At his second concert in Romania, Sting said he only wanted a peaceful ending...

Minimalist decor, simple music by a classical composer who knew the power of silence, a star from the international elite and a virtuoso of the lute from Eastern Europe. That was what the nearly 5,000 people who gathered last night at the Palace Hall in Bucharest to see Sting again, who had come to Romania for the second time, could see. Some of the audience appreciated the experimental show resulting from this bold collaboration, while others felt the lack of the sound that made the British musician famous. Instead, they witnessed a quiet and sensitive show, accessible only to those willing to ignore, for a few hours, the lesson of commercial showbiz.

Even for the most initiated of the 21st century spectators, Elizabethan music is a labyrinth in which they would hardly allow themselves to be invited, except in cases where the "guide" is a pop star who, throughout his career, has sold over a hundred million records and has been awarded 16 Grammy Awards. Sting also recognizes it, who announced three years ago that rock was dead and abandoned the guitar for the sound of the lute.

"A risky project", thought those who used to listen to 'Roxanne' or 'Every Breath You Take', sung with The Police, but also those for whom the artist's name was forever linked to hits like 'Desert Rose', 'Fragile' or 'Englishman in New York'. Most people admit, however, that the glory of the past has made the album 'Songs From The Labyrinth', released two years ago by Sting in collaboration with the Bosnian artist Edin Karamazov, a lute virtuoso, sell over a million copies so far.

A completely reinvented Sting took to the stage of the Palace Hall last night, although obviously built on the old foundations. A full hall, around 5,000 people, listened to him. Almost two hundred other "unlucky" people without tickets hoped before the concert to hear him, crowding in vain in front of the entrance.

His voice sounds the same, but his face is covered by a thick beard (in which the white hairs are still visible - for those who thought that, fearing old age, the artist tried cosmetic touch-ups), he is a vegetarian, practices yoga and sings accompanied by the lute. in his youth, he had set his sights on money and fame. "We are built in such a way that we can hardly assume that anyone could be completely satisfied. But now I want to die happy," Sting said shortly before the concert began. "As late as possible, but happy and surrounded by people who love me," he added.

The show began abruptly with Elizabethan music, accompanied by the lute. "Our lutes are made here, in Romania, by Cezar Mateescu. I am very satisfied," said the artist when the applause that appreciated his first lute demonstration died down. The applause accompanied Sting's voice throughout the melancholic chords and the audience thus discovered some of the lesser-known songs from the new album: 'Flow my Tears', 'Come Heavy Sleep', 'Come Again', 'In Darkness Let Me Dwell'. These songs by Dowland are not easy to sing, warns the critic, who avoids comparing Sting to those who have done it better than him in the past.

The experiment is worth listening to and considering, especially for those willing to imagine that Dowland himself was some kind of pop star in 16th-century England. "He sings about loneliness and despair, but, paradoxically, his music fills you with optimism and gives you courage," says Sting. 'In my Life' - announced the British musician before taking up the lute himself to demonstrate what he had learned during his several years of apprenticeship.

The first chords of the song 'Fields of Gold', a Sting hit from 1993, made the hall explode for the first time as if for a pop show, after a first part in which he listened to songs from the album 'Songs From The Labyrinth'. To the disappointment of those who expected the artist to continue with the unplugged version of his famous songs, he announced an incursion into British music. 'Fragile' also sounds good on the chords played on this instrument by maestro Edin Karamazov. Alongside the two, the Stile Antico choir, specializing in music from the 16th-20th centuries, enriched the piece with a Celtic "touch" - appreciated by the audience with applause.

'Message in a Bottle' announced a third part of the show that drew cheers from the hall. 'Every Breath You Take' followed, probably the most famous song from the time of The Police, in addition to 'Roxanne', which sounded immediately after.

After an hour and a half of singing, however, during which the artists came out for two encores, Sting unfortunately left the stage of the hall less applauded than he perhaps deserved.

Sting, who arrived in Romania on Monday evening, had lunch with representatives of Emag!c Entertainment, the organizers of the Bucharest concert, to whom he told them that he was interested in Romanian history and that he would like to read more about it. The British artist asked if he could receive some materials in English, and the organizers gave him a book on the history of Romania, one about the monasteries in Bukovina, and a DVD with images from our country. "I'm passionate about the culture and history of Romania," Sting told "Evenimentul zilei." "I'm interested in Latin culture and I really like the language," he said, before learning to say "hello" and "thank you" in Romanian. He had not heard of Stephen the Great and burst out laughing when someone mentioned Dracula. He would read, he promised, and then determine if he had a favourite period or character. Immediately after the concert, the British artist left for Zagreb, where his next show is scheduled for tomorrow.

(c) Evenimentul zilei by Diana Evantia Barca