Choregies d’Orange in Orange, France 23/6/2024
The orchestra versions of Mika songs have a very special place in my heart. I love the full scale of what he does from tiny gigs for their intimacy to huge spectacles for their colour, creativity and ambition, I love his busy tours and even the chaos of rainy outdoor festivals for opportunities to see him on stage and for allowing me to be a small part of his world in changing circumstances. Still, the symphonic concept is particularly special for many reasons.
I have followed Mika’s work with orchestras through his whole symphony pop time period. I saw the first symphonic concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Montreal, Canada in 2015, the lovely little Sinfonia Pop concert at Teatro Sociale in Como and two more at the Opera di Firenze in Florence, Italy in 2016. I saw the wonderfully special tiny concert at the Versailles Royal Opera in 2020 and then two fantastic nights at the Paris Philharmonic in France in 2021. All stunning, stunning, stunning events. There have been some smaller appearances with orchestras as well: recording Last Party for Casa Mika in 2016, performing an orchestra version of Tiny Love at Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico in 2019 and doing a small philharmonic appearance with Klaus Mäkelä again at the Paris Philharmonic in 2023.
What I love most is the focused performing. The way Mika is using his voice so carefully and the level of his presence that can’t be compared to any other performances. With a respected conductor, with a big orchestra like any well known symphonic or philharmonic orchestra, he needs to be there with his whole mind and with every cell of his body. With an hour and a half or even two he’s fully, totally and throughly there and I simply love that. So when I talk about his “presence” I mean he really is present because he has to be, it’s not even possible to do a concert of that scale without consciously focusing on it. Depending on the song he can be careful and serious, he can playfully throw himself in a role or anything between that.
The audience, on the other hand, is respectfully listening and mostly sitting, standing ovations and one or two high energy songs in the end excluded. During the last high energy song - which, depending on the setlist, can be Elle Me Dit or Love Today - the audience is traditionally clearly invited to join the party and dance. There’s an unwritten, not too strict, etiquette for symphonic Mika concerts. His audience is a mixture of people with many styles and in all ages and it’s perfectly okay to follow your personal style. The dress code is less formal and more colourful than in symphonic events on average. However, symphonic Mika concerts are rare, they are something we all look forward to sometimes years and it’s clear we all want to make some effort, if not in our outfits at least in our behaviour.
Mika might be an “enfant terrible” but at the same time he’s the most thoughtful, the most sophisticated and the politest person I’ve ever met. I’m sure we all want to follow his example. It’s really important that during symphonic performances the crowd is respectful and that people let him focus on the details and his singing without chatting or unnecessarily shouting or disturbing and also sing along or clap or dance only if he clearly suggests that which - I hope from the bottom of my heart - doesn’t happen too often and only during the songs that can benefit from it like this time Jane Birkin. As a detail, I absolutely loved what happened with Jane Birkin in Orange! The audience participating was lovely and not disturbing at all and became a happy memory, Mika’s smile said it all.
People letting him focus on the singing is rewarded by what makes the concept so special: we can clearly and effortlessly hear the tones in his voice and that is incredibly beautiful and gives an experience that can’t be compared to anything else. It’s possible to hear absolutely everything: his voice, Ida and Max on the background, the orchestra and different instruments in it, the choir. The impact is miraculously powerful and intense. I often feel how the music goes through my every muscle and the feeling is sensational.
In Orange during the talks between some songs some people at the highest side places couldn’t hear the words clearly enough and that was specially related to the location and character of the venue. It’s not possible to control the nature. The Théatre Antique d’Orange is a historical, open-air venue that makes the concerts organised there vulnerable for rain and the strong mistral wind. During rain the events are occasionally cancelled and the wind can make the circumstances extremely challenging for artists and musicians even when it’s possible to continue the concert and it can also have an impact on the technology used and the sound in some parts of the venue.
I visited the antique theatre day before the event and saw that the view was marvellous from every part of the venue. I also immediately noticed how the wind made chairs in the highest part of the venue fly down the stairs and obviously the mistral that is typical for the region can be also heard during events. Different parts had seats in different price categories and I think in this case you got what you paid for. From more expensive fosse seats both the view and the sound were wonderful and personally I couldn’t have been happier with what I saw and heard. Hearing and feeling the wind gave the concert only extra character even though and undoubtedly it must have made the performing more difficult and challenging for artists and musicians on stage.
