The star attraction in Melbourne’s tent-pole production of Sunset Boulevard, the world’s best-selling soprano Sarah Brightman, has not performed for two weeks and Opera Australia won’t confirm when she will return.
The show, which opened on May 29 to mixed reviews of both the production and Brightman herself, marked her highly anticipated return to the stage after a 34-year absence.
Sarah Brightman in a scene from Sunset Boulevard.Credit: Justin McManus
Many fans purchased tickets for the performance because of Brightman’s inclusion, some travelling from outside Melbourne, only to be told once they were in their seats that she would not be appearing. Brightman has not performed since June 9.
In a statement to The Age on June 17 Opera Australia said: “Ms Brightman has unfortunately suffered a torn calf muscle which has ruled her out of performances until she has recovered sufficiently to be able to move about the stage freely as is required for the role of Norma Desmond. She is undergoing treatment and is hoping to return to the stage this week.”
That statement was provided nine days ago and Brightman has not since returned to the stage. Despite missing 12 consecutive scheduled appearances, no public announcement has been made, and Brightman continues to receive star billing on the production’s website.
Asked this week whether Brightman’s return was uncertain, if measures were being put in place to facilitate her returning to the production, and whether the upcoming Sydney season of Sunset Boulevard will be affected, Opera Australia said:
“Ms Brightman is continuing her recovery and will return to the stage when she is well enough to perform the role of Norma Desmond.
“We won’t be making any further comments except to say how proud we are of the cast who have continued to play to standing ovations and rapturous applause.”
Kevin Adams made a 500-kilometre round trip from Wangaratta specifically to see Brightman as Norma Desmond. “It wasn’t until we were actually in the theatre, sitting down, the lights were about to dim that they announced she wouldn’t be performing,” he said.
“The show was terrific,” he adds, “but it was very disappointing, when it’s been plugged as a star attraction, to go and then find they’re not on.”
Julie Baker and three friends planned a weekend trip around the production – Baker and another friend travelled from Sydney while another travelled from New Zealand. Brightman was the main drawcard for the group, who booked tickets several months in advance at $250 a head. Like Adams, they also only found out about the cast change once already seated, “literally before curtain up”, says Baker. Baker emphasises that Silvie Paladino, who has been filling in for Brightman, was “amazing”, but that the group’s visit “was built around Sarah Brightman”.
The production’s website says that the company reserves the right “to add, withdraw or substitute cast as necessary”, but the sustained absence of a headliner is highly unusual.
Australia’s premiere season of Sunset Boulevard in 1996, starring Debra Byrne and Hugh Jackman at the Regent Theatre, was plagued with the absence of its own star. Byrne – who was also performing the role of Desmond – was frequently and unexpectedly absent, the season ran shorter than expected, and plans to take the production to Sydney were abandoned.
Recently, the lavish production has both pared back the number of shows happening per week and dropped ticket prices. At present, it is running a 72-hour promotion where all remaining tickets are available for $72.
Musicals are a significant source of income for the national opera company, with last year’s productions of Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera accounting for nearly half of the entire 2023 audience.
On the night Adams attended, he noted many empty seats: “It wasn’t one or two, there were quite a lot.”
He also points to the discounted tickets currently on sale. “It’s a huge production and I think people should go and see it for sure.”
Despite the cast changes, Adams says he enjoyed the show and would be keen to watch it again, with Brightman in the role. “I did want to hear her voice. I did want to see her in the role, and just see what she could do.”
Having previously seen the premiere Australian season in the mid-1990s he feels that this version is better. “The staging was just incredible. The sets and the stagecraft, everyone in it … we are very lucky to have such high-standard shows here in Melbourne.”
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