Sarah Brightman has a gift.

Or 'The Gift' as she has called it.

'The Gift' she refers to is the high-pitched, high-voltage vocals she has become famous for.

Her vibrato voice has been described as pristine, ethereal and dreamlike.

It's that voice and the lush, swirling classical-pop crossover music that accompanies it, which has caught the attention and adoration of fans the world over, including Calgary where she will perform on Monday at the Saddledome.

Born in Hertfordshire, England, Brightman made her professional debut at age 13 under the direction of John Schlesinger in a production of I & Albert at the Picadilly Theatre.

At 16, the ballet-trained Brightman joined Pan's People dance troupe and two years later was sitting comfortably near the top of the British charts with the silly, upbeat novelty single, I Lost my Heart to a Starship Trooper.

Brightman's life would change dramatically in 1983 when she auditioned for Andrew Lloyd Webber for a part in his new musical, Cats.

Their attraction was mutual and immediate despite the fact that Webber and Brightman were both married to other people.

The two married in 1984, and for the next six years Brightman and Webber -- who is 12 years her senior -- were one of England's most celebrated (and at times, cruelly mocked) couples.

Webber wrote some of his best-known work during their marriage, including Phantom of the Opera, in which the character of Christine was written specifically for his curly-tressed muse.

Success and media scrutiny eventually took its toll and their relationship crumbled in 1990.

But it was perhaps Webber's desire for a family that forced a wedge between them.

Brightman once told The Independent, Webber was desperate for children, while she preferred to concentrate on her flourishing career.

"I can't be a wife," she said.

"I'm not that sort of person. Wives have to compromise all the time. I knew I had a gift and had to follow that gift."

The couple was actually divorced on grounds of adultery (Webber allegedly cheated with a woman who would later become his third wife.)

Although Brightman was handed a 6 million (pound) divorce settlement, she has apparently yet to dip into the funds.

Probably because she doesn't need to.

At 40, she has proven to be a marketable commodity herself.

Time to Say Goodbye, her tear-jerking 1997 duet with Andrea Bocelli, was one of the longest-running No. 1 songs ever in Europe, she sold two million copies of her album Eden and her latest, La Luna, isn't doing too shabbily either.

Her boyfriend of the past eight years, Frank Peterson, also produced La Luna, a heavily atmospheric journey through classical interpretations of such composers as Dvorak, Morricone and Rachmaninov and classically-inspired '60s pop songs Scarborough Fair and Procol Harum's moody Whiter Shade of Pale.

There aren't many artists who can get away with bringing classical into a pop world or vice-versa, or at least do it with style and a minimum amount of cheese factor (Yanni anyone?)

But Brightman is confident and brave enough to forge ahead into this generally uncharted territory with panache.