During Underwater it wasn’t only music that transferred me in the middle of the sea, I could also hear the strong wind and literally had some sand in my eyes and in my mouth because the wind was blowing it in the air and I have to say it was a unique experience. I understand not everyone wants to have sand in their eyes but for me Mika singing Underwater with an orchestra and literally competing with the wind that blows sand in the air is purely an amazing experience. Absolutely amazing and unforgettable. The impression became even stronger when Ida joined the singing especially in Boum Boum Boum after Underwater and I looked at her - she was located directly in front of me - and saw her hair and her elegant black dress dancing in the wind and the word “goddess” was the first thing that came to my mind her singing ”Boum Boum” .
I’ve never seen a concert, even a symphonic, that starts this powerfully. The orchestra coming in and starting with the overture, Mika performing first Toy Boy - playfully like he does - and then Underwater and suddenly the wind becoming only stronger, his singing almost competing with it, the sand blowing in the air, Ida singing like goddess her hair and the dress flying and all that at one of the best preserved Roman theatres in the world! Yes I had sand in my eyes and yes the wind was really strong and yes, it was one of the most unique, most incredible concert experiences I’ve ever had. I still almost can’t believe it all happened. The symphonic concept is special and even as a symphonic concert what we witnessed in Orange was hugely special and totally unique.
It’s typical for me to feel symphonic music with my full body because I’m that way sensitive for sounds and that happened this time as well and my fingers kept moving when the music moved towards them. I couldn’t help it. However, this time the experience was somehow advanced and during some songs, instead of feeling the music in my body I suddenly couldn’t feel my body at all. It was almost like my mind was totally separated from it. A unique sensation, almost something spiritual. After the concert in Orange I’ve tried to analyse what made the experience so special and unique. The circumstances for sure, so different than ever before. There was something else as well. I feel Mika is taking his symphonic performing to the next level. He’s not a pop artist just trying symphonic. After several years of symphonic pop it’s now a part of who he is as an artist and I love that, I have to say. I really, really love that. His symphony performing is stronger than ever before.
The setlist in Orange was magnificent. I knew from day before that he would do several songs that have been huge dreams for me and I already knew the setlist would be more amazing than I could have possibly imagined in advance. Among the songs that he performed were four songs that alone would have made me happy. Hearing Last Party, Heroes, I Went To Hell Last Night and Je sais que je t’aime were all the biggest wishes I could have had of rare or new songs for this concert. It didn’t stop there. He did also the classics I see as the strong base of his symphonic music: Underwater, Over My Shoulder and the beautiful, gentle version of Relax.
It didn’t stop there either. He had his every album well represented. Happy Ending (performed with Ida), Grace Kelly and Love Today from Life in Cartoon Motion. Toy Boy from The Boy Who Knew Too Much. Drunk, Origin and Boum Boum Boum from The Origin Of Love. Good Guys from No Place In Heaven. Blue from My Name Is Michael Holbrook and also C’est la vie and Jane Birkin from Que ta tete fleurisse toujours. It didn’t even stop there, he even had the symphonic Tehu soundtrack album represented and quite exactly in the middle of the concert Mika and Max left the stage leaving the orchestra do excerpts from Tehu with gorgeous Ida singing solo parts. What an absolutely incredible “break” in the middle of Mika’s own performance completing the setlist with something from his each album the soundtrack album included. Loved it as a gesture and loved seeing Ida performing extra parts we hadn’t heard before.
About the order of the songs. After the playful Toy Boy and hugely special Underwater (the circumstances!) and then Boum Boum Boum it was time for Last Party which is one of my important songs and something I look forward to and love every single time. Before Last Party I was almost so overwhelmed by the beginning of the show, everything being so unexpectedly strong and dramatic, that it was hard to focus on the music and not to think of the unique venue or the weather with the wind and purely listen. During Last Party I was gradually taken over by the voice and I sank in the music and when I Went To Hell Last Night started nothing but the music existed anymore.
