Symphonica (also promoted as Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour) was an orchestral concert tour by George Michael and his last tour. The singer performed the songs mainly from Songs from the Last Century and Patience albums as well as some cover versions in new arrangements.
Background The tour was officially announced on 11 May 2011. Due to high demand for tickets, extra shows were added in Dublin, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Rotterdam, Herning and Verona. A Brussels show was later announced on 3 June. Milan and Copenhagen shows were later announced.
Many of the shows had already sold out completely. Prague, Antwerp, Rotterdam, London (Royal Albert Hall and Royal Opera House), Dublin, Cardiff, Sheffield and Newcastle had all sold out.
The show included four new core band members who were selected by producer Phil Ramone and George Michael. These new members included musical director and pianist Henry Hey, guitarist Ben Butler, bassist David Finck, and drummer Mark McLean. In addition, percussionist Lea Mullen and guitarist Phil Palmer completed the band, along with Michael's long-time background vocalists Shirley Lewis, Lucy Jules, Lincoln Jean-Marie and Jay Henry. The stage had a semi-oval shape with a huge screen projecting different visual effects, sometimes featuring Michael himself. Some visuals were taken from the previous tour.
On 25 November, it was announced that all further concerts in 2011 had been cancelled due to Michael's illness. Eventually, it took longer time for Michael to recover, resulting in all concerts postponed and scheduled for April and May being postponed to October and November 2012.
On 3 May 2012, it was announced that shows in Australia scheduled for early April would be postponed to November 2012. His performance in Perth on 10 November would have been the headline act for the Perth Arena Gala Opening. Due to recovery restrictions from the illness, Michael was eventually forced to cancel all Australian dates.
It was announced on Michael's website that his album Symphonica, released on 17 March 2014, would consist of studio material initially rehearsed for this tour including some live recordings.
Opening acts Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland) Czech National Symphony Orchestra (Prague)
Setlist The setlist of the premiere concert on 22 August 2011 at State Opera House – Prague, Czech Republic.
"Through" "My Baby Just Cares for Me" "Cowboys and Angels" "True Faith" "Let Her Down Easy" "Kissing a Fool" "Going to a Town" "Roxanne" "It Doesn't Really Matter" "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Intermission "Patience" "John and Elvis Are Dead" "Russian Roulette" "You Have Been Loved" "You've Changed" "Love Is a Losing Game" "Where I Hope You Are" "Praying for Time" "Wild Is the Wind" "A Different Corner" "Feeling Good" "You and I" Encore "Amazing" / "I'm Your Man" / "Freedom! '90"
Additional notes
Closer to the end of the intermission a mix of different Michael's songs including "A Different Corner", "Older" and "John and Elvis Are Dead" was played with some light effects. From the 3 September concert at Forum Copenhagen Michael performed the song "Understand" replacing "You and I". On 17 September, Michael performed a concert to celebrate the opening of a new stadium in Wrocław. He performed with the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra. From the 19 September concert at Budapest Sportaréna Michael performed Elton John's song "Idol" replacing "It Doesn't Really Matter". From the 7 October concert at Antwerp SportPaleis Michael performed "Song to the Siren" replacing "Understand". Michael performed the song "Safe" at the 29 October concert in London's Royal Albert Hall and the 1 and 3 November concerts in Dublin's The O2. From the 14 November concert at Prague O2Arena Michael performed the song "The Recluse" replacing "Kissing a Fool". During the second leg of the tour in 2012 the songs "Idol", "Song to the Siren", "You and I" and "Where I Hope You Are" were removed, the song "Father Figure" added to the first half of the setlist, the first song after the intermission was changed to "Waiting for that Day" and "Love Is a Losing Game" was not performed as well. Additionally, the last song performed live was "White Light". On 16 September in Birmingham, Michael finished the concert with the song "I Remember You" instead of "White Light". On 9 October in Manchester, Michael finished the concert with the song "I Remember You" instead of "White Light" and performed "Star People" and "F.E.A.R." by Ian Brown. At the concert in Liverpool and final shows in London Michael would finish the concert with "I Remember You".
