The most symphonic Sting fills the Cap Roig Festival...

The British singer gave an extensive review of his musical career, both solo and with The Police.

He dazzled in Cap Roig. British musician Sting won over his fans last night with a symphonic retelling of the most well-known songs of his musical career. Embarking on the 'Symphonicity' world tour, the singer—the main headliner of this emblematic Costa Brava festival—displayed all his charisma and personality on stage, along with the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, in front of an audience that immediately embraced him. No wonder. Tickets to see the founder and leader of The Police had been sold out for days, and anticipation was at its peak minutes before the concert.

The international star, who has several multi-platinum albums and a long list of number-one songs, gave an extensive look back at his musical career, which included both his own songs and the main hits of the famous English group The Police. During his symphonic tour, Sting, accompanied by his current band—led by Chelsea Tipton and consisting of guitarist Dominic Miller, percussionist Rhani Krija, vocalist Jo Lawry, and bassist Ira Coleman—chose, as he did last night, to open with a trio of songs beginning with "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," before winning the audience over with his well-known "Englishman in New York."

Likewise, throughout the tour he has continued with other songs that were heard strongly during his time in The Police - which he founded in 1977 with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers -, such as 'Roxanne' or 'King of Pain' and legendary songs such as Every breath you take. In addition, the singer has sought to remember throughout the tour hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s that were a reference for more than one generation such as 'Next To You', 'When We Dance', 'Hung My Head' or 'Shape Of My Heart'. And even though Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner—Sting's real name—will turn 60 next October, he's already been on the road for a year, coinciding with the release of his new album, Symphonicities, which has taken him to Germany, France, and Italy.

Numerous figures from the political, social, and economic worlds were present at this first major musical event of the Costa Brava's summer festivals. Among them were the Vice President of the Catalan Government, Joana Ortega; the President of the Democratic Union, Josep Antoni Duran Lleida; and the Deputy General Manager of CaixaBank, Jaume Giró.

Nineteen shows are scheduled for the twelfth edition of the Jardins de Cap Roig Festival, which kicked off last Friday night with the legendary jazz rock band Chicago. Julio Iglesias, Tamara Rojo, and Tom Jones—who will close the event—will perform twice. Other internationally renowned artists who will be taking to the stage during these days are Josep Carreras, the great bluesman BB King - who at 83 will be performing for the first time at the Girona event as part of his last tour - and the former Supertramp vocalist Roger Hodgson, as well as Miguel Ríos, the Dúo Dinámico, Antònia Font, Manel, and the Palafrugell singer Sílvia Pérez Cruz, among others. Some of them, such as BB King and Manel, have already sold out of available tickets.

According to the director of the Jardins de Cap Roig Festival, Martín Pérez, 30,000 of the 38,000 tickets on sale have been sold to date for the event, which, for the first time, has La Caixa as its main sponsor, following the takeover of Caixa Girona. The organization aims to collaborate with the organizers to increase the festival's capacity to serve as a hub for economic development in its area of influence.

(c) La Vanguardia by Barbara Julbe