Built in the 1930s in the Art Deco style, the Troxy concert hall welcomes visitors with bohemian chic and the scent of beer. Tonight’s event: a concert by Enigma, the German project founded in 1990 by producer Michael Cretu, which set the tone for an entire direction in new-age music. The average age of the audience today? A solid 40+.
As a warm-up before the show, the venue plays the soundtrack from The Lord of the Rings and tracks by Enya, gently easing the audience into a state of epic mysticism. Then, a voice through the speakers promises to transport them to a world of higher matters…
Out of thick fog, a woman in a snow-white brocade dress glides onto the stage—no introduction, she jumps straight into a vocal performance. Flanking her are eight “monks” in black hoods, seemingly meant to hint at the project’s Gregorian roots. After standing motionless for a few minutes, they exit the stage, making way for three new vocalists.
Behind them, an endless slideshow plays: smoke, an unknown child, a mysterious lake, a girl with confetti, a blooming flower, clouds, a shadowy tree. With its jagged realism, the visuals seem AI-generated — perhaps prompted with something like “create something mysterious.”
The show continues: dance numbers with feathers, even more fog, monks again, a performance with scarves, a screaming contest (first the women, then the men, then… everyone together). Gregorian chants, a variation on Carmina Burana set to electronic music, a synthetic xylophone, something resembling a didgeridoo, another choreographed piece, more AI-generated visuals… Intermission!
Photo: Alexander Tatiev
The artists return with a performance that transitions into atmospheric electronic lyricism. As the finale nears, a song plays in which the rhetorical question repeats at least twenty times:
“Why can’t we live in freedom, without hunger, with no war?”
In the end, a grand parade of all the performers. Some in the audience dance, others record on their phones, while some simply savour the moment. The soloists vocalise with moving unity. On the screen, horses gallop—symbolising… well, something profound.
“Do you want more?” one of the singers asks. The audience roars with excitement, and they get an encore. After the final note: long applause, whistles, cheers.
A concert that was vivid, atmospheric, and slightly absurd — exactly what an Enigma show should be.
