«Joyeux Calvaire»: un hommage poétique!

{Article was translated from the original French via Google Translate}

Cirque du Soleil presented a poetic and romantic show on Wednesday night with its tribute to the Cowboys Fringants, which greatly moved the members of this popular Quebec band.

“It’s far too emotional for what my body and my soul can take,” said bassist Jerome Dupras, at the end of this premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s “Joyeux Calvaire” show , Wednesday night, at the amphitheater Cogeco of Trois-Rivières.

The audience could have expected an explosive show, like the colorful group of dashing Cowboys, but the tribute presented was all about poetry.

The opening number took place under the tunes of “Hirondelles”, a sweet piece from the album L’Expédition, with a solo artist flying over the dangling trapeze scene. At the beginning of the show, a couple languorously danced acrobatics from the top of their Russian frame, sometimes blindfolded, on the “Bye Bye Lou” ballad. An artist specializing in hula-hoop then captured all the attention, dancing alone with hoops on the song “Pub Royal”, from the album Octobre.

THE BEAUTY OF WORDS

“Tonight, what stood out a lot is the beautiful writing of Jean-François. It added to all this visual. It was super beautiful! “Said violinist Marie-Annick Lépine. Jean-François Pauzé, who has written several songs of the Cowboys Fringants, was pleasantly surprised by the result.

He praised the audacity of Cirque du Soleil for highlighting more unknown pieces from the general public.

“For the author that I am, it was still fun to hear stuff that we never play,” he said. The team could not ignore the big hits, like “Toune d’automne” and “Les étoiles filantes”, where the artists who performed duets added a romantic touch. The decor also included an artistic signature, with its many illuminated miniature houses that regularly recalled during the 75 minutes of services, the suburb of Repentigny in which the Cowboys frisky grew up.

FIERCE RHYTHM

At times, the frenzied rhythm dominated the scene, as during “La Manifestation”, which mobilized the thirty artists of the production. Dancers surprised the audience towards the end of the show, presenting their energetic choreography, both feet in ponds of water. The piece “Par chez nous” served a dynamic finale, with artists moving on fixed bars. While attending this “Joyeux Calvaire”, the musicians of the frisky Cowboys no longer felt the only ones clowning on the boards, in front of so many acrobats. “We have crusts to eat! Joked bassist Jérôme Dupras.

{ SOURCE: Le Journal de Montreal }