It began on September 17, 2019, at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in New York City, United States, and ended on March 8, 2020, at the Grand Rex in Paris, France.

The tour consisted exclusively of dates in the United States, Portugal, England, and France; mobile phones and smart watches were banned from the concerts, which was met with mixed reactions from fans.

[12] Jamie King was appointed creative director; personnel working on the tour included 41 musicians, Monte Pittman on guitar, backup singer Dana "Yahzarah" Williams, 12 dancers, and 14 of the 22 women of the Batukadeiras Orchestra.

[15] The wardrobe included a glittery Revolutionary War attire with feathered tricorne hat and a chiffon dress, with frills and Swarovski crystals designed by Francesco Scognamiglio.

[13] For the performance of "Frozen" (1998), Choreographer Damien Jalet with Luigi & Iango filmed a "dramatic" black and white video of Madonna's eldest daughter Lourdes Leon as a "shape-shifting spirit who finds her freedom through her movements.

[19] The Madame X Tour officially began on September 17, 2019, at New York City's BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, and ended on March 8, 2020, at Paris' Grand Rex.

A short video led to "Batuka", which had 14 women of the Batukadeiras Orchestra playing the drums while Madonna sat to the side on a stairwell, before eventually joining them and doing batuque moves.

The Tracy Young remix of "Crave" featured Madonna dancing with her twin daughters, while "Like a Prayer" had her performing in front of an X-shaped staircase while surrounded by a choir and the song's music video projected on the stage.

The Madame X Tour was met with positive reviews from critics; Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield deemed it "excellent" and a "testament to the genius in her madness", concluding that it proves "Madonna will never be the kind of superstar who repeats her successes, sticks to her strengths, or plays it safe.

"[22] Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times, said on his review that, "as both album and show, 'Madame X' is Madonna's latest declaration of a defiant, self-assured, flexible identity that's entirely comfortable with dualities [...] Yes, she is 61, but her music remains determinedly contemporary.

"[16] Variety's Ilana Kaplan considered it, "at times[,] performance art, a political rally, a comedy show, a church and even her home in Lisbon.

"[26] "While she did take the stage over an hour late, Madonna proved that she is still at the top of her game musically [...] [She] put on an amazing live show at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in the heart of Brooklyn.

Will Gompertz from BBC News gave the concert a five-star rating, and opined it was "perfectly imperfect, like one of those sketchy landscapes by Cezanne where you can see his underdrawings and misplaced lines, making it so much more beautiful and real than Canaletto's soulless precision."

Gompertz concluded his review by saying Madame X was an "adventurous piece of contemporary theatre, and a match for any of the Tony and Olivier-winning shows currently playing the West End and Broadway.

"[28] Aidin Vaziri from the San Francisco Chronicle noted how, even though the singer was "battling a cold, suffering from a torn ligament and had a bad knee", she still put on a "spectacular show.

"[30] The performances were also praised; Bell highlighted "Human Nature" and "American Life" for fitting "best with the theme of defiance", and "Like a Prayer" for being "every bit as awe-inspiring and empowering as when it was first released.

"[32] For Digital Journal, Markos Papadatos singled out the rendition of "Crave" as "sheer bliss", and considered "Like a Prayer" the "anthem for the night" that earned the singer a "lengthy standing ovation.

[23] For Philadelphia's Victor Fiorillo, there was "too much [Madame X] material — some of it straight-up filler — and presented in such a meandering way, that any sense of flow, arc, or climax was continuously undermined.

"[35] Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt wrote: "The show is hardly without flaws: her political messaging, though heartfelt, is often clumsily on the nose, and several set projections leaned toward the community-theater end of things.

"[36] Leslie Katz classified Madame X as "paradoxically both charming and offputting [...] Although [the] setting was smaller than the arenas she's filled during her decades as the world's biggest pop star, it was hardly an intimate or casual affair.

"[44][45] A man from Florida named Nate Hollander went as far as to file a class action lawsuit against Madonna after the Miami concert he planned to attend was pushed back by two hours to accommodate the singer's tardiness.

"[49] After several cancellations due to the recurring injury,[50] the tour ended abruptly three days before its planned final date, after the French government announced a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the midst of the pandemic.

[56] Shot during the Lisbon concerts and directed by Ricardo Gomes, Sasha Kasiuha, and Nuno Xico, Madame X had its premiere on September 23 at New York's Times Square Edition Hotel; Madonna herself attended the event.

[55][57] Reviews were generally positive: The Guardian's Alexis Petridis deemed it "beautifully shot", while according to NME's Nick Levine it "proves the Queen of Pop is still in her prime.