I am sick to death of the opera purists deriding Sarah Brightman and belittling her accomplishments for absolutely no justifiable reason. What's this about a small voice? The orchestra drowning her out can be attributed to poor mixing. Go see her in concert and your opinions will change.

That aside, this album stays in my CD player, I can never quite bring myself to take it out. It's got a place in my heart, and it's easy to see why. She pays tribute to Queen with her stunning rendition of "Who Wants to Live Forever." Doyle's "In Pace" is one of the most fantastic songs I've ever heard. I enjoyed "Naturaleza Muerta," "La Wally," and her rendition of the Gipsy Kings "Tu quieres volver" absolutely took my breath away.

Of course all of these songs pale in comparison to the title track, the absolutely classic duet with Andrea Bocelli. The orchestra supports their voices beautifully, each singing their own part, and at the coda, where the two voices join as one, I feel as though I've touched the stars. Very few songs have ever elicited that kind of response (always bringing on chills and tears) from me, and even fewer continue to do it after all this time.

So please folks, don't let the purists turn you away from this album. Listen to it and judge it on it's own merits.

This album is particularly relaxing. I love to kick back with a glass of wine in a comfortable chair with my eyes closed and just listen.

Sarah's voice is complemented by Andrea Bocelli on the title track and Jose Cura on several others. The material runs from classical to pop, all with an operatic flavor. This is a great album to ease into opera or classical appreciation with. It is not true opera, but emulates some of the vocal and orchestral stylings associated with classical opera. Classical "purists" should look elswhere.

Sarah puts on a strong performance, exhibiting a multitude of qualities with her voice, ranging from strength to wispy warblings and everything in between. She even speaks between the final two tracks, recorded live. Her speaking voice is a surprise! If you enjoy relaxing music in a classical style, you will enjoy this CD. I would put this in her top three recordings, alongside "Eden" and "La Luna."

Sarah Brightman has a beautiful, clear soprano voice. For the most part, she sings with graceful ease and a sweet purity of tone. Her legato line is marred at times, unfortunately, by an unmannerly habit of scooping into high notes.

Some of the selections are just too heavy for her light lyric voice. Catalani's aria from "La Wally" is a good example. This pieces calls for a much bigger voice and loses its pathos when sung by a voice like Ms. Brightman's.

Brightman shows a nice penchant for coloratura singing in the Mozart "Alleluia." She is dreamy and heartrending in less operatic selections like "Who Wants to Live Forever?"

I think that the unfortunate problem with Brightman is that people don't realize that she is not the only light soprano out there with an angelic voice. Give the following a try:

Natalie Dessay: "Vocalises"

Ruth Ann Swenson: "i carry your heart"

Dawn Upshaw: "I Wish it So"

Heidi Grant Murphy: "Twilight and Innocence"

Kathleen Battle: "So Many Stars"

These sopranos possess voices that are in a similar category to Ms. Brightman's. Please give them a try. You will not be disappointed.

With the exception of La Luna all of her CDs have had to grow on me but Time To Say Goodbye has taken the longest. I suppose there being no songs like Winter In July sort of disgruntled me at first, leading me to write my first bad review by Sarah Brightman. I'm now quite content with this, though, as Naturalza Muerta has quickly become one of my favorite songs by her and the magical No One Like You has weaved its way into my heart. Songs like the over-strainful La Wally (a.k.a. the beginning of the dance tune A Question of Honour) and the disappointing take on Pucinni's O Mio Babbino Caro almost drove me to shoot some falling stars, but now I understand and accept this to be the album of her cracking the shell. Here she starts her voyage of classical-crossover to see how people respond to it, and apparently it did well as she's now one of the most acclaimed pop-opera divas of our age.

I suppose it's only fair that she did an album filled with operatic tunes, as she brought out Fly and Dive which contain little to no classical. This is good for fans which are more avid to her angelic soprano than her ethereal alto, but for people like me who enjoy a little of both worlds I recommend La Luna or Eden. Don't misconstrue what I'm saying, though. Pop does shimmer here on songs like Who Wants To Live Forever, Tu Quieres Volver with the light strumming of a spanish guitar, and There For Me, which features one of two duets with the tenor Jose Cura - the other being Just Show Me How To Love You. She also does a duet with the king of classical-crossover, Andrea Bocelli, on the nationally successful Time To Say Goodbye. And for all you bashful critics out there who say that Ms. Brightman is not an opera singer, listen to her sing Alleluja (which is sung live) from Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate, then maybe you'll lighten up and realize that she has ecclectic tastes for expanding this otherwise insipid genre.

Not her best but recommended nonetheless.

I became more interested in Sarah Brightman over the summer, when I needed to find a piece of music to sing for an Opera audition at my university. A friend let me borrow her "Phantom of the Opera" CD (yeah I know it's a musical, not an opera, but she is a soprano with an operatic sound, and that's what I was going for), and when I heard Brightman sing I thought Wow, what a gorgeous voice! By the way, I ended up singing "Think of Me," and made the Opera.

I found Sarah Brightman: In Concert 1997, VHS, in a sale bin at a local mall, bought it, loved it, and quickly decided she is one of my favorite artists/singers out there. I wanted to buy an actual CD, so I decided to go on amazon.com to listen to clips from her newer CDs like Classics, Eden, and La Luna.

I decided I liked this CD the best for a number of reasons. I enjoy the mix of contemporary and classic music in this CD. Although I will always think Brightman is great, her breathy, "New Age" sound on CDs such as Eden is not my favorite style. About half the songs on Time to Say Goodbye have English in them, and the other half are in another language, which I think is a nice and interesting mix. Also, some of the songs on this CD are ones I enjoyed from the VHS I bought. This CD features duets with Andrea Bocelli and Jose Cura, and both men are very talented. Like another reviewer, I would have enjoyed knowing what languages these songs are in and have a translation in the CD cover.

The songs:

The Bottom Line: This CD is one of my favorites. The music is beautiful, light, and calming. Great singers, musicians, and lyrics! Check it out!