Bonne année and welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque du Soleil Newsletter.
A new year brings new challenges, excitement, and possibilities, but it also brings the closure of one of Cirque du Soleil’s most prolific and highly-polarizing shows: Dralion. On January 18th, Dralion will bid us adieu after touring for fifteen years throughout the world under the Grand Chapiteau and in Arenas for the final time. It’s strange to think how far Dralion has come in those fifteen years. When the show was first launched in Montreal in 1999, the internal reaction to the creation was, as Cirque has put it before, “less than generous” – this was their follow-up to Saltimbanco, Alegria, and Quidam? – But despite the internal opposition, Dralion quickly found its audience and became one of Cirque’s top-grossing touring shows in many of its markets. Even the filming of Dralion became the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards! Of course, today’s Dralion bears little resemblance to the show we were first introduced to, but many fans fell in love with its East meets West mentality – its fusion of ancient Chinese acrobatic traditions with the avant-garde approach of Cirque du Soleil, and it will be missed!
The new year also marks the closure of Zumanity as we knew it, or rather this iteration of Zumanity as we’ve come to know it: “The Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil.” Fans might remember the original Zumanity, when it debuted in 2003, was not well received by fans and press alike. In fact, the story of its conception (if you’ll pardon the pun) is quite the read with a number of direction changes occurring even before the show was presented to the public. And after? Well, it seemed at first Cirque would have its first bona-fide flop on its hands, but of course we all know different. This “Other Side of Cirque du Soleil” was re-tooled not long after its debut, which helped bring Zumanity out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Artists would come and go (we still mourn the loss of Joey Arias), and new marketing campaigns would help bring new sensual visions to the show, but it looks as if all that is about to end. We’re not sure whether Zumanity will keep its “Sensual Side” moniker or not after it re-debuts on January 20th, nor do we know (at this time) what we’re in for once the show returns, but we can’t wait to get a peek!
Next up for changes is THE BEATLES LOVE show at The Mirage, which we have previously discussed could bring about a few new pieces of music to the show. Current information on this suggests the new changes won’t be ready by the end of 2015, but everyone is working hard to have a re-vamped version of LOVE to present for its 10th Anniversary, which consequently is June 2016.
But while we mourn the passing of yet another Cirque du Soleil show, let us also not forget about those who have achieved great heights in not only longevity but also in performances. I’m talking about Mystere of course, which on December 27th not only celebrated its 21st birthday, but more importantly its 10,000th performance! That’s phenomenal! This is the first Cirque du Soleil show in history to reach such a milestone and we here at Fascination! celebrate its accomplishment whole-heartedly! (It doesn’t hurt that Mystere is my all-time favorite Cirque show…). What’s even more amazing is that Mystere’s guitarist – Bruce Rickerd – is also celebrating a momentous occasion: he’s celebrating his 10,000th show with Mystere too. That’s right; he’s never missed a show in all those years! (You can read a bit more about him in our news section this month.) We hope both Bruce and Mystere continue to delight us for many years and many more performances to come!
For a little history, Mystere celebrated it’s…
-
o) 2,000th performance on Sunday, March 15, 1998
o) 3,000th performance on Thursday, April 27, 2000
o) 4,000th performance on Friday, May 24, 2002
o) 4,500th performance on Monday, June 16, 2003
o) 5,000th performance on Sunday, June 27, 2004
o) 6,000th performance on Sunday, August 6, 2006
o) 7,000th performance on Monday, September 15, 2008
o) 8,000th performance on Monday, October 18, 2010
o) 9,000th performance on Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Much ado was made about the return of the Battle Scene in KA through-out the month of December – and rightfully so; it’s a welcome return if bitter-sweet homecoming for the awe-inspiring finale to Cirque du Soleil’s spectacle KA at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The scene was removed following the accident which claimed Sarah Guillot-Guyard’s young life. During the month, the press in Las Vegas spoke with Jerry Nadal and Calum Pearson, senior Cirque officers in Las Vegas, with regards to the re-addition of the epic scene, which you’ll find within. You’ll also find links to a video the cast and crew of KA filmed as they worked together to bring back the show’s epic Battle scene, and other conversations revolving around the return of the Battle Scene.
The press also spoke with Guy Laliberte, Cirque du Soleil’s Creative Guide and Founder on a couple of occasions as well, as he attempts to right the Cirque Ship and, as the Wall Street Journal put it: to “rebalance the business”. In their interview (which can be found up first within), Mr. Laliberte discusses Cirque’s recent operational issues, bleak financial outlook, what brought them to this moment, and how – through partnering with new investors – the Cirque intends to remain creative well into the future. Pat Donnelly of the Montreal Gazette also spent a few mintues with Mr. Laliberte discussing Cirque du Soleil’s future fortunes, in which he felt quite optimisitc about the creative company’s future (even if the piece was a little wonky). Indeed, coming on the heels of the THEME PARK announcements, Cirque du Soleil and PortAventura signed a five-year partnership deal and the company has been linked (if slightly) to a re-development deal at a Meadowlands property in New Jersey. And Cirque has been actively recruiting acrobats for its AVATAR-themed show (think blue aliens rather than air-bending, although to be honest I would much rather see that!), set to debut in arenas in December 2015.
