Madonna is in Montreal. The diva, who will perform a concert at the Bell Center on Thursday and Saturday nights, and her team landed in Dorval on Tuesday, confirms her longtime pianist, Montrealer Ric'key Pageot.
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Don't get excited yet, because it's highly unlikely you'll see Madonna on the streets of Montreal until her show on Thursday night. The 65-year-old singer, who was seriously ill in June 2023, wants rest between her performances on the Celebration Tour.
“For Madonna, staying in Montreal is like returning home because her mother was from Quebec. She asked me today how I felt when I got home and I answered the question. She replied: I feel the vibe! It's always special for her to be here, she often says: I'm French Canadian too! She’s very proud of that,” explains the pianist, who has been working with the singer for 16 years.
Ric'key Pageot is on his fifth world tour with the star he now considers a sister. “Playing with Madonna at the Bell Center, seeing friends, family and people involved in my musical life is really special,” adds the man, marveling at the fact that he is in a fancy hotel in his hometown (he has to keep his name secret for security reasons). reasons) accompanied by the Queen of Pop.
Montreal pianist Ric'key Pageot
Mercy James, Madonna's 17-year-old daughter, plays the piano during the concert (she performs a classical piece followed by the song Bad Girl with her famous mother). It is the artist from Côte-des-Neiges with Haitian roots who is his piano teacher and mentor.
“I've been working with Madonna for 16 years, but now I have a different role. I am not on stage, but play an equally honorable role behind the scenes. I have been giving piano lessons to my daughter Mercy James for 10 years. “On this tour I'm trying to show him how to control his emotions through performance… while 20,000 people scream at him every night,” says the man, praising his protégé's calm demeanor.
The Montreal pianist had the opportunity to get to know Madonna in a more personal way during the pandemic. They both live in LA and he visited twice a week to give their daughters piano lessons.
“I spent a lot of time with her privately. Our relationship deepened and I was able to see a side of her that I had never seen before and that I really appreciated.”
Madonna, her daughter Mercy James and pianist Ric'key Pageot
Live your dream
In 2008, Ric'Key Pageot caught the attention of Madonna while he was musical director at Cirque du Soleil. Without giving him an audition, the singer invited him to take part in a few shows. He believes it was his work ethic, his discipline, his versatility, his attitude and the chemistry between them that worked in his favor.
“Perseverance, contacts, being the best people possible, of course talent and good, authentic relationships with people can take us far,” he says.
Between touring with Madonna, performing with Christina Aguilera, and others with Cher and Diana Ross, Ric'key Pageot finds time to be part of the Haitian ball hockey team and perform his own classical music concerts around the world. He will give an intimate performance at Pianos Bolduc on Friday evening.
