Recommendations of the Editorial team
It’s around nine o’clock in the lifestyle zone on the banks of the Spree in Berlin, which is illuminated by LED billboards from the sneaker sponsor. Sunshine outside, a reverent consecration atmosphere inside. A 17,000-strong rumble goes through the rows as the orchestra positions itself in its own zone in front of the stage. Lights off, screaming on.
The moon has risen. Rosalía appears underneath – wearing a ballet skirt and ballet shoes. She can do everything. Dancing on pointe too.
A high-pop musical picks up steam, with a tendency towards the much-mentioned “church service”. With “Berghain” – no, she wasn’t there! – the colors changed from light, white and rose to gothic black.
From the conservatory to showbiz
The Catalan started around eight years ago with the flamenco album “El Mal Querer”. Since “Motomami” she has been a Spanish-singing global pop woman. In her videos she sometimes appears as an ice hockey player, sometimes as a lascivious creature in a strange environment.
“Lux” has literally taken its claim to be a total work of art to the extreme: belief, desire and the contradictions of modernity. The full program – you can’t get more complexity in pop. Her music professor Daniel Gomez Sanchez from her academy in the unspectacular part of Barcelona confirmed in a conversation her mix of genius and madness.
Cross shape and armored cruiser
This mega-ambition carries over to their tour, which in Germany only took place in the country’s two largest halls: Cologne and Berlin. Laid out in the shape of a cross, the Heritage Orchestra, led by conductor Yudania Gómez, sits like a battleship in the standing audience. The song lyrics tick in translation above the stage. Is anyone really reading this?
Rosalía sings, dances and transforms herself as a saint, seductress or icon of darkness. The audience ranges from 17 to 77. Some mega-styled in a cover look, others in a staid leisure look.
On stage, the costumes change at high frequency – a touch too over-the-top. Opera meets TikTok.
Motomami hits the Mega Bowl
The complex, sometimes twisted structures of “Lux” are carried through pure energy in the live performance. The songs from the 2022 album “Motomami” in particular transform the mega bowl into a disco. Rosalía knows her business. On “Porcellana” she floats in a tutu, lyrically in a bitterly evil style. If you need comparisons, turn to Björk or Kate Bush.
If you want to criticize their show, it’s because of its latent over-perfection. When Rosalía belts out an aria disguised as a nun, she can do it – as if Maria Callas had never been there. There is some high-pitched irony in this. On the other hand, the snatching piece by northern soul god Frankie Valli was particularly successful: “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. The protagonist presents herself as a Pre-Raphaelite painting. A larger cultural cutlery is not possible.
The black section of the show began with “Berghain.” The question arises as to how quickly you can change clothes backstage. Pure perfection.
Avant-garde meets Remmidemmi
At the end, the much-talked-about question of “authenticity” remains. Let’s put it this way: Rosalía succeeds where many others fail.
Avant-garde meets Remmidemmi. Concept art on half-naked sexiness. Pop has rarely been bigger. But after the encore you long for a greasy bratwurst and an honest corner pub beer.