René Dupéré, composer – Cirque du Soleil – KÀ
Transcending geographic and stylistic boundaries, composer René Dupéré has sold over two million CDs worldwide. He composed the music for several of Cirque du Soleil’s best selling productions and recordings, including Saltimbanco, Mystère and Alegría. After a ten year absence, Dupéré returned to the Cirque du Soleil fold with KÀ, which opened in February 2005 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.
A multi-faceted musician and composer, René Dupéré has developed a musical style that weds classical structure with the modern sound of synthesizers and the exotic flavors of world music. Equally comfortable composing for live productions, film and television work, and the recorded medium, he stamps his work with originality and strong personality.
After the success of 1994’s Alegría, which spent 65 weeks on the Billboard World Music chart earning him a Grammy(tm) Nomination in the U.S. and two Felix Awards in Canada, Dupéré was the subject of a tribute at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, which was attended by 200,000 people.
Since 1995 Dupéré has continued composing for recording artists, live productions, advertising, film and television. His works have earned many accolades, including a Golden Award for “Ismya Vova”, composed for an Air Canada ad campaign, the SOCAN Hagood Hardy Award (for instrumental music), and an ADISQ (l’Association du disque et du spectacle du Québec) nomination for “La belle est dans ton camp”, the second album which he composed, arranged and performed for former Cirque du Soleil vocalist Élise Velle. He has also composed the scores for the films OIO, and La Peau Blanche, the live productions “Colours of Dance” (Holiday on Ice), “Xotika”, as well as the score of the celebration for the unification of Hong Kong with China in 1997.
Dupéré’s compositions are timeless and without geographic limitations. KÀ, the sixth Cirque du Soleil production for which he has composed the music, features the most ambitious soundtrack produced yet by Cirque du Soleil Musique. The storyline for KÀ reads as a live epic film and Dupéré’s music reflects this, featuring a 40-member choir and a 57-piece symphonic orchestra. It was recorded (in part) at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, CA.
KÀ is a resident show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. The KÀ soundtrack, composed by René Dupéré, will be released on the Cirque du Soleil Musique label on October 18, 2005.
