Madonna's 'Confessions'

Madonna kicked off her "Confessions" world tour at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006, emerging from a giant mirrored ball suspended over the audience, wearing black leather and lace riding gear. The pop diva will be on the road until Sept. 3, playing dates throughout North America and Europe.

Madonna's new show has a little something for everyone: five video screens, a giant mirrored cross, a Bedouin blowing a ram's horn, gymnastics, rollerblading and a disco inferno segment. There are verbal and visual digs at George Bush, pleas for help for African children orphaned by AIDS, and lots of her hits, particularly from her new "Confessions on a Dance Floor" album.

Wearing jodhpurs and a top hat and carrying a jeweled riding crop, the singer emerged from a giant disco ball covered with $2 million worth of Swarovski crystals, on stage in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006. Maybe that's why the tickets to the show cost up to $350.

More than a dozen dancers, who had as many costume changes as the Material Girl herself, provided eye candy throughout the show. Male dancers were the horses, wearing leather straps on their heads and bits in their mouths. Madonna mounted one and tugged on his reins as she sang the opening song, "Future Lovers," from last year's "Confessions on a Dance Floor," in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006.

Madonna dedicates much of the show to her latest album, playing nine of its 12 tracks. Selections from her other nine records are sprinkled in. Here, she performs with backup dancers during the kick-off of the North American leg of her "Confessions" tour in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006.

A jungle-gym contraption lowered from the ceiling became a play place for Cirque du Soleil-style gymnasts, while multiple massive video screens flashed images of war, world leaders, nature and, of course, Madonna. She proves she can still stretch those legs during the concert marked the kick-off of the North American leg of her "Confessions" tour in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006.

The production was so tightly choreographed it left little room for spontaneity. Even when Madonna flipped the crowd the bird, it felt scripted, not subversive.

Madonna performs on stage on the first night of her "Confessions" world tour on May 21, 2006, in Los Angeles. The singer will play dates throughout North America and Europe, with her final concert in Amsterdam on Sept. 3.

There was so much flash and dazzle, it was like watching a made-for-TV performance, as Madonna opened her "Confessions" world tour on May 21, 2006, in Los Angeles.

Madonna was an equestrian, a disco princess and a black-clad rocker. Plus, she crucified herself on a mirrored cross ... all in less than two hours. Madonna is known for her theatrical, action-packed shows, and the sold-out opener of her "Confessions" world tour in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006, was no exception.

A screen projects a giant image of Madonna as she performs on stage on the first night of her "Confessions" world tour at the Great Western Forum on May 21, 2006, in Los Angeles. The singer will be playing dates throughout North America and Europe, with her final concert in Amsterdam on Sept. 3.

Madonna performs on stage on the first night of her "Confessions" world tour at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006. The singer will be playing dates throughout North America and Europe, with her final concert scheduled for Amsterdam on Sept. 3.

Madonna performs on stage on the first night of her "Confessions" world tour at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles on May 21, 2006.

Madonna's show features moving platforms that carry a four-piece band and three backup singers across the enormous T-shaped stage. Here, she performs with backup dancers on the first night of her "Confessions" world tour on May 21, 2006 at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles.