Fed: Sting shows another side to his musicality
By Katelyn John01 Dec 2008 9:59 PM
SYDNEY, Dec 1 AAP - The many faces of Sting: rock legend, tantric sex guru - now medieval-style lutist?
Not many men in their 50s could enjoy any kind of success touring the world with a 15th century instrument and lyrics.
Sting somehow still manages to make it look sexy.
The 57-year-old who once fronted the 1970s pop group The Police seems to have mellowed in his twilight years.
Now the middle-aged man is more into middle ages music and is touring the world with famous lutist Edin Karamazov on their Songs From The Labyrinth Tour - an evening of music by Elizabethan composer John Dowland.
In 2006, the pair released an album of the same name which topped the classical charts in the US and Britain.
On Sunday they performed at the Sydney Opera House - Sting's debut appearance at the iconic venue.
Up on the darkly lit stage alongside six lutes and a eight-strong classical choir, Sting seems a world away from his days of rocking at Live Aid, and songs like Roxanne and If You Love Somebody Set Them Free.
Not many retired dads would get the opportunity to take their latest hobby on a world tour, but Sting is still a drawcard whether he has a lute in his hand or dye in his hair.
Sting's voice is still mesmerising and hypnotic, even when he's telling the story of a man who lived half a millennia ago.
The audience that sold out the Sydney Opera House were a hybrid of classic Sting and classic music fans and they lapped it up.
And the old school Sting fans were not disappointed.
During the encore he still managed to pull out the crowd pleasers Fields Of Gold and Message In A Bottle and even a Christmas carol just for good measure.
Interestingly he sounded even more at ease singing the really, really old songs instead of the singles which were just mere decades old.
It almost shouldn't work, but it does. Sting brings a 500-year-old musician back to life and makes him look cool.
Not bad for an old bloke.
