She's quick to say, however, that she accepts the American sensitivity. 'The fact that they didn't play it was out of my control,' she says. 'There really wasn't anything I could do about it. You can't get angry. I am not American, I'm European. There's a better fusion of different races and cultures there, and I just felt that I couldn't get into this. I couldn't make a comment.'

It was the only blight on a tour that played to ecstatic reviews and capacity audiences in 46 arenas throughout the US, Canada and Mexico, grossing US$15 million on the way. A lavish production, the Harem tour surges from operatic arias to the Technicolor gloss of the West End, enmeshed in Middle Eastern mysticism and pulsing dance beats. (Harem translates as 'forbidden place' in Arabic.)

'I don't really know how I keep the energy up sometimes,' says the 43-year-old. 'I think you just need to have a passion for what you're doing.'

Among the exotic costumes and hordes of dancers is a variety of special effects that eclipse recent Canto-pop spectaculars from the likes of Kelly Chen Wai-lum. The two-hour show features: a 20-metre catwalk that cuts through the centre of the auditorium; hydraulic risers within the stage that enable musicians and instruments to appear and disappear; and a specially built rig that enables Brightman to soar through the air.

The 11-member band comprises two keyboardists, two guitarists, a bass player, a drummer, two percussionists, and three backing vocalists. They'll be accompanied by a 12-piece string section and eight dancers.

'I've always been interested in the history and culture of the Middle East,' says Brightman. 'My mother's family lived in India for years, and I've always been interested in music and where it originates from. Over the past few albums, I've found that sounds and rhythms from these areas had been creeping in anyway. I thought it would be the right time to do a whole album with this sort of musicianship.'

Beginning in the late 1970s as a dancer in saucy troupe Hot Gossip, Brightman had a worldwide hit with the impossibly camp I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper. In 1981, she shot to stardom after being cast in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. Their much-publicised romance and marriage followed, with Brightman's ability to carry operatic and pop disciplines enshrining her as Webber's muse. He wrote the part of Christine in Phantom of the Opera especially for her. She opened it in 1986 in the West End, before taking it to Broadway - a first in theatre at the time, thanks to Webber's insistence that the role go to her and not an American.

Their marriage had ended by the early 1990s, however, and Brightman struck out alone to worldwide success. Her music - a dramatic blend of classics, dance and Middle Eastern flavours - defies any pigeonhole.

Once described as an 'uncommon juxtaposition of waif-like vulnerability and worldly sophistication in both voice and manner', Brightman has paid the price for putting her career first. She recently split with her long-time partner, producer Frank Peterson, after 11 years.

'I simply love what I do,' she says. 'And I know I'm doing what I should be in life. It is as simple as that. You know you'll be away and have to get through 21/2 months of touring, so you pace yourself. I'm lucky in that I have experience in it now. That's what gets me through.'

Harem was recorded over a year in Hamburg, Beirut, Prague, Cairo, London, Paris and Toronto.

'The nice thing about it was, when the album came out in the Middle East and India, these were the places that ended up going wild for it,' Brightman says. 'And that was good. You worry that you're playing at something, because you can only learn so much about the music and the cultures in a short space of time. Instead, there was an affirmation that I'd got something right. It was being appreciated.'

An Evening with Sarah Brightman, Harem World Tour, May 28, 8pm, HK Convention and Exhibition Centre Hall 3, $490, $890, $1,690. Inquiries: 3128 8288