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Numéro went to Rosalía’s unhinged and grandiose opera in Paris
Spanish pop superstar Rosalía kicked off her new world tour, the Lux Tour, first in Lyon, then in Paris, France, this week. On March 18th, 2026, Numéro attended her concert at the Paris Accor Arena, and the aesthetic shock was total.
By Violaine Schütz.
Last year, Rosalía blew us away when she released one of the year’s finest records, Lux. Wildly ambitious, the album blended classical music, flamenco accents and electronic textures, among other elements. The songs were written in thirteen different languages and transported us thanks to their mystical tone, evoking female saints and sacred-looking outfits. But one question remained unanswered… How would the singer, who dazzled us with her previous Motomami World Tour, manage to bring to life the artistic level reached in her brilliant record on stage?
Rosalía’s spectacular and hybrid concert in Paris
Audiences were given the beginning of an answer during the opening night of her world tour, the Lux Tour 2026, which kicked off in Lyon, France, on March 16th. Her first Parisian date was on March 18th, and Numéro attended the concert. The tone was set before you even stepped inside the venue. Around us, at the Accor Arena (formerly Bercy), a large crowd of devotees in a hurry were present, all dressed in white. Long virginal skirts, feathered wings, crosses and nun-like headdresses were everywhere.
As for the Paris show, which began a little before 9 pm, it felt like a stinging response to Timothée Chalamet’s recent criticism of opera and ballet. In an interview with Variety and CNN broadcast on February 21st, the actor declared: “I don’t wanna be working in ballet or opera, or in things where it’s like: ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’ All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.”
A stage design worthy of a ballet production
Rosalía clearly does care. The performer opened her show with a scene worthy of a ballet production. After a shot of the canvas and stretcher of a blank painting, hinting at a performance conceived as a work of art, the Spanish singer emerged from a box, like a small ballerina in a music case, wearing a tutu and satin pointe shoes. Many references hinted at Degas and Black Swan.
The Catalan star began singing tracks from Lux, such as Sexo, violencia y plantas, Reliquia, Porcelana, Divinize, Mio Cristo piange diamanti, demonstrating astonishing vocal prowess. Surrounded by a dozen dancers, she moved on the tips of her toes like a professional ballet dancer.
Then comes the Berghain slap. With a staging reminiscent of Goya‘s painting Witches’ Sabbath and a remixed techno segment, Rosalía transported us to a Berlin club at 5 am. It could just as easily be a fragment from a particularly avant-garde contemporary dance performance.
The Berghain madness
While the show primarily highlights the religious aspects of Lux, the singer doesn’t forget the fans of her previous dazzling album Motomami (2022). After wearing three white custom-made silhouettes by Ann Demeulemeester, she sported a black outfit to deliver electrifying versions of her hits Saoko, La Fama and La Combi Versace. Full of rich layers, the show shifted between tearful moments of pure emotion — La Perla, Sauvignon Blanc, Magnolias — and cathartic bursts of dance — CUUUUuuuuuute, BIZCOCHITO, DESPECHÁ.
Meticulously choreographed and full of surprises, the concert was packed with cultural, historical and artistic references — The Dreamers, Munch, Gaudí, Charles-Paul Landon, Icarus, Marie Antoinette — inventive staging concepts — an art cam, a confessional space, a Mona Lisa-style living tableau, a glove routine, lyrics translated on a giant screen, a censer swinging in the air like a piñata, a swan dive into the void – and creative choreography partly created by (La)Horde. There were plenty of tears, a lot of sweat and laughter, like when the dancers break into a pillow fight.
An aesthetic shock
Once again, Rosalía succeeded in reinventing the pop concert, breaking new ground with a hybrid show blending theatre, opera, performance, mass, installation and contemporary dance. Using raw materials like white sheets, wood, cardboard, she managed to infuse poetry, humanity and craftsmanship into a large-scale performance. The orchestra, placed in the middle of the pit, added a lyrical dimension to the whole production.
After that two-hour-long show, everyone left feeling both elated and drained, almost in a state of ecstasy after a liturgical experience. The aesthetic vision was total. It will be very difficult for any other artist we will see live this year to match the level of this unhinged, grandiose ballet show.
Rosalía will perform at the Accor Arena in Paris on March 20th, 2026.
