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Stage fright, feeling "like a show off," and an
aversion to the trappings of fame have limited the double Oscar
and 10-time Grammy winner to singing just 100 public concerts
since 1963.
So, at age 75, Streisand took the opportunity to capture on film
the Miami concert from her 2016 U.S. tour for a Netflix special.
"Barbra: The Music... The Mem'ries... The Magic!" is set to be
released on Wednesday.
"I don't enjoy getting up on stage and prancing around. I feel
like a show off. I don't like being a show off. I like to be
still. I like to sit in my chair and sing quietly to the
audience. It's hard for me to be too theatrical," Streisand told
Reuters.
"You put in a lot of time - like three months to prepare a
concert, figure out what you are going to sing. It takes me as
long as it does to film a movie, so you want to document it for
posterity," she said.
In the Netflix special, Streisand sings many of her best-known
songs from her 11 No. 1 albums, including classics like "The Way
We Were," "People" and "You Don't bring Me Flowers," mixed with
film clips and behind the camera footage from movies including "Yentl,"
and some of her recording sessions.
It also captures some of the "Funny Girl" star's private moments
- doing her own make-up backstage, rehearsing, and nerves.
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Apart from occasional benefits, Streisand says stage fright kept her
from performing live in public for 27 years after she forgot her
lyrics at a 1967 concert in New York's Central Park.
Overcoming it was a challenge and was partly behind her series of
farewell and comeback concerts in the last 20 years.
"I tried all kinds of things. Then they invented teleprompters,
which at least had my lyrics in front of me, so I could look and see
what I am doing.
"I really envy those who enjoy performing in front of people. I just
don't, that's why I love recordings or doing movies," she said.
"When I got more well-known, I really started to dislike stardom
itself. I really am only focused on the creative process. That is
what intrigues me."
Film also has a way of stopping time, she said, noting that she lost
her father when she was a little over a year old.
"Maybe because my father died so young - he was 35 - I just believe
in capturing moments, I guess."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by David Gregorio)
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