Shows + List of 2011 concerts Date City Country Venue Attendance(Tickets sold / available) Revenue 22 August Prague Czech Republic State Opera House 29 August Herning Denmark Jyske Bank Boxen 31 August 2 September 3 September Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen 5 September Berlin Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena 7 September Cologne Lanxess Arena 8 September Mannheim SAP Arena 10 September Florence Italy Piazza Santa Croce 11 September Naples Arena Italsider 13 September Verona Verona Arena 14 September 17 September Wrocław Poland Stadion Miejski 19 September Budapest Hungary László Papp Budapest Sports Arena 20 September Zagreb Croatia Arena Zagreb 22 September Nice France Palais Nikaïa 24 September Bilbao Spain Bizkaia Arena 25 September Madrid Barclaycard Center Madrid 27 September Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi 28 September Marseille France Le Silo 30 September Toulouse Zénith de Toulouse 1 October Montpellier Park&Suites Arena 3 October Paris AccorHotels Arena 4 October 7 October Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis 13,052 / 13,437 $1,457,370 8 October Brussels Forest National 10 October Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy 12 October Stuttgart Germany Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle 14 October Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion 15 October Geneva SEG Geneva Arena 18 October Hamburg Germany Barclaycard Arena Hamburg 11,099 / 11,897 $921,594 19 October Hanover TUI Arena 21 October Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy 22 October 25 October London England Royal Albert Hall 28 October 29 October 1 November Dublin Ireland 3Arena 3 November 6 November London England Royal Opera House 9 November Oberhausen Germany König Pilsener Arena 11 November Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum 12 November 14 November Prague Czech Republic O2 Arena 15 November Berlin Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena 7,341 / 7,341 $382,960 17 November Munich Olympiahalle 19 November Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
+ List of 2012 concerts Date City Country Venue Attendance(Tickets sold / available) Revenue 4 September Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle 6 September 9 September Paris France Palais Garnier 11 September Brussels Belgium Forest National 14 September Amsterdam Netherlands Ziggo Dome 16 September Birmingham England LG Arena 17 September 21 September Manchester Manchester Arena 11,356 / 12,876 $1,535,440 23 September Glasgow Scotland Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre 24 September 29 September London England Royal Albert Hall 1 October Sheffield Sheffield Arena 3 October Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 5 October Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena Cardiff 6 October 9 October Manchester England Manchester Arena 8,756 / 9,544 $1,181,680 10 October Liverpool Echo Arena Liverpool 13 October London Earls Court 14 October 17 October
Cancelled and rescheduled concerts + List of cancelled and rescheduled concerts Date City Country Venue Reason 26 October 2011 London England Royal Albert Hall Postponed to 2 May 2012 2 May 2012 Postponed to 29 September 21 November 2011 Vienna Austria Stadthalle Postponed to 6 September 2012 23 November 2011 Strasbourg France Zénith Cancelled 26 November 2011 Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena Postponed to 5 October 2012 27 November 2011 Postponed to 6 October 2012 30 November 2011 Liverpool England Echo Arena Postponed to 10 October 2012 2 December 2011 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena Postponed to 1 October 2012 3 December 2011 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena Postponed to 3 October 2012 6–7 December 2011 Glasgow Scotland SECC Postponed to 23–24 September 2012 9–10 December 2011 Birmingham England Genting Arena Postponed to 16–17 September 2012 12–13 December 2011 Manchester Manchester Arena Postponed to 21 September and 9 October 2012 16–19 December 2011 London Earls Court Postponed to 13, 14 and 17 October 2012 10 November 2012 Perth Australia Perth Arena Cancelled 13–14 November 2012 Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre 17–18 November 2012 Sydney Sydney SuperDome 21–22 November 2012 Melbourne Rod Laver Arena 27 November 2012 Brisbane Brisbane Entertainment Centre 1 December 2012 Hunter Valley Hope Estate Winery
References
External links
(archived)