After a 30-year absence from the musical theatre stage, Sarah Brightman is returning as Norma Desmond in a brand-new Australian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard. Jo Litson talks to the best-selling soprano, Musical Supervisor Kristen Blodgette and the ‘alternate Norma’ Silvie Paladino to discover how they are bringing the iconic silent movie star to life.

Sarah Brightman as Norma Desmond for Sunset Boulevard.
Sarah Brightman as Norma Desmond. Photos © Simon Fowler Photography

When Sarah Brightman takes to the stage as the volatile Norma Desmond in the new Australian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, it will be her first performance in a musical in more than three decades. What makes her return even more special is the fact that it will very likely...