Whatever Happened To Sarah Brightman?

Brightman's career has been successful, and we mean really successful. She's the world's best-selling soprano, has sold more than 30 million records, and is still performing to packed crowds in her fifties. The British singer outpaces other British performers in the U.S. including icons like Elton John and The Rolling Stones. She's made bestseller charts in dozens of countries, charting on every continent (with the exception of the sparsely populated Antarctica), racking up nearly 200 Gold and Platinum Sales awards.

She has an estimated net worth of $60 million, a fortune amassed through hard work and astonishing talent. While she received a multi-million dollar settlement after divorcing former husband (and The Phantom of the Opera composer) Andrew Lloyd Webber in the early 90s, her later success meant that she didn't need it. The star even offered to return the fortune to her ex, although he told her to keep it saying that she had earned it.

The singer has faced enormous success throughout her decades-long career, but she has also experienced more than her fair share of heartbreak. Brightman always wanted to be a mother, but due to infertility, it just wasn't in the cards for her. While with her former partner, record producer Frank Peterson, Brightman suffered two miscarriages and went through four failed rounds of IVF. "It was an experience going through it all, but — talking about women in general, I think it's really important to try as hard as you can [for children]," she told The Telegraph in 2013. "I was upset, but then I went through this huge thing of relief of thinking: 'That's it.' There was no guilt there, there was nothing, so I'm fine about it now."

While Brightman has considered adopting children, she feels she's no longer "at that age," and said "I wouldn't feel right, that's for other parents to do who have more time to focus on something like that."

Anyone who has heard Brightman sing knows she has the voice of an angel. While it's impossible to definitively measure just how influential a person is, there's no denying that Brightman has used her star power for good. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) believes in her sweet singing voice so much that, in 2012, she was named an Artist for Peace, an honor bestowed upon other icons such as singer Celine Dion and musician Gilberto Gil.

When awarding her with the title, UNESCO discussed Brightman's many contributions to the world, citing her "commitment to humanitarian and charitable causes, her contribution, throughout her artistic career, to the promotion of cultural dialogue and the exchanges among cultures, and her dedication to the ideals and aims of the Organization." According to her website, Brightman hopes to mobilize change, encouraging her fans to achieve their goals and strive "for our shared goal of a sustainable future."

Many people think of Brightman primarily as a classical singer, but her 2013 album Dreamchaser proved that she truly is a master of all genres. The album pushed boundaries and explored the singer's love of space travel. Brightman called it her most experimental album, where she played with "crazy vocals."

While quite different from her earlier work, Brightman also said that it was her most personal project. "It was inspired by some things I've always wanted to do, like go to space, so recording the album was so inspirational," she told Pop Matters. "I had to create a soundscape that came purely from being inspired by space and all those things I've known since I was really young. ...It was interesting to create a sort of ethereal energy, and it was a journey." She continued, "I wanted to convey the idea of the universe. I wanted to convey the ideas and visions you would get from being a human up in space, and you were looking down to the earth below."

Dreamchaser explored the star's love for space and pointed to a larger dream: to travel through the universe. In 2012, she announced that she would be fulfilling her dream and would be travelling to the International Space Station in 2015. Brightman told Pop Matters that she has been fascinated by the stars since childhood and felt protected by them. "When you gaze at stars and think about planets, the places it takes your imagination are amazing!" she said. "You look up the sky and you know the stars have always been here, they were referenced in biblical times and have always been present. They are somewhere up there in the future and they guide you, they make you feel safe."

Unfortunately, Brightman's space trip has been postponed — for now, at least. She began training for the trip in January 2015 before announcing on her Facebook page (via Time) that May that she had to delay the trip for personal family reasons. So far, there has been no word about when, or if, she will make the long-awaited journey.

Things might not have worked out with Brightman's famous ex, Andrew Lloyd Webber, who created the part of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera specifically with her voice in mind, but the two still maintain a friendly relationship. When asked about her former husband, Brightman responded with grace.  "My ex-husband's a sweet man and we have a sweet relationship," she told The Telegraph in 2013. "I saw him just before the 25th anniversary of Phantom in New York. He wasn't well – he's had some lower-back issues, which so many of us have – but it was really lovely, we spent some time talking about songs he's written and songs he wants to do."

Brightman added that she is proud of Webber's recent accomplishments and thinks he still has a lot more impressive work ahead of him. "In his future he'll go on creating, getting better and better, whereas often composers get to a point where things don't improve," she said.

Her career might span nearly half a century, but that doesn't mean Brightman is slowing down any time soon. In 2018, she released her latest album, Hymn. Brightman embarked on a world tour to promote the new album. She also performed the music from the album in a concert that aired on PBS. The album was her first new release in five years, following 2013's Dreamland. Some might call it a comeback, but Brightman's half-decade hiatus from recording was more of a well-deserved break than anything. The singer spoke to Digital Journal prior to the album's release, explaining that she had "needed some time for myself."

The album is, not surprisingly, a whirlwind of genres. "I called it Hymn not only because one of the songs on the album is called 'Hymn,' but when I think of the word, it reminds me of hope, light and all things positive," said Brightman. "That was my journey into this album."