TORONTO - It was a very promising opening, I'll give popera star Sarah Brightman that much.

The 48-year-old soprano brought her so-called Symphony Tour to the Air Canada Centre on Sunday night in support of her album of the same name, released back in January, and the holiday themed A Winter Symphony, released in early November.

When she first mysteriously appeared on stage, albeit 35 minutes late, wearing a black lace shroud and marched along her long catwalk to the ominous sound of Gothica, the lead-off track from Symphony, the anticipation was palpable amongst the crowd.

It seemed that from beneath her large black bustle, two women appeared and removed her veil, revealing a long flowing red dress, and she was then joined by six female dancers also in red, for another dramatic Symphony number, Fleurs Du Mal.

Brightman, once married to Andrew Lloyd Webber who made her a star by casting her as Christine in The Phantom Of The Opera before their six year marriage ended in divorce in 1990, is well known for her love of carefully orchestrated theatrics.

So it wasn't hugely surprising Brightman appeared to have her own wind machine following her around when there wasn't red rose petals or silver snowflakes precisely falling on her well-coiffed head during the Symphony song, Attesa, and a cover of Emerson Lake And Palmer's I Believe In Father Christmas, respectively.

The problem is that all the aerial hi-jinks - she climbed up a ladder to sing atop a pile of matresses during Storia D'Amore a la The Princess And The Pea and rose high above the stage on a swing during Attesa and cool-looking visuals and backdrops provided by a slanted holograph-aided backdrop which conjured up a forest, a garden, a starry night, a Japanese garden, a full moon, a Christmas tree, etc., - take the onus off her to actually perform.

Other than sing, which she often does really well, Brightman actually does very little in the way of moving, teetering around in high-heeled boots that Stevie Nicks and Gene Simmons would fight over or shoes that the girls at the Brass Rail would covet.

She lets outstretched arms and slow turns weakly convey emotion, kind of like a jewelry box ballerina might and not someone with her dance and theatre background.

It was up to that three-octave voice then, which soared during Canto Della Terra, Ave Maria, Phantom Of The Opera, You Take My Breath Away, It's Time To Say Goodbye, Deliver Me, and Running, to keep people captivated.

Interestingly, after all this time, it was Brightman's duet of Phantom Of The Opera, with one of two male opera singers who performed opposite her on Sunday night, which got the biggest applause during her two-hour-plus show.

Brightman is like a beautiful Christmas ornament whose shiny prettiness is only magnified by the enormous stage.

The perfect example came during a Busby Berkley-like synchronized swim number where the dancers appeared to be floating alongside Brightman on her enormous backdrop during Hijo De La Luna.

Her seven piece band was practically hidden during the entire show, although the guitarist did appear alongside her to play acoustically during a cover of the Kansas classic, Dust In The Wind, and her eight dancers did their best to fill in the gaps whenever she left the stage to get into a half-dozen different outfits, whether they were twirling Japanese parasols or acting out Alice In Wonderland's drop through the rabbit hole.

Of Brightman's costumes, I favoured the sparkly winter white number with a blue bustle and matching thigh-high boots that she wore during her covers of What A Wonderful World and Dust In The Wind, and the snug-fitting black gown with black feather wings worn to perfection during Deliver Me and the show-ending Running.

Not so classy was the Marie Antoinette-meets-domanitrix red and gold number that featured red leather lace-up tights, which she dawned for the appropriately titled Anytime Anywhere.

And downright goofy was the Little Red Riding Hood segment which saw Brightman in the famed red hood and cape getup, seated on a bike and rapping, while supposedly being chased by wolves.