Absolutely fantastic version of I Went To Hell Last Night, one of the most important moments of the whole concert and (in my opinion) the best ever version of the song. It was a convincing performance. I believed every word of his story, also ”there’s a little bit of God in everything” even though I’m not a religious person at all. The impact with the orchestra and the choir was strong, there was something faithful in the tone, and the part “one day you will see, a part of you is part of me” and Ida’s voice after that felt almost impossible to comprehend (so surreal it was even happening). I was just there one with the music, my mind was totally filled. I felt I have no body at all, only the mind completely filled with this song. Just the memory of that moment gives me still an emotional reaction.
I Went To Hell Last Night was definitely one of the BIG moments during the concert in Orange and I paid for it during Good Guys which in Versailles was one of my huge favourites. During Good Guys my mind was still recovering from the previous song. This is why I love seeing two (like in Florence or Paris) or even three symphonic concerts (like in Montreal) in row. The experience is always so strong I inevitably miss a song here and there simply because my mind is still staying in the previous song. This time Good Guys worked as a transition from one major moment (I Went To Hell Last Night) to another (Je sais que je t’aime). I did notice him using “gay guys” in the Good Guys lyrics which as always felt right because that’s what the song is all about.
If you have thought like most of us that Je sais que je t’aime would be a beautiful part of the symphonic setlist you were right. The song was absolutely stunning and again, hearing Ida’s voice made it even more magical. I have always thought Ida as my favourite person on stage with Mika and after Orange I think so even more. It’s not only about her beautiful voice, it’s equally much about the fondly way she’s using it. There’s something so caring and careful in how everything is done in exactly right amounts whether it’s little whispering here or beautiful pure singing there. No level of professionalism (that was obviously also there) can compete with the bond between people who know each other well. An astonishing version of one of my huge favourites on the new album. Another BIG, BIG moment.
Then a total change in the mood and a playful version of Drunk. Expressive in every way and to celebrate the wine gods the letter R pronounced like literally after a couple of glasses of wine: “I only love you when I’m dRunk”. An entertaining performance and very suitable at this point of the setlist and something to bring me back on earth after such a strong version of Je sais que je t’aime. After Drunk it was easy to focus on the collection of pieces from the Tehu album performed by the orchestra and gorgeous Ida. I appreciated it there was no usual break on the setlist and it was done this way. Maybe also for practical reasons but it gave a thoughtful impression as well and I truly enjoyed the moment.
The second half of the concert started in the most powerful possible way with Heroes. Not only another BIG moment but maybe my favourite part of the whole concert. Extraordinary song, extraordinary performance. His deep serious voice in the song is everything and I often think Mika should be worldwide known just for this song. Not for Grace Kelly or Big Girl but for the symphonic version of Heroes which is simply put phenomenal. I will never forget hearing Heroes at Teatro Sociale Como years ago when the song filled the whole pretty venue so differently than any other song. I thought the sky is the limit for this song, that’s how impressive it was, and I felt the same way in Orange. The sky is the limit or there are no limits at all. With songs like that we are transferred to another dimension. I found it hard to even believe something that amazing was happening and when the song was over I looked at my friend sitting close to me and we both had only one thought in our mind and we stood up at the exactly same time knowing this was the moment to show how much we appreciated the symphonic performance.
Standing ovations ask quick consideration and are on a fine line, they shouldn’t be done too often and still often enough to tell that someone is amazing and this time the whole audience was up and cheering at the same time and Mika seemed genuinely touched looking at it all. It was such a pure reaction from the crowd and so well deserved yet he suddenly started to look shy and - as always in that situation - to point and thank everyone else on stage and I thought - as always in that situation - that they are great but this is all for you. Just for you. After showing respect to him for a good moment I gradually started to want to show respect to the others on stage as well because they were all not only great but amazing as well. Such challenging circumstances and every single person on stage handled it wonderfully being a part of that extraordinary performance. After Heroes I felt exhausted and incredibly grateful for being there, almost doubting I deserved that much in life.
After that a song from the new album and C’est la vie. The audience took it well, the French audience loves the album and especially C’est la vie and showed it as soon as recognised the song. Again, I wished we had two symphonic nights because after Heroes my mind wasn’t fully focused on C’est la vie but I loved it that it was on the setlist and loved hearing the symphonic version of it. C’es la vie is a song that can have many expressions and all of them are fantastic and interesting to see. The symphonic version was more considered and detailed compared to what we have heard before and it was made big which felt deserved for the song and Mika made it even bigger spreading his hands and emphasised “dance” clapping powerfully his hands at the same time.
