To come back is to disappoint. Not for everybody. After five years of absence as a singer – where his goodbyes to the musical Seine had been successful, although a little conventional -, Michel Sardou began his new tour in Rouen. “I remember a goodbye.” A thunderous start. The voice, the choice of songs, the orchestration and the staging… Everything was executed (almost) to perfection. Enough to make the 5,000 spectators present at the Zénith happy.

Coming back is reassuring. Was Michel Sardou, 76, going to be able to hold his audience and his voice for more than 1h30? After the inaugural Connemara, the subject of a great summer controversy launched by Juliette Armanet, the rare Marie-Jeanne and Casino were laborious as if Sardou doubted his abilities. Or rather heated his voice. The triptych A Girl with Clear Eyes, The Privilege and I’m Going to Love You (“a song that will not deconstruct Sandrine Rousseau”, he says) has finally convinced that “The Voice” (nickname given by Elton John , according to legend) was indeed the singer we left in 2018. Or even a little better. The jazzy version of Today Perhaps, Louis Armstrong style, is a gem that we want to listen to again.

Coming back is a pleasure. With an extremely ambitious choice of songs (Parlons de toi, de moi, L’autre femme, Le Bac G, Je vole), we still had to satisfy fans who want the classics. A giant medley composed of 11 hits, reorchestrated and linked together in a surprising way (a “mashup”), launched a sort of popular karaoke: Hello, Jazz singer, I want to marry him for one evening, the Java of Broadway, Africa Farewell , Ten years earlier, I come from the south, J’accuse, The old woman, The old married people and Le France. A hundred million records (sold) are staring at you. All without a false note and without excessive blabla: Sardou, dressed all in black, spoke little and sang a lot. And paid a tender tribute to his “friend” Johnny, who had been upset by a bad joke about his daughter, by performing Something from Tennessee.

To return is to provoke. Despite his age, Michel Sardou can’t help but throw a few barbs. He makes his choristers hum a few verses from The Times of the Colonies, performs Vladimir Illitch with his fist raised as in the great era and dares to reprise his role as a “passerby” who “wants to rape women” in The Cities of Solitude. In 2023, we had to dare. But Sardou dares everything and that’s how we recognize him.

Coming back means innovating. A large white veil covers the stage three times. Accompanied by the play of light by Jacques Rouveyrollis, images are projected. A 3D film with a Celtic rock violinist (Emma Sempere), a bagpiper (Anthony Masselin) and a horse (the favorite animal of the man who defines himself as a bear) for The Lakes of Connemara. A huge statue of Lenin which crumbles as the song goes on for Vladimir Illitch. A romantic-warrior painting on the little-known Verdun, so as not to forget those who died for the homeland. The French and American homeland with the famous Ricans, who in 1967 offered the singer the first controversy.

To return is to leave again. After 1h15 of a carefully orchestrated show and fans totally committed to the star, we must attack the finale. The difficult Being a woman is performed without too much difficulty (we reassure the regulars, he ended up getting confused in the words), the captivating Musulmanes carries the crowd and Comme d’habit (finally freed of his mother Jacky, who played his role in a hackneyed sketch for 40 years) ended the concert. Before the last notes of Connemara allow, as usual, Sardou to sneak away.

“I remember a goodbye” is off to a good start. The tour will take him to a good part of France. Michel Sardou will set down his bags and his voice on March 16 and 17 in Nanterre. He will be the first singer to perform on the central stage at Paris La Défense Aréna. These will be the final dates of his return. But leaving is always coming back.