Why would anyone attend an instrumental Adele concert?
It’s a fair question, considering her voice is the whole deal. It carries the drama, pain and a raw, lived-in power that turns even a break-up into an anthem. So, attending a gig without it already feels like a stretch – sort of like watching a film with the dialogue on mute.
And yet, as part of the successful Candlelight Concert series, it works. Well, kind of.
Their idea of reworking big pop songs without vocals and placing them in moody, candle-lit settings has taken off. Since its debut in culture centres in Madrid in 2019, Candlelight Concerts has travelled to more than 100 cities and made its Dubai debut in 2022.
These gigs are less about performance and more about atmosphere. By doing that, they invite listeners to hear the songs differently and maybe even more closely.
In its debut in Ras Al Khaimah – one of four planned shows covering the varied works of Coldplay, Abba and Vivaldi – the event takes place indoors, in a small ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton Al Wadi Desert Resort. With the summer heat outside, this makes sense, and the atmosphere doesn't suffer.
The organisers have worked with what they had. Candles are placed along the aisles and around the piano, even tucked into candelabras, while the audience sits all around in a circular set-up. It feels close and like everything is folding inward.
By the time Italian pianist Aldo Dotto takes to the elevated stage, everyone has soaked up the mood. There's a stillness in the room. No phones up, no rustling, just quiet attention.
At some points, it's hard to tell what to focus on more – the music itself or just the way it all feels in the room. It all blends, and that's part of the charm.
Dotto takes on some of Adele’s biggest songs and brings them down to size. Not in a lesser way, but in a more reflective one. Hello loses its weighty opening drama and instead comes off like a lullaby. The familiar piano hook is played so softly that it almost feels like it is being hummed under someone’s breath.
Skyfall makes the transition smoothly. It’s a song already written with an orchestral framework, so hearing it solo doesn't strip it too bare. Instead, it gives a sense of hearing a rough sketch. Like something Adele might have worked with before the full production came in.
The standout moment, though, is Make You Feel My Love. It’s a Bob Dylan song, one Adele covered early in her career and kept mostly faithful. Dotto goes back to that simpler and original 2008 version. No frills, just the melody and a bit of restraint. The room gets even quieter, with a few audience members swaying along, some with eyes closed. That’s the kind of communal moment Candlelight Concerts seems to aim for.
Meryem Benkirane, senior project manager at Fever – the company behind the Candlelight series in the UAE and who has already staged concerts at Dubai’s QE2 and Zabeel Theatre – says the idea isn’t just about putting concerts in elegant spaces. It’s about shifting the way people engage with live music.
"At its core, Candlelight is about creating intimacy," she tells The National. "A lot of people feel a bit out of place at traditional classical concerts. The format, the venues, it can all feel too formal. So we asked – what happens if you take the same music and change how it’s presented?"
One of the answers was to keep things short. "Most of our shows are under an hour. You come in, you settle and you’re done before it drags," she says. "It’s also about offering a variety of programmes. We go from Vivaldi to Adele to Coldplay. That mix brings in a wider audience."
As for bringing the concept to the UAE three years ago, Benkirane says the diversity of the population results in the kind of crowd ideal for such formats. "The audience here is curious. They want something different, not just the big arena shows. Ras Al Khaimah gives us space to try something a little different," she says. "Especially with a place like Al Wadi Desert Resort. It’s not your usual venue, and that’s what made it exciting."
"People are looking for new ways to experience live music. We’re not saying it has to replace anything else, but maybe this is just another way of doing it. Slower, more thoughtful. Something a little more human."
Candlelight Concerts at the Ritz-Carlton, Wadi Desert continue with two tribute concerts: Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the music of Queen and Abba, both on September 27. A final concert dedicated to pianist Frederic Chopin takes place on December 20. Tickets start at Dh200, except for the Chopin concert, which is Dh150.