After C’est la vie Over My Shoulder and my personal symphonic highlight because I collect different versions of the song for my mind gallery. One of my favourite ever Mika songs, written by Mika at a very young age. Ida joining the song sounded breath-taking. I feel her voice gives songs always a hopeful tone which I love. Again, a truly spiritual moment.
Then, Jane Birkin and a total surprise! The audience started to sing along in the end of the song - the same way they were taught to do during the Apocalypse Calypso Tour - and the venue was filled with cheerful singing. I absolutely loved this moment! If there’s a suitable moment for the audience to join during a symphonic concert, this was it. I felt Mika’s performing this time was different than it was for Jane Birkin during the Apocalypse Calypso Tour, he was clearly more seductive with the crowd, like seducing the audience to live in a new, different way, and I definitely loved that. Literally, he seduced the crowd to sing with him. However, his performing seemed to come in a totally natural way and that’s why it worked so well. Like with standing ovations, it has to happen naturally and it shouldn’t be overdone. Both the performance and the reaction were perfect. I was surprised Jane Birkin became such a highlight but I genuinely loved what happened. A happy, smiling moment.
After Jane Birkin it was time for Blue representing My Name Is Michael Holbrook and my favourite song on the album together with I Went To Hell Last Night. The performance for Blue was another BIG moment in Orange. The colour was intense and rich but tone was kept a little bit lighter than we are used to. The effect came from Mika’s performing - maybe he had to collect himself a bit after starting the song twice - and especially from Ida joining the song which I absolutely loved and maybe a little bit from the wind as well. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful version of this extremely meaningful song. I use Blue at home for meditation because it makes my heart beat in a calm, steady way and the same happened in Orange. My heartbeat calmed down, I could totally focus on listening and I could easily keep my mind still and it was incredible indeed. One of the BIG moments for sure. “Blue is a feminine colour, blue is deep and bold.”
Then a small speech about Ida and Happy Ending with her. I saw my friends automatically making small, almost unnoticeable hearts with their fingers and I wanted to do the same. However, my mind being in one dimension and the body in another, my fingers didn’t follow me and just moved in their own way. Hearing Ida in Happy Ending was gorgeous again and immediately made me think of many Happy Endings from the past. There was a strong feeling of continuity that I find important and that makes me happy. The audience loved the performance and the moment the song ended people stood up cheering again and again, it happened very naturally and everyone just wanting to show their respect, to Mika and to Ida and to their outstanding performance.
After Happy Ending it was the turn for Origin and the song definitely deserved to be on the setlist and to be performed with the choir. Sometimes I question Origin. Why he chose Origin? This time I didn’t question and I really enjoyed Origin as a part of the setlist. After Origin only a couple of notes of the next song and I put my hand on my chest because I wasn’t sure I can take that much. Relax is my dearest Mika song. The symphonic version of it is pure and calm and gentle and everything I possibly would like it to be. We heard lovely, lovely, lovely Relax in Orange and again, I felt uncommonly content and grateful. Do I deserve all this? Do I deserve this much in life? I decided I do and that we all do and that the whole world does because things like this heal us. This music is so valuable and so much needed.
In the end of the concert it was the time for the symphonic energy explosion. My personal favourite high energy symphony song is Elle Me Dit which started the final part of the concert. At this point people started to be a little bit restless and move at their places. To be honest, I very much appreciate high energy location only in the very end of the setlist. At this point I don’t care the audience becoming restless. You want to stand up and maybe dance? Now it’s your turn, I’m not going to be your symphony concert police any more. I already got everything I possibly could want: magical symphonic experience that I loved and still love and will remember for the rest of my life.
The concert in Orange was gorgeous in every way. We got it all and at a stunning historical venue. The wonderful, wonderful, wonderful setlist with songs like I Went To Hell Last Night, Heroes, Je sais que je t’aime, Blue, Over My Shoulder, Relax, even Jane Birkin with the audience. The symphonic performing that has taken a step to an another level and has obviously become a part of who Mika is as an artist. The orchestra directed by the amazing Simon Leclerc. The intense presence and the chemistry between people on stage: between Mika and Ida, between Mika and Simon. The beautiful backing vocals by both Ida and Max. The choir. The first violist who smiled and calmly continued even when Mika sat on her shoulder! Unforgettable memory, thank you everyone involved in the event.