The most fascinating thing about Beyoncé is that, even though she’s been a household name for close to a decade, we still don’t know very much about her. In interviews she’s polite and soft-spoken. In photographs she’s composed. Beyoncé is careful to only give us what we need, and that’s the pop diva persona she’s honed to perfection. Her third album I Am… Sasha Fierce released in 2008 acknowledges the split between her private and public personas with two disks, one filled with intimate ballads and the other with brash up-tempo tracks. On the sweet “Halo,” the singer rejoices at having found a good man, while on the raunchy “Ego,” she warbles, “It’s too big/ It’s too wide/ It’s too strong/ It won’t fit… I love his big ego.” (She’s obviously not talking about Jay-Z’s self esteem.) The sexy siren’s Seattle appearance is a preview of sorts—it’s the only stop she’ll make in the United States until this summer, when she wraps up the international leg of her tour. Why she’d choose to first perform here rather than say, her hometown, Houston, is unknown. But much like Beyoncé’s persona, it’s certain to have been very carefully calculated.

Wed., April 1, 7 p.m., 2009