AT THE WATERFRONT THEATRE, BELFAST

17TH MAY 1999

I will start with a general review of the concert, then go through it song by song.

Three days before the concert Elaine and I had been in the Waterfront theatre for a show called 'Beyond the Barricades', which was a collection of songs from the musicals. It was a brilliant concert, much better than 'The Magic of the Musicals'. We had amazing seats in the front row, and the acoustics of the theatre were stunning. This concert only heightened our anticipation for what was to come.

I got so excited over the next couple of days, and Elaine was strangely even more excited than me, even though I was the big Sarah fan out of us! We were really buzzing when we arrived, and we bought our brochure, and looked longingly at the other merchandice. Then we asked an attendent if we'd have a chance to meet Sarah afterwards, and we were shown where the stage door was.

Eventually the doors to the auditorium were opened and we the very first ones in. The first thing you noticed in the theatre were these atmospheric nature sounds, which made it feel like somewhere very special even before the show had begun. We were 6 rows back and near the right hand edge, pretty good seats, but we so wished that we could have swapped them for the front row seats we'd had for Beyond the Barricades.

From the moment that the star-shaped lights appeared, and the hooded men came down the aisles carrying bowls of flaming incense, we were totally enraptured. This was so much more than just sitting in a theatre listening to someone sing; the theatrical side of it was a joy to behold. The lighting, scenery and props all added so much, and the dancers did a great job. Sarah's voice was exquisite. Every note seemed perfect, and many songs actually sounded better than the CD versions, such as Laschia and Nessun Dorma. The reception for the songs was fairly good up until Nessun Dorma; this song brought the house down. Absolutely stunning.

The 2nd half of the concert was even better than the first. Captain Nemo was wonderful, and Sarah's "swimming" for La Mer looked so cool. She belted out 'Only an Ocean Away' and it sounded great, I was expecting her to struggle with the last chorus but it sounded much better than on CD.

The only song which I think she could have sung better was Wishing, she sounded slightly too operatic, she sang it better on her Royal Albert Hall video. Music of the Night was beautifully sung, and brought a standing ovation, which I was so thrilled about. I've never been part of a standing ovation before, and I felt so happy for Sarah having gone down so well.

Her voice still sounded so gorgeous for Time to Say Goodbye and Don't Cry for me Argentina, and she got another standing ovation after these. Loads of people had broken the rules and taken flash photos during the encore songs, so at the end I fumbled for my camera, but just as I was going to take the photo the curtain closed on Sarah. But I was too happy to be annoyed about this.

Elaine and I rushed off to the stage door, but eventually we found out that the real stage door was security guarded and that Sarah had left straight away to travel to Dublin. I was really disappointed at not getting the chance to meet her, but even this wasn't enough to dampen my spirits after such a wonderful evening.

We went back to the merchandice desk and I bought the signed photo of Sarah and a Sarah mug, and Elaine bought a Sarah pen and the Sarah postcards. Elaine enjoyed the concert just as much as me, and it was cool hearing her telling all her relatives how amazing it had been. She couldn't wait to listen to my copy of Eden, and I think she may well have caught the Sarah bug now! :)

I'll never forget this concert, and I feel like Sarah's popularity is surely growing after the wonderful audience reaction it received.

Now, here is the concert song by song:

1.In Paradisum - 9
This song began with the monk's coming down the aisles with their bowls of burning oils, mystical sounds of a paradise garden, and these magical moving spotlights in the shape of stars. At first you could only hear Sarah and not see her, until the monks pulled back the beautiful red curtains to reveal Sarah lying serenly on this big bed-like thing.

2.Eden - 9
In Paradisum leads straight into Eden, and the monks take off their cloaks to leave 6 semi-naked male dancers. They lift Sarah off of the bed and she keeps singing while they carry her horizontal. When she is standing again she does this swirly dance with her arms. My only complaint about this song was that the monk chanting part wasn't loud enough, but Sarah was singing brilliantly.

3.So Many Things - 8
There was nothing theatrical done for this song, but there was a beautiful background. Sarah sang it really nicely, but it wasn't quite as exciting as most of the songs.

4.Who Wants to Live Forever - 10
For this song, Sarah was standing on this little platform near the front of the stage, and had wind blowing her hair back. There was a gorgeous background of clouds and mountains, and it all went together to look really impressive. The orchestra were great for this song, and Sarah sang really powerfully, it was very rousing.

After this there is a short break, where the orchestra plays 'Bailero'.

5.Anytime, Anywhere - 10
Before the song begins, the dancers come on dressed in loose white shirts and carrying violins. They pretend to chat with each other, which goes well with the mood of the song, then they sit down on these chairs. When Sarah begins to sing the verses the men pretend to play the violins, which looked great. Then when it came to the chorus they put their violins down and get up and do this dance. Great song.

