Madonna

Here she is, the pop icon par excellence, the woman who over more than twenty years of career has consistently managed to transform and reinvent herself, becoming a symbol of transgression and feminism, now even a children's fairy-tale author, all while staying constantly in the spotlight and at the top of the sales charts with every record, setting new trends and remaining a point of reference for teenage girls the world over.

Anticipation for the American singer's only Italian date grew out of all proportion, artfully stoked by the sterile controversy over the use of her by-now-famous cross, as if the moral guardians were only just discovering today the attitudes and tools Ciccone has always used to promote her music.

From the day before the concert, rumors of alleged sightings of the American singer chased each other around the city, and word of mouth had a shop on Via Condotti surrounded by fans, or a restaurant besieged by the curious; she, however, calibrated everything very carefully, avoiding overly crowded situations and having her sizeable entourage occupy a hotel near Piazza della Repubblica, husband and children in tow.

The new Madonna has set aside the combative posture of "American Life" and gone back to her roots, to more properly dance-oriented atmospheres with her latest album "Confessions On A Dancefloor", performed almost in full tonight in a show designed to get the crowd dancing, and for once the Stadio Olimpico turned into a giant open-air disco.

The pre-show was filled by a DJ set from Paul Oakenfold, and by the much-applauded parade of VIPs who, to reach the places of honour set up at the centre of the stadium, found themselves having to cross the crowd on the pitch under heavy escort; among them it was impossible not to spot the endlessly photographed Lenny Kravitz, rapper Puff Daddy, and the multi-award-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodovar in the company of his favourite muse, Penelope Cruz.

The four manage to hold the whole stadium's attention for five minutes, until 9:45pm, when the lights go out and out of a giant disco ball that opens like a flower she emerges, stunning and in great shape despite the 48th birthday she'll celebrate in a few days, to the strains of “Future Lovers”, neatly blended with Donna Summer's old hit “I Feel Love”.

Madonna appears in black before the seventy thousand at the Olimpico with her dancers (who over the course of the evening will show off all their fantastic acrobatic-dance skills) dressed in sadomasochistic outfits, while images of galloping horses run across the screens.

After the new single “Get Together”, sung in an atmosphere dominated by the colour red (as it will be for much of the show), the New York artist immediately goes for one of her greatest classics, “Like A Virgin”, to heat up the crowd, even though it will be one of the few old-time throwbacks.

Already by the fifth song comes the most awaited moment, as the cross appears on stage: Madonna, crucified and wearing a crown of thorns, sings “Live To Tell”, and the effect, just a stone's throw from the Vatican, is by far more amplified than in any other place in the world where she has performed so far.

Madonna intends to send a clear message against the so-called wars of religion; the crowd applauds and the final result seems even more effective than the few stances taken by the Vatican itself, which might do better to engage more actively in resolving conflicts around the world rather than trying to censor pop concerts, with the only result of stirring up needless controversy.

Many have wryly pointed out that Madonna is the only person on earth capable of uniting all the great monotheistic religions, in the sense that Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Jews and Muslims have all lined up in unison against her and her show. She responds during “Forbidden Love” by having two dancers perform bearing large tattoos of the Star of David and the Islamic crescent, sending out messages of peace and reconciliation.

The last provocation comes during “Isaac”, where the sound of a horn and an Arabic chant precede the striptease of a dancer covered by a burka who, by the end of the song, will be left in costume.

Then comes the moment for the successful hit “Sorry”, which gets everyone dancing, and for “Like It Or Not”, when Madonna goes to sit at the end of the platform that runs from the stage almost to the centre of the stadium.

Right after, the former Material Girl slips into the role of rocker, straps on an electric guitar, and, seasoned performer that she is, delivers full-throttle renditions of “I Love New York” and “Ray Of Light”.

The moment of introspection also arrives with the pairing of "Substitute For Love"/"Paradise (Not For Me)", the latter with Madonna on acoustic guitar.

And the set changes again, returning to dance mode with her ultimate dance anthem, "Music", mixed with the great '70s hit "Disco Inferno": she in a white suit, imitating John Travolta/Tony Manero from "Saturday Night Fever".

The show continues with the mischievous "Erotica", rearranged at a slower pace than the original, with the tropical flavour of "La Isla Bonita" and a nod back to her early days with "Lucky Star", which quickly dives into the very recent "Hung Up", triumphantly closing the show with the whole stadium chanting in unison "Time Goes By ... So Slowly". Madonna leaves just like that, with no encore and not even a goodbye, only a phrase on the screens: "Have You Confessed?".

Those unaware of the setlist beforehand are left a little disappointed by a show that came across as somewhat prefabricated and cold, even as it highlighted the usual professionalism and versatility of an artist as charismatic as few others in the world.

Madonna sang, danced, played guitar, wore outfits designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, favouring her most recent compositions, for which she evidently has great regard: even with a discography boasting dozens upon dozens of major commercial hits, Madonna today looks to the future and has no interest in basking in past glories. And so she can afford a setlist without "Into The Groove", without "Material Girl", without "Papa Don't Preach", without "Frozen", without "Holiday" (barely hinted at), leaving out entire albums.

So there was no intention to indulge in self-celebration with a show full of greatest hits, but rather the desire to take stock of who she is today, of her personal tastes, of her way of making, seeing and living music.

An artist as fearless as ever, who, despite having sold millions of records over more than twenty years, can still get everyone dancing with tracks like "Sorry" and "Hung Up", the standout songs from her latest album. More of a grand musical than an actual concert, and the awareness of having witnessed, all the same, the spectacle of a woman who will go down as one of the greatest pop artists of all time.

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