On Sunday 2nd of February, I returned to Cadogan Hall for another concert..this time for Sierra Boggess! I have loved Sierra for about a year and a half now after discovering her and my love for Phantom of the Opera in June of 2018. Ever since I watched the DVD of the 25th POTO anniversary, I’ve been a fan of Sierra; so when this concert was announced I just knew I had to go! This night was amazing! She has an incredible voice and a great personality, which, together made the night so special and fun! Let’s dive into some of my favourite moments of the night!
My favourite moment of the night has to be when she sang Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again which is one of my favourite songs from Phantom of the Opera; especially when I get to hear it live and I’m not going to lie…I teared up during Sierra’s performance; it’s just so magical when you hear it live. Her rendition is probably the version of ‘Wishing’ I listen to the most as I adore the 25th Anniversary and listen to at least some of it every day. Like Kelly, I also credit Sierra for my love for Christine so this was a full-circle moment.
Next, we have the song A Little Bit Less Than from the musical It Should Have Been You, this wasn’t a musical I was familiar before Sunday’s show but I loved this song; it was such a good song! I have listened to it several times since then and have loved it a bit more each time! She sings it so well, really told the story of the song and acted it really well as well! You could feel all the emotion in each lyric radiating off Sierra and into all of our ears. If her goal was to make me want to listen to another musical then she has achieved it!
Moving on we have Part of your World from the Little Mermaid. Who doesn’t love a bit of Disney?! For those who don’t know Sierra originated the role of Ariel in the Broadway musical of The Little Mermaid, so I knew she just had to pull some Disney out of her back pocket. Ariel was my favourite Disney princess growing up and I still love belting out Part of your World so I especially loved this performance!
Following that, we have the title song from the Phantom of the Opera sequel, Love Never Dies. I had only listened to and watched the DVD of this musical recently as I was put off by all the reviews but I actually enjoyed it! I had only heard Anna O’Byrne’s version but Sierra’s version was just as magical – especially all the high notes! It was a great way to end the first act!
Another one of my favourite moments was Think of Me – Three Ways. During this section, Sierra talked us through the times she had played the role of Christine Daae. The first time she performed as Christine was in Las Vegas…so naturally, you do what any normal person would do…Think of Me in the style of Britney Spears, yup, you read that right…Britney singing Think of Me, this was HILARIOUS! Her Britney impression was spot on! The next time she played (or was going to play as it never actually happened because the theatre caught fire!) Christine was in Paris so she did the next part of the song all in French! She learnt the whole show in French specifically for the Paris run which is pretty incredible! You’d think that she was fluent in French the way she sang it! The last and final time she played Christine was the 25th Anniversary performances at the Royal Albert Hall so she finished it in English. If you know the song or any of the songs in Phantom, you’ll know they aren’t easy to sing but Sierra sang it so effortlessly!
The section where Sierra read the letters that her grandparents wrote to each other during they were separated during the war was also a standout moment. It was so simple yet so beautiful. There was so much love in those letters which made it special that we got to hear them, it was accompanied by the piano which fitted so well, overall it was a really nice moment during the show.
My last final moment was when Sierra told us all about the time that Andrew Llyod Webber asked her to perform at his house for The Queen! The story was told by Sierra weaving in and out of singing the song If They Could See Me Now from the musical Sweet Charity. It was such a funny moment during the show. Sierra is such a good storyteller with great comedic timing! It was truly one of the best moments of the night! There is videos of her singing and telling this story online – I highly recommend you go and watch them because it was a really fun moment!
Overall:
Overall this was an amazing night! Sierra is an amazing performer and vocalist! If you ever get the chance to see her live, take it! You won’t regret it!
