Symphonicity: 2010/11

Big words with Sting in concert...

Anthological... Sting's visit to Madrid's Palacio de los Deportes last night was apotheotic, considering he demonstrated everything a pop musician can demonstrate at the peak of his hits: a perfect voice for interpreting them, twists on his rhythms and melodies, impeccable sound, and, above all, an exceptional debut performance with a symphony orchestra behind him.

A whopping 45 musicians with classical music accompanied Sting's repertoire last night, under the spotlight, under the orchestral direction of Steven Mercurio. And that's not even counting the backing band the British composer also brought along for the occasion, which included Dominic Millar, his right-hand man on guitar, bassist Ira Coleman, and singer Jo Lawry.

This isn't the first time London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has performed with renowned pop idols. However, his movements have rarely revalued repertoires like Sting's. A songbook that included the hit parades he once garnered with The Police, but not at all to sway them.

Sting's visit to Spain was also exceptional years ago, when his tour stopped at the Circo de Gredos. Despite everything, at that time, the Newcastle artist was still in demand for songs like "Roxanne," "Message in a Bottle," and "Next To You," above any of the hits from his solo career.

"Symphonicities" is the slogan of Sting's current tour, and with it, he has broken down the boundaries between what is considered popular and classical music. We are talking about a composer who has always been inclined toward jazz scales, which has ultimately given string prominence to songs like "Englishman in New York" and "Tomorrow We'll See," to name two from the personal journey Sting forged after the Police, separated by more than a decade.

Perhaps "Whenever I Say Your Name" was, in R&B style, the most well-rounded performance Sting left us in the air last night, thanks to Jo Lawry's invaluable collaboration on the duet. But it's also worth mentioning the emotion distilled in "Fragile," with his fingers on the guitar neck, the power of "Russians" with violins behind it, and even the way Sting integrated his harmonica into the perfect machinery of London's Royal Philharmonic.

Sting's concert in Madrid lasted over three hours, with a twenty-minute break midway through. Thus, he found Sting in full voice and courteous enough to address his audience in Spanish.

The one hundred and thirty euros it cost to listen to him from a chair on the dance floor at the Palacio justified his acoustic power, because the sheer talent, taste in the arrangements of academic scores, and rigor in the musical execution that Sting presented are rarely found in a single evening. Outstanding... A true lesson in musical subtlety and power, the performance of the British professor, who one day swapped chalk for the guitar, classrooms for large auditoriums...

© El Mundo by Maurilio de Miguel