pop, rock, and musical range, or as an introduction for someone new to her brand of artistry.My only complaint is that it ended too soon, but the nice 11-minute interview at the end is a satisfying conclusion as well as a great invitation to begin the DVD all over again!