I saw Sting (for the first time) on Wednesday night at the Metropolitan Opera backed by the Royal Philharmonic clad in unusually casual threads for one of the most respected orchestras in the world. The horn section even doubled as backup singers at one point in bizarrely wonderful twist. I love when musicians combine genres. I was thrilled when I found out that the Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek released an electronic version of Carmina Burana, and one of my favorite musicians is Jacques Loussier, a jazz pianist who plays swing versions of Bach, Ravel, Debussy, and many other venerable classical composers - sometimes I have to remind myself that the Goldberg variations weren't written for drums and bass! So, when I heard Sting was playing at the Met, I thought I better check it out.
I've always liked the Police and 'Synchronicity' in particular, but never became a rabid fan, though i did once play an ill-advised drinking game to 'Roxanne'. Hearing the richly orchestrated songs at the grandest space in the city was like hearing them for the first time. At one point, Sting said that there were two types of love songs: one where both people love each other and the other where one person loves someone and but he/she loves someone else. They then played conductor Steven Mercurio's lush arrangement of 'When We Dance'. Outside of the creepy brilliance of 'Every Breath You Take', I never realized how many nuanced love songs Sting has written. It's nice to see someone so recognizable in a new light.
(c) The Huffington Post by Chris Kompanek
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