Dreamchaser World Tour


The Dreamchaser World Tour was the fifth worldwide concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman in support of her album Dreamchaser. The North American tour had been planned to begin in early 2013, but all dates were rescheduled for late 2013. The tour was supposed to be Brightman's final concert tour before her trip into space but the trip was later cancelled for personal reasons.
The 2013 North American leg of Brightman's "Dreamchaser" tour consisted of her performing 86 shows over a seven-month time span. It has been her longest tour since the Harem World Tour in 2004, and it was also her worldwide tour with more dates in Asia and South America. Brightman also added dates in countries where she had never performed before, such as United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
In April 2014, a second leg of the North American tour was announced for the summer season; however, on 18 June 2014, Brightman cancelled the summer dates after sustaining an ankle injury. The remainder of the tour ultimately resumed in November 2014, coming to an end a month later.

Production

Brightman anticipated that the tour would be simple; the usual orchestra that accompanied her on previous tours was reduced to four musicians. The number of dancers was also reduced from being a large number to only two.
The scenery of the stage consisted of a huge screen with tri-dimensional images and videos from space, light, and nature. A raising platform at center of the stage was used by Brightman on several stages of the show. She was joined by Erkan Aki, a Swiss tenor, for singing "Canto della Terra" and "The [Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of The Opera]". During the show, Brightman made ten changes of clothes.
The show lasted two hours with an interlude of twenty minutes, and the track list had nineteen tracks. The track list of the tour consisted of her well-known songs plus new ones from the Dreamchaser album. As the concert was space-themed, it included various songs from the 2000 album La Luna, which also had a theme related to space.

Set lists

2013 and early 2014 set list
  1. Angel
  2. One Day Like This
  3. Glósóli
  4. Hijo de la Luna
  5. La Luna
  6. Eperdu
  7. It's a Beautiful Day
  8. Ave Maria
  9. Canto della Terra
  10. Nessun Dorma
Intermission
  1. Closer
  2. Breathe Me
  3. Figlio Perduto
  4. Kaze no Toorimichi
  5. Scarborough Fair
  6. A Song of India
  7. The Phantom of the Opera
  8. Time to Say Goodbye
  9. Venus and Mars
  10. A Question of Honour
Late 2014 set list
  1. Sanvean Instrumental
  2. Gothica
  3. Fleurs du Mal
  4. Symphony
  5. Who Wants to Live Forever
  6. Sarahbande Interlude
  7. Anytime Anywhere
  8. Eperdu
  9. Hijo de la Luna
  10. La Luna
  11. It's a Beautiful Day
  12. Canto della Terra
  13. Nessun Dorma
  14. Closer Instrumental
  15. Harem
  16. Breathe Me
  17. Figlio Perduto
  18. Scarborough Fair
  19. A Song of India
  20. The Phantom of the Opera
  21. Time to Say Goodbye
  22. A Question of Honour
  23. Dust in the Wind
Notes
  • "Kaze no Toorimichi" was not performed during the shows in China.
  • "Deliver Me" was performed as the second encore at the concert taping in London for the PBS special and in the premiere concert in Guangzhou.
  • "Dust in the Wind" was replaced by "I Believe in Father Christmas" in late December 2014.

Personnel

The performances were directed by director Anthony Van Laast, who worked in Brightman's previous Symphony: Live in Vienna show. The band and dancers comprise some of the world's most respected session musicians and performers.
Band:
  • Peter Murray – musical director, keys, piano
  • Mark Pusey – drums & percussion
  • Olli Cunningham – keys, synths
  • Gunther Laudahn – guitars, harps, glockenspiel
Dancers:
  • Jennifer White
  • Gemma Payne
Guest vocalist:

Critical reception

The "Dreamchaser World Tour" received generally positive reviews from critics. The Gazette congratulated Brightman as she dealt with such a small band yet was able to maintain the "majestic mystery" of the performance. The Atlanta Music Scene also reviewed positively the simplicity of the production; "It was the simpler moments when Brightman truly sparkled". Blogcritic.org identified the lightning show as "stunning".
On the review by Twincities.com, the Dreamchaser Tour was described as "enchanting, yet odd", "all the while, stunning". Times Colonist reviewer, Mike Delvin rated Brightman's show with 3.5 stars and wrote: "The show was a spectacle, and the singing was anything but secondary". Buffalo News, in contrast, recognized the purity of Brightman's voice but expected a better elaborated concert. Although many congratulated the simplicity of the performance, other reviews criticized Brightman; Randy Cordova, in azcentral wrote that the show "lacked the outlandish sense of spectacle for which she is known." and compared negatively the simplicity of this tour with the elaboration of the previous. Postcity also criticized Brightman by stating: "All in all, Brightman made terrific use of her high-end stage show, all the while serving up a vocal performance that was just good enough so as not to get completely overshadowed".

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenueGross revenue
11 January 2014NanjingChinaOlympic Sports Centre
15 January 2014ChangzhouChinaChangzhou Olympic Sports Centre
17 January 2014FuzhouChinaFuzhou Stadium
19 January 2014BeijingChinaGreat Hall of the People
21 January 2014ShanghaiChinaShanghai Grand Stage
23 January 2014Chek Lap KokHong KongAsiaWorld–Arena
6 February 2014DubaiUnited Arab EmiratesDubai World Trade Centre
7 February 2014DubaiUnited Arab EmiratesDubai World Trade Centre
9 February 2014DohaQatarNational Convention Center
12 February 2014OdesaUkraineOdesa Opera and Ballet Theater
14 February 2014KyivUkrainePalace "Ukraine"
16 February 2014MoscowRussiaCrocus City Hall
18 February 2014St. PetersburgRussiaIce Palace
20 February 2014RigaLatviaArena Riga
22 February 2014KaunasLithuaniaŽalgiris Arena
24 February 2014HelsinkiFinlandHartwall Arena
26 February 2014StockholmSwedenHovet Arena
9 November 2014IstanbulTurkeyÜlker Sports Arena
12 November 2014SofiaBulgariaArmeets Arena
13 November 2014BucharestRomaniaSala Palatului
15 November 2014EkaterinburgRussiaPalace Sport
17 November 2014MoscowRussiaCrocus City Hall
19 November 2014St. PetersburgRussiaOktyabrskiy Big Concert Hall
21 November 2014TallinnEstoniaSaku Suurhall
23 November 2014RigaLatviaArena Riga
29 November 2014SapporoJapanHokkai Kitayell
1 December 2014TokyoJapanTokyo International Forum
2 December 2014OsakaJapanOsaka-Jo Hall
4 December 2014HiroshimaJapanSun Plaza Hall
5 December 2014NagoyaJapanAichi Prefectural Gymnasium
7 December 2014SendaiJapanSekisui Heim Super Arena
8 December 2014TokyoJapanTokyo International Forum
9 December 2014YokohamaJapanPacifico Yokohama
11 December 2014TokyoJapanTokyo International Forum
12 December 2014TokyoJapanTokyo International Forum
14 December 2014TaipeiTaiwanTaipei Arena