When Andrew Lloyd Webber reached the peak of his creative powers, he had his muse, Sarah Brightman, to thank. It was Brightman who first turned Webber on to an odd idea -- yes, even odder than a musical about a bunch of singing and dancing alley cats -- of drawing a silent horror-movie classic into the realm of musical theater. Opening in 1986, Phantom of the Opera quickly became one of Webber's most successful and critically acclaimed efforts, a near-instant international blockbuster. And at the center of the whirlwind was the tender 26-year-old ingénue with a clarion voice. After leaving the theater because of the grueling tolls exacted on its stars, Brightman sought to carve out a career as a vocalist. The transition hasn't quite garnered this "Angel of Music" the same level of acclaim as her stage work, but there's little doubt Brightman still holds her audiences in the same inspirational sway that she once had on that infamous masked man and his creator.
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