One hundred thousand people applaud Sting on the last day of Rock in Rio...

With the strong presence he's so well known for and the professionalism of someone who has long made this his life, he performed on autopilot, yet still communicative and efficient enough to quench the thirst. In great form—the unaltered timbre of his voice is proof of that—Sting makes another promise of an indisputable presence in the past, present, and future of music. Life after the Police doesn't just continue: it grows with each album, each track, each hit he writes alone. And with each show. Like this one.

The program features many hits, some from the Police era. These are songs we already know: catchy enough to captivate the less melodious ear, but jazzy, experimental, and exotic enough to please the connoisseurs.

It's "Sacred Love," the British artist's latest work of new songs, that's the highlight. Much of the show is filled with songs from it: "Inside," "Send Your Love," "Whenever I Say Your Name," "Dead Man's Rope," "This War," and "Sacred Love."

Usually, when an artist bets so heavily on their latest album, they run the risk of not getting the most enthusiastic response. This is a different story: the attention is on them the entire time, even if the temperature sometimes dips into the lukewarm zone, especially during moments of musical digressions mid-song. But overall, the response is overwhelming. And what a special sight it is to see it in the choruses and raised arms of a hundred thousand people...

The "moments-of-the-night" award goes straight to "Fields of Gold," "Englishman in New York," "Roxanne," and the entire first encore, with the barrage of hits consisting of "Desert Rose," "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," and "Every Breath You Take." It's almost three in the morning, and they don't want to let you leave. Gordon Summer (aka Sting) returns for a second encore, performing "A Thousand Years." By this point, many people have already left the city of rock. They've just quenched the thirst that brought them here.

(c) Publico by Sílvia Pereira