Forever Young

“We want ABBA!” chanted the standing fans in the trapezoidal interior of the arena in east London, which was specially built for the “ABBA Voyage” show, a few minutes before the world premiere of the concert, which has been hailed as groundbreaking, is to take place on the stage. But which ABBA do you mean? The real ABBA, whose members go to their seats on Thursday evening – shortly after the hall lights go out – and obviously enjoy watching themselves at work? Or the digital versions of them, who from now on will perform a 95-minute concert evening with 20 hits seven times a week as deputies?

Over a period of several weeks, the real ABBA had 160 cameras filmed in motion caption to make their ABBAtars appear as natural as possible. But is it even possible to create a real connection with the audience in the way that band member Björn Ulvaeus wanted so much?

Huge cheers erupt as the virtual ABBA emerge from the stage floor 20 minutes late. At first you only perceive them as shadow outlines in front of a brightly lit background. But then, little by little, a hustle and bustle unfolds, as it was last 40 years ago: Benny Andersson stands behind the white keyboard instrument, Björn plucks the guitar, in the middle Agneta Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad dance in glittering capes to the opening song “The Visitors”. .

It’s amazing what technology can do

The eponymous record was the end of 1981 the last studio album before the band split. So now the journey should go on and possibly never come to an end. As a viewer, you may not believe your eyes what the technology can do. Those four figures over there look like a band of flesh and blood! This is ensured by screens with 65 million pixels – not even in Hollywood films have there been so many! 1000 employees in four different studios and a billion working hours are said to have flowed into the creation of the avatars.

That was worth it. Only when Agnetha appears in close-up on the side screens does it sometimes destroy the illusion of the real ABBA. Some eyes look strange. Agnetha 3.0 simply doesn’t like slow movements. The fact that the vocals were taken from the sound tracks of the album recordings is not necessarily conducive to the authentic live feeling. A ten-piece live band accompanies the ABBAtare.

It becomes surreal when the voice of the real aged Benny speaks in the body of his young avatar. “To be or not to be – that is the question here,” he philosophises humorously about his own fate. “So that’s what it feels like to travel through time and space… I’m really good looking for my age.” The laughs are on his side. And definitely gained in sex appeal thanks to his well-done avatar.

“Knowing You, Knowing Me” is emotionally gripping and almost poetic, with which ABBA 1976 first addressed broken relationships. It is one of several songs to which the ABB Atare do not appear as performers on stage, but only as a film on the big screens.

Benny and Frida hug. Agnetha and Benny hug. Frida gently strokes Agnetha’s cheek. The divorces of ABBA couples and the rivalries between the women – all old news. Hasn’t every one of us ever dreamed of being able to heal everything retrospectively?

The abbatars even cast shadows

Party atmosphere comes up for the first time with “Chiquitita”. The hall claps as a collective while ABBA bring on a solar eclipse – analogous to the artwork of their last year’s album “Voyage”. And indeed: ABB Atars cast shadows too! Strictly speaking, the new ABBA have even gained in physicality: the women have never danced so space-demanding as at this concert. 2022 also sees a lot more interaction between the two.

The stage goes dark for a moment. “I didn’t like the costume even then. But I like this one”, Benny communicates behind the curtain with the audience. Much of the show wardrobe was made by Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. Made entirely of real fabric with lots of sequins, only to then digitize the pieces. Sounds crazy but looks good.

A few scenes later, it’s about fashion again. “His costume was so tight back then that he couldn’t sit down,” Agnetha poked fun at Björn’s outfit at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. At that time, ABBA won the competition in Brighton with “Waterloo” and paved the way for their world career. “Britain gave us zero points,” says Björn, amused. Some in the audience are booing for an event that happened almost 50 years ago. The connection to the ABB Atars seems to be working. For “Waterloo” they record the original appearance of the ESC.

Frida talks about her grandmother

The longer the concert lasts, the more real and digital actors mix. “Dance With You Honey” is performed by the three backing singers and their backing band. “I wanted to name them after the little train station across from the arena, but they didn’t want to be called Pudding Mill Lane,” jokes Björn. ABBA have their very own sense of humour.

Frida and Agnetha also have their moderation moments. Frida tells of her grandmother, who took her in after the Second World War and raised her. “My role model and my heroine. This is my tribute to all the women in the world who took their lives back after everything was taken from them. My love and admiration for you all.” The movements of the concert that best fit the here and now.

Choreographies in the laser sea

Meanwhile, Agnetha thanks the audience for their support over the years. “Who would have thought that after 40 years we would go back into the studio?” She sings “Don’t Shut Me Down” from the current album “Voyage”. A touching moment.

The best part of the show is also the most modern: For “Lay All Your Love On Me” ABBA wear the black catsuits with neon stripes that you already know from the “Voyage” promotional photos. Agnetha makes hand and arm movements as if she had to regulate the traffic at failed traffic lights.

Frida dances choreographies in a sea of ​​lasers that are more likely to be located in the 21st century. We would have liked to see more of this ABBA update! The most beautiful stage design is right after “Summer Night City”. ABBA perform in a landscape of transparent pyramids somewhere on a distant planet. Luminescent objects that look like mini UFOs dangle from the ceiling.

In “Dancing Queen” it’s sticks with lanterns that go up and down. This is reminiscent of a Japanese lantern festival. For this purpose, the gigantic light design with 500 moving lights is explored in all its colorfulness. Of course, the song doesn’t hold anyone in their seats anymore.

For the bouncer “The Winner Takes It All”, ABBA bring out a 40-strong choir. Is it real or not? In the end you question everything. And as soon as the ABBAtars have said goodbye to the audience with bows, the real ABBA come onto the stage from the right. Nothing beats this moment of perhaps the last public reunion of the pop legends. And there is hardly anyone in the hall who doesn’t have teary-eyed eyes. Agnetha dances a bit, they hug again and blow kisses. You don’t speak a word. From now on they want to leave that to their ABBatars in this successful show.