MIKA Releases New Live Album ‘A L’Opera Royal De Versailles’
‘I wanted to show that I am the product of the meeting between the classical and pop worlds,’ said the ‘Grace Kelly’ hitmaker.
MIKA’s critically acclaimed performance, A L’Opera Royal De Versailles, will be released as a live album today. Broadcast on French national TV two weeks ago, the performance was celebrated by viewers and critics alike.
The live album captures the creative evolution of the singer-songwriter, as he combines both his classical background and pop career, performing his greatest hits, and a few surprise covers, at this exquisite and intimate performance. The release comes after the pop singer, who was born in Beirut, received the Lebanese Order of Merit in January for his I Love Beirut benefit. Held on September 19, the show raised money and support for Red Cross Lebanon and Save The Children Lebanon to support those impacted by the city’s tragic explosion on August 4, which killed 73 people and injured 3,000.
The show, recorded on December 16 and televised on France 5 on February 5, provides a different perspective on the international pop star. For the performance, MIKA was invited by the sumptuous Royal Opera of Versailles and accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versaille, conducted by Stefan Plewniak. Throughout the production, MIKA was joined onstage by prestigious guests such as the “Gospel for 100,” pianist Vincent Bidal, cellist Gautier Capuçon, classical guitarist Thibaut Garcia and countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński.
The live performance was hailed by Le Parisien as sublime. About the performance, MIKA himself has said, “I wanted to show that I am the product of the meeting between the classical and pop worlds.” Claire Chazal of Passage des Arts described the production as “A unique and bewitching moment, a classical performance.”
MIKA rose to fame with the pop hit “Grace Kelly,” which topped the UK singles chart in 2007. Since then he has gone on to release four studio albums with the most recent being 2019’s My Name is Michael Holbrook.
A L’Opera Royal De Versailles can be bought here.
The full A L’Opera Royal De Versailles tracklist is:
Grace Kelly (Live)
Toy Boy (Live)
Over My Shoulder (Live)
Ice Cream (Live)
Without Her (Harry Nilsson) (Live)
Last Party (Live)
Origin of Love (Live)
Underwater (Live)
Lollipop (Live)
Good Guys (Live)
Elle Me Dit (Live)
Baisers Perdus (Live)
Tomorrow (Live)
Love Today (Live)
Relax (Live)
Happy Ending (Live)
Listen to the best of Mika on Apple Music and Spotify.
