ROME – A roar of applause and cheers greeted Madonna's arrival on the stage at the Olimpico. About ten minutes late from the scheduled start of her Confessions Tour, the summer concert highlight, the singer appeared on stage in black riding gear, complete with a whip. She greeted the audience to the tune of "Future Lovers," mixed with Donna Summer's "I Feel Love." And after the eagerly awaited "Ciao Roma," she sang the song that made her famous twenty-two years ago: ""Like a Virgin"".
""It's true that miracles do happen. Two miracles happened here in Rome: first, Italy won the World Cup, and second, the rain stopped before my show," said Madonna, who then immediately afterward launched an appeal for peace and unity. "I see many Italian flags," she added, "and here we are, in one place, you are one. ‘It is possible to have peace in this world. You must believe that changing the world is possible."".
‘The former Material Girl, a 48-year-old rock athlete, returns to Italy after 5 years and Rome after 16, which crowns her Empress. And she, lithe as a young girl, sings "Like a Virgin" suspended on a mechanical bull, it's sadomasochistic dominatrix with whip (which can be purchased on his website), he crucifies himself to the tune of Live To Tell, in Sorry he sends political messages against the powerful of the Earth (and in the background appear images of Pope Ratzinger, Condoleezza Rice, Bin Laden, Mussolini, Hitler, Tony Blair, Nixon, Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush). And remember the millions of children suffering from AIDS.
That match at 9.15pm at the Stadio Olimpico is the only Italian date of the Confessions Tour Madonna's concert, which began in May in Los Angeles. The seventy thousand people warmed up to DJ Paul Oakenfold's set. The Olimpico exploded in a roar when the lights went down, just before transforming into a huge dance hall. The diva descended from a giant rotating disco ball, dressed in black, a top hat, veils, and a whip, playfully subjugating her acrobatic dancers. The whole thing was set to the tune of "Future Lovers," which faded into Donna Summer's hit "I Feel Love." The mega-show opened with images of horses (her great passion after yoga, Pilates, and Kabbalah).
""Ciao Roma, are you ready?" she asks the screaming crowd. She climbs onto a mechanical horse, writhes, and sensually and flirtatiously sings "Like a Virgin." Two hundred tons of equipment and 86 trucks to transport it, 22 dancers, 7 changes of clothes, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce&Gabbana, 400 thousand watts of power fired by 1500 speakers, 22 dancers and giant screens, for the largest concert production ever made (We're talking about 4 million euros). Louise Veronica does things in a big way. The Olympic crowd knows it. And they love her for it too.
The most anticipated moment of the show, divided into four acts, is Live to Tell, which comes after the energetic Jump, and in which the diva appears with a crown of steel thorns on her head and hanging from the now famous crucifix that united Catholic, Muslim and Jewish representatives against her. Madonna, who in her twenty-year career has never apologized for her transgressions and provocations, responded to the controversy by inviting the Pope to attend the concert.
The scene is introduced by images and ballets on urban violence and is accompanied by the numbers of victims of hunger and children orphaned by AIDS. In this most political and spiritual part of the show, entitled "Beduism," we see "Isaac," taken from the new album, which blends dance and ethnic music. Inspired by a sixteenth-century rabbi who revolutionized the study of Jewish mysticism through Kabbalah, it features singer Yitzhak Sinwani, who intones some Hebrew verses while a woman in a burqa, initially locked in a cage, then frees herself to dance in a skirt and bra.
The VIP lineup was impressive. The list ranged from Francesco Totti and Ilary Blasi to Piero Chiambretti. Also present were Elio Fiorucci, Claudio Baglioni, Pino Daniele, Carla Fendi, Valerio Mastrandrea, Serena Dandini, Adriano Giannini, and Rossella Brescia. Also present were Stefano Accorsi, Massimo Oddo, Alex Del Piero, Irene Grandi, Elisa, Fiorella Mannoia, Francesco Renga, and Ambra Angiolini.
And after the controversy that also came from some Margherita deputies on the scenography and on the invitation that the rock star addressed to the Pope, the presence at the gates of Francesco Rutelli, in private. "I'm keeping a promise I made to my daughters two months ago," said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Cultural Heritage."Freedom in the entertainment world is untouchable – the Margherita president emphasized – But equally important is the public's freedom to criticize. And everyone is free to judge shows and singers.".
The day began with endless lines in front of the Olympic Stadium, young and old, sporting sportswear or outlandish looks, many with '70s haircuts and pink bomber jackets. Madonna fans waited over five hours, even in a heavy downpour, before the fateful opening of the entrance gates. Then came the mad rush to the grass and thus to the closest spot to the stage where the pop star will perform tonight on the only Italian date of her "Confessions Tour." Some were jostled, some slipped and fell, some let out a liberating scream after a final embarrassment before securing their spot. Police searched for glass bottles, blades, and motorcycle helmets—all prohibited.
In many they have spent the night camped in front of the stadium gates from the capital, some in sleeping bags, some even under tents. "A chilly night to say the least," commented Stefano, 16, aka Queen because he performs in Naples clubs imitating Madonna in the red dress the singer wears (in reference to Marilyn) in the "Material Girl" video. Among the crowd, there were also some who opted for an "aggressive" style, complete with latex suits and whips.
Madonna's big Roman night helped fans forget the ticket costs that range between 90 and 170 euros and the bitter disappointment of last night, when hundreds of them waited for hours for the pop star's arrival in front of the hotel, only to be ignored by the singer who slipped away thanks to a side entrance.
