André Rieu in Malaga: a concert that is more than a concert

He is a magician, only instead of a wand, he waves the bow of his violin.

When André Rieu takes to the stage, the enchantment begins: an entire sports arena is transformed into a Viennese concert hall, with the women dressed in colourful long gowns and the men in elegant frock coats.

This is the start of a two-hour party, with everything from thunderous applause to overwhelming silence, from laughter at Rieu's complicit gestures to the emotion of timeless melodies. This trick was performed by the Dutch violinist and conductor on Monday night in Malaga's Martín Carpena arena, repeating the show on Tuesday with the 8,000 seats practically sold out months ago.

It snowed in the stalls, there was a tribute to Strauss, there were scenes of humour and they even danced La Macarena with Los del Río. It had everything. To call this a concert is an understatement. It was a show from start to finish by the illusionist Rieu.

At 8pm sharp and to the rhythm of Entrance of the Gladiators, André Rieu crossed the Carpena arena followed by the Johann Strauss Orchestra: around 80 artists including musicians and choir of up to 17 nationalities.

"We come from all over the world to play tonight," he said with that passion that makes him unique and allows him to play his 300-year-old Stradivarius with the same naturalness with which he jokes with late arrivers ("We are Dutch, we are punctual") or pulls funny faces when the Platin Tenors sing the Italian folk song Tiritomba at the top of their lungs. This comic note becomes a shiver a second later when the three tenors sing The Impossible Dream.

These are the contrasts that have made André Rieu world famous. He is increasingly more of a conductor than a violinist, although he never let go of his instrument. He is a musical showman, one of the artists who sells the most tickets in the world and probably the violinist with the most followers on social media (some 20 million!).

At his concerts, the audience clap along with the orchestra and get up to dance to The Blue Danube, the conductor speaks before each piece, hundreds of mobile phones record, a snowfall is simulated in the stalls and the musicians joke with each other while performing Tales from the Vienna Woods by Johann Strauss, for example. Everything that would be out of place in a normal classical recital is celebrated here. The musicians don't wear black either, although the truth is that this rule is only skipped by the women, who wear 'Disney princess' dresses designed by Rieu himself. A somewhat questionable aesthetic, not at all contemporary, which doesn't clash too much with the show as a whole.

The content of the concert is designed as a succession of special moments. With The Third Man a zither sounds; with Il Silenzio the audience are invited to "close their eyes and think of something romantic" to the sound of the trumpets; a Ukrainian singer from the choir performs with emotion a traditional song from her homeland (Nitsch Jaka); and a soprano emulates Callas in Casta Diva. The audience, formed by almost as many foreigners as locals, listens attentively.

But undoubtedly one of the most impressive interventions of the evening was that of Michel Tirabosco, a musician with a malformation in his arms that does not prevent him from playing the pan flute with enormous sensitivity.

The most fun was reserved for the end. Los del Río took to the stage with boundless energy despite the fact that it was already after eleven o'clock at night to add a Spanish note with La Macarena and La Bamba. By then no one was still seated.

The crowned 'king of the waltz' came to Malaga from the Maastricht castle where he lives and works to open a Spanish tour that will later take him to the Movistar Arena in Madrid, the Roig Arena in Valencia and the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona; venues reserved this season for Rosalía, Bad Bunny, Eric Clapton, Pablo Alborán...

And now there will be those who say that a "serious" or "real" symphonic orchestra would not play these songs or in this way. Perhaps they would change their mind if they saw the happy faces of the audience in Malaga.

"We've been together for 40 years, let's go for the next 40," he said.