Sting and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra enchant the Nîmes Arena...

British singer Sting, accompanied by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, enchanted the Nîmes Arena on Saturday evening for an hour and 45 minutes, performing songs from the Police and his solo albums, revisited with rich string arrangements before a grandiose finale.

The former Police leader, dressed in slim black jeans and a taupe T-shirt, kicked off the evening with "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic." Behind him, Sarah Hicks, the young American conductor, perched on stiletto heels and wearing black leggings and a bustier, dusted off the traditional tailcoat and the role. With the tip of her baton, she launched the twenty or so violins she conducts.

From the second song, the dashing Brit's "Englishman in New York" heats up the atmosphere and gets the arenas singing.

Then, a surprise with a rounded rendition of the Police's "Roxanne," softened by the singing of violins and flutes. The 16-time Grammy Award winner plays a small acoustic guitar, held high against his chest. The stage glows with delight.

After 'When We Dance', comes 'Russians' with its masterful intro: brass and strings echo each other and gain in depth with the intervention of percussion, which unleashes the full musical power of the orchestra.

"When I was a child, my father told me, 'when you leave school, you go to sea.' This song is for my father," the artist, whose real name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, says in French, to introduce the darkly beautiful 'Why Should I Cry For You?'.

After 'Fields of Gold', the singer plays 'Next to You', the first song of the evening with rock arrangements, which is warmly received.

Then comes 'This Cowboy Song' with its Celtic atmosphere.

"The next song is about a vampire," he says, donning a black gabardine with red armholes. "Moon Over Bourbon Street" opens with a violin solo and takes on the feel of a rock opera in its storytelling or its ability to enhance a suspense film. The audience cheers and taps their feet.

"King of Pain" is the second song played, a very rocking style, and it doesn't take much to get the audience, which had been specially arranged for the occasion, on its feet.

With his hand casually resting on his microphone arm, Sting then begins a grandiose finale: 'Every Breath You Take' is accompanied by a bewitching light show that sweeps the pit and stands in patterns reminiscent of oriental mashrabiyas. For his first encore, he delivers the captivating 'Desert Rose', originally performed with Cheb Mami, and dares to do some oriental hip-swinging.

'She's Too Good For Me' and 'Fragile' prolong the pleasure before a final encore during which the singer plays 'Message in a Bottle' alone on acoustic guitar, as if to remind everyone that his voice and talent are enough to delight his fans.

With 'Symphonicity', Sting marks the successful marriage of symphonic music with a rock sound. A truly beautiful blend.

(c) 2011 AFP

Sting enchants arenas...

In the fall of 1983, with his band The Police, he opened the way for the major concert scheduled at the Nîmes Arena. Witnesses describe it as a legendary evening. He has since returned, but without his bandmates. This time, for the final July date, Sting once again stepped through the arena, accompanied by an army of musicians.

A continuation of the album recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, revisiting, with careful arrangements and vivid harmonic colours, the songs that form the backbone of his long-standing repertoire.

Last night, before some eight thousand spectators who came to the amphitheater to see, or re-see, this legend of the stage (and screen), Sting entrusted the evening's opening to Yael Naim. Still in the light of day, but in a climate closer to a grape harvest feria than a midsummer night, the singer played her most significant hits, but without attracting attention.

As night (had barely) fallen, "they" finally arrived. They? Sting at the head of his spectacular crew of instrumentalists. First, the opening notes to get everyone in tune, and then the spotlight fell on the orchestra and the singer. The multi-movement symphony could begin.

With soaring strings and phrases as gentle as those in "Roxanne." In this score, developed throughout the concert, the full range of sound effects was unleashed. Thundering percussion, martial brass, oriental or Celtic rhythms, solos that express their lament, a cello that confides its pain. And Sting, at the prow of his ship, with simplicity, tenderness, or energy, advancing his magnificence and class.

(c) Midi Libre by Roland Massabuau