Opera "purists" seem to not know their Opera history. Before Mozart made Opera popular in the palaces of the King of Vienna, Opera was sung by none other than, oh my gosh, pop stars. Most Operas up until Mozart were performed mostly by men and women of the calibur of Sarah Brightman and Michael Ball. Also, Opera, if you read the translations, is nothing but the pulp fiction of the 16th and 17th century. People hold Opera up like it's some kind of sacred thing that should never be touched by anyone except the most exceptional, GOD, give me a break. There is nothing clever, nothing new, and if it wasn't for the music the stories are VERY VERY forgettable. You did not have the blaring and (I think) over-inflated voice of people like Pavorati and Kathleen Battle. I would rather listen to Kiri Te-Kinawa. Though women like Battle, and Cecelia have beautiful voices sometimes it is overwhelming to listen to them for long periods of time. So, stop bashing Sarah and learn a little of the history of Opera, also read some of the translations, you'll be surprised how bawdy some of it is, so it's no surprise at Sarah's choice of album insert. Sarah's voice is clear, beautiful and yes, powerful. People have complained that her voice is weak, well, show me a Broadway Diva with a weak voice and I will show you a Brodway flop. You have to have a very powerful voice to make it in the musical stage, or else you will be overwhelmed. This album is beautiful and her vocalizations are clear, bright and very listenable.

Unfortunately, I am going to be writing something a little negative here. I do not hate Brightman as much as I cannot listen to her - especially, when I know there is better out there. Actually, I have been forced to listen to her more then I want to because of my daughter - this is her favorite bedtime music. Brightman really breaks my heart to hear her singing O' Mio Babbino Caro like that. She really glosses over the words and does a great job at botching up the emotions expressed in this song. One of my favorite songs too. And her voice is too weak and thin to be any good example of how Opera should sound. However, if it weren't for the 4th song - Anytime Anywhere - I would recommend this to anyone who wants something light and peaceful to sleep to.

The female voice is the most beautiful sound in the world; and Ms. Brightman's is one of the more beautiful. Her style with the classics is to temper the usual classical/operatic style. I like it. Outside of the opera house, hardcore opera style is a bit much. While fighting traffic in my car, I love the way Sarah's voice relaxes me to the bone. My fave on the CD is the first song, Ave Maria. I've always thought of this song as a prayer put to music; but with Brightman's take the song seems to transcend prayer n' religion for the more spiritual, becoming more of an ode to the sacred feminine.

This is a great CD! I can't honestly say that I'm a huge fan of classical music. But a friend of mine let me hear "Time to Say Goodbye" featuring Andrea Bocelli and I instantly fell in love with Sarah's voice. I took a chance by purchasing this album (without knowing much about Sarah, nor this album) -- I was THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED! I repeat...this is a GREAT CD! I have a very objective view on the album -- I'm not familiar with Sarah's older theatrical/classical performances and I don't have a bunch of other classical and opera albums to compare this to. So putting aside the issue of whether Sarah has a genuine opera/classical voice or not, this CD is a great display of a talent. Sarah has a BEAUTIFUL voice, and she displays this in EVERY track on the CD. I also purchased the "Time to Say Goodbye" album which is good, but nowhere as good as "Classics." This is a great compilation of well-known classical music, and Sarah performs an EXCELLENT rendition of each one. Trust me...if you're just a fan of music in general, you'll definitely enjoy this CD. Take this from a guy that decided to try something other than Rap and R&B for a change (and surprisingly loved every minute of it)!

Sarah Brightman has a nice voice ... but she is far from good enough for anything more demanding than soft background music. On this album, she tries her hand at a number of well-known classic and classical pieces (first among them Schubert's "Ave Maria").

The resulting auditory catastrophe -- her voice fails to carry in the general sense and is hard-pressed just to maintain the proper note -- has been attempted to be whitewashed by the producer by adding in a disgraceful arrangement, likely produced on the cheapest of Casio electronic synthesisers.

If you love music: Stay away, or you will be disappointed.
If you love Brightman's voice: Stay away, or your illusions will shatter.

Felix Kasza.