Sting

"When I was young, my father gave me just one piece of advice:

join the navy, I want you to have an interesting life. I don't think I've disappointed him."

Certainly, Sting didn't disappoint the more than two thousand spectators who packed the Sala Santa Cecilia at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome on Wednesday, November 10th. For about two hours, the British singer-songwriter sank his powerful sting into the skin of his listeners, instilling hits and rarities alike with the help of the forty-five members of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra of London. "Symphonicity" is the name of the unusual tour that, paraphrasing the title of a famous Police album, lent new lustre to classics like "Next To You" and brought buried treasures like "End Of The Game" back to light. Under the lively baton of conductor Steven Mercurio, the symphonic arrangements unlocked the untapped potential of his songwriting, tinting the tracks with a hybrid, sensual magnetism. From the golden splendour of "Fields Of Gold" to the scarlet nocturne of Roxanne, an iridescent spiral unfurled, culminating in the cobalt magic of "When We Dance" and the jazzy colourings of "Englishman In New York".

An excellent setlist that boasted refined cameos like "You Will Be My Ain True Love" (Oscar-nominated for Best Original Song for the film "Cold Mountain") and by-no-means obvious choices like "I Hung My Head", "We Work The Black Seam" and the oceanic "Why Should I Cry For You". Around the soloist's radiance, the orchestra and the band's core members moved like planets within a single galaxy: strings taut in the finest country tradition ("This Cowboy Song"), brass soaring on the notes of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". And it came as no surprise that the measured elegance of Jo Lawry (a voice of undeniable charm) and the irreplaceable grace of Dominic Miller (busy shaping masterpieces like "The Shape Of My Heart") were moulded and subverted by the orchestra musicians' masterful irony. Thus, while "Moon Over Bourbon Street" illuminated the invisible tracks of a legendary creature, the exotic "Desert Rose" blossomed amid the flames of an ancestral dream, and a rousing "Russians" thawed the martial chill of the Cold War. "I Mad About You" was regal and sumptuous, heralding the intimate confession of "Fragile", before entrusting a solitary "Message In A Bottle" with the bittersweet farewell to the jubilant crowd.

Amid the general enthusiasm, the master of ceremonies spared no anecdotes or displays of virtuosity, showing off a textbook falsetto and near-flawless Italian. Clear proof that Gordon Sumner's long stints in our country have benefited not only his command of the language but also the artist's talent and generosity.

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