6.Lascia Ch'Io Pianga - 9
Sarah sings this one on her own. Even without the dancers, or any props, there is still a very nice backdrop of the orchestra nestled below this beautiful painted canvas. Sarah's voice for this song was exceptional, she sounded even better than on the Eden CD.

7.Nella Fantasia - 9
This time Sarah was accompaned by one of the dancers, who did a very slow dance at the side of the stage. This wasn't the best effect of the show, but Sarah made this song sound really beautiful.

8.Nessun Dorma - 10
For me, this was the best song in the concert. A high stand with steps leading upto it was brought on, with the steps facing the audience. There was a starry background with a lovely big moon. Sarah had something wrapped around her, and as she climbed the steps it unfurled into this huge blue cape which stretched back down to the stage where it was held in place. It was really spectacular, just like in POTO when you see the staircase in Masquerade. Sarah held onto these two little posts at the top of the steps as she sang. She sounded totally angelic. When it came to the final chorus, she put everything into it but still sounded flawless. The applause began long before the final note had finished.

After this it was the interval, which seemed to have arrived far too soon! Now there were sea noises and whale calls coming from the speakers. Could the start of the 2nd half be ocean-related we wondered? Actually, the sea noises sounded a bit too much like speaker interference, and weren't nearly as nice as the nature noises.

9.Dive/Captain Nemo - 10
The crashing wave noises grow louder, then the Dive intro begins. The back of the stage is now blue, making it seem very oceany. There is a half-transparent white cloth which comes down, which seems to glow slightly gold. The dancers are behind this cloth, and they push into it so that you can see the shape of them bulging out, which looked great. Sarah twirls on behind the cloth, then she burst through a gap in the middle of the cloth and sings Captain Nemo. A really exciting song!

10.La Mer - 10
For this, Sarah and two of the dancers are suspended in mid-air behind this transparent bluey-green screen. They move up and down, and move their arms in a way to make it look as if they are swimming deep in the ocean. This looked fabulous, and went so well with the atmosphere of the song.

11.Il Mio Cuore Va - 9
The white cloth falls down again with a bang, and the dancers do their pushing into it dance again. A wide platform moves slowly down from above as we hear the wave noises again. When the platform gets right down to the stage, Sarah climbs onto it, and pretends that it is the front of the Titanic. It is a very nice effect, and she sung it beautifully, and she even put her arms out to her side like Kate Winslet does in the film.

12.Only an Ocean Away - 10
Now the scene has a red cloth background, like the Eden cover, but it is very dark. Sarah put a lot into the song, and it sounded brilliant, and really powerful. I was surprised at how well she sung the final chorus.

13.First of May - 9
The stage now seems very empty, and snow begins to fall as Sarah comes forward. Unfortunately the effect didn't quite work for us as we were at the side and Sarah didn't appear to be behind the snow as she would have done from the middle. But it still looked really nice, and the song was very enjoyable, particularly the part where Sarah sings without the orchestra, she just sounded perfect.

14.Twisted Every Way/Phantom Overture - 10
Sarah then sings Twisted Every Way, which didn't particularly stand out. But as she finished it, the orchestra launched into the Phantom Overture, it was so loud and sounded amazing. The 6 dancers came onto the stage all dressed as Phantoms, with full face masks. At first there were strobe lights which was a cool effect, but I preferred it once the lights had stopped and they danced in this sinister red lighting. I'd hate the whole of Phantom to be done in this style, but seeing it for just a few minutes was a really interesting experience.

15.Wishing you were somehow here again - 8
For both of the big phantom songs, it was just Sarah alone on stage, although some nice candles had been added in and around the orchestra. I think Wishing was the only song that she could have sung better. Her voice seemed a bit too operatic, she didn't put as much emotion into it as usual, and the movements she did with her hands were a bit off-putting. This said, I still really enjoyed the song.

16.Music of the Night - 10
There was total silence for this song, and Sarah obliged with a beautiful rendition, as good as I've heard her do. It was a great song to end on as it got the audience into a real frenzy, and led to a well deserved standing ovation. Lots of people shouted and banged their feet for more. Sarah looked so happy, and bowed with her hands together, as if she was overwhelmed and didn't know what to say.

She waited quite a long time before coming back for the encore songs, but the applause could have lasted far longer to get her to come back!

17.Time to Say Goodbye - 10
There was a long cheer when the familiar opening of the song started up. She sang it faultlessly, and by this time I'm sure everyone felt as if they were having the time of their lives!

18.Don't cry for me Argentina - 10
This was the most beautiful version of the song I've ever heard. I'm sure everyone was just revelling in hearing the beauty of Sarah's voice, it wouldn't have mattered what the song was. The final 'Don't cry for me Argentina' was perfect, and I wished Sarah could have sung on all night. Again she looked overwhelmed by the riotous reception she was getting. She left the stage a bit soon though, she could have got far longer applause!