If the business side of Cirque du Soleil is getting you down, there are also a couple of great reviews of Cirque’s latest endeavors: JOYA at Riviera Maya and of the 30th Anniversary Concert in Montreal! Neither of these come from any of us here at Fascination! (Sadly, we couldn’t make either journey), but the reviews seem very positive indeed! (Next month we’ll have a few thoughts about the concert’s television broadcast, which is stream-able to residents of Canada online here: < http://goo.gl/3ACxQf >.
But probably the best and most exciting item from December is the release of the KURIOS soundtrack (on December 9th). My wife and I absolutely fell in love with this show at premiere and waited with bated breath for this release, hoping the music heard on the CD would closely-match that heard performed live at premiere. And it does! KURIOS – CABINET DES CURIOSITES (CDSMC-10051, UPC: 8-43277-88465-5, Composed by Raphael Beau and Bob & Bill) brings a whole new sound to Cirque du Soleil with one of the most organic recordings the company has ever made. Imagine 1930s jazz-era musicians hopping into a time machine to jam out their songs with DJs eager to manipulate traditional music. The result is a modern vintage vibe that blends these two words into a balanced live “old school” feel free to present jazz and swing in a whole new light!
-
01: “11h11″…………….. (4:37) – Opening
02: “Steampunk Telegram”…. (6:53) – Opening / Aerial Bike
03: “Bella Donna Twist”….. (4:16) – Chaos Synchro
04: “Gravity Levitas”……. (4:44) – Russian Cradle
05: “Monde Inversé”……… (4:59) – Upside-Down World (Chairs)
06: “Hypnotique”………… (5:45) – Contortion
07: “Departure”…………. (5:39) – Hand Puppetry
08: “Fearsome Flight”……. (4:29) – Rola Bola
09: “Clouds”……………. (4:49) – Acro Net
10: “Créature De Siam”…… (4:35) – Aerial Straps
11: “Wat U No Wen”………. (6:57) – Banquine
12: “You Must Be Joking”…. (4:54) – Finale
The CD runs for 62 minutes and 37 seconds, representing all the major acts of the show, with one exception: Diabolo (or Yo-Yo). This act wasn’t presented at the time the album was conceived and recorded. But that’s okay! It’s still a fantastic album. We love it! Of course, since we couldn’t get the physical CD through Cirque du Soleil’s Online Boutique (uhm, wasn’t that supposed to come online by the time the CD was released? Cirque? Hello?), we chose to digitally download the soundtrack via Apple’s iTunes. But you can also get it digitally (and physically) via Amazon – so order your copy today… you won’t regret it! (Especially if you like the show!)
The CD wasn’t the only Cirque du Soleil related item I found under the Christmas tree this year (virtual or otherwise), two other items helped me celebrate the holidays: first, the Cirque du Soleil 25th Anniversary “Costumes” Book. Now I know what you’re going to say… didn’t you already have that book? Can you believe I didn’t? I always intended to purchase the book when it came out in 2009, but, never did… and then it disappeared for good, forever to be found on that expensive, “obscure and out-of-print books” shelf. Five years later, and a lot of patience (or not), a copy of the book finally floated across eBay that was within my budget, so I jumped at the chance to finally add it to my collection. And it’s a great one! But perhaps more interestingly, it’s the second item that I was most curious about: The KA “Oversized” Coloring Book. What’s so over-sized about it? It measures 18-inches wide and 24-inches tall, that’s 1 and 1/2 feet by 2 feet! The coloring book is a promotional product published by Really Big Coloring Books and was designed by Cirque du Soleil as a give-away at one time. I’ve not seen very many of them around, or many cross the pages of eBay, so I had to swoop in to buy it in order to satisfy my curiosity. The pages are too big to scan, but, we’ll see about getting you an inside peek at this coloring book soon!
As for our features: In November, Keith had a fantastic conversation with Fabrice Lemiere, Varekai’s Artistic Director and the man in charge of the show’s conversion from Big Top to Areana, the first half of which we ran in our December 2014 issue (last month). Our intention was to run the second-half of the interview this month. Since then we’ve received a number of corrections to Part 1 by Mr. Lemire; therefore, you’ll find the entire interview – both parts – together inside! Also included are two text reprints from The Las Vegas Sun – “Behind the Curtain: The Faces of Cirque du Soleil”, a wonderful interview series featuring nine Cirque du Soleil performers in productions across Las Vegas (complete with artisically shot photos, not included of course); and “Cirque Exec Discusses Re-introduced Scene in KA” from Robin Leach’s Luxe Life column. In it he talks about the new scene with both Jerry Nadal and Calum Pearson, Execs at Cirque du Soleil’s Resident Show Division, at length.
As always we also have the posts made to Cirque’s Facebook pages, and updates to Cirque’s touring schedule. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up Issue #3 of “The Chapiteau-Fascination! Magazine” here: < http://goo.gl/SiwIvV >.
So, let’s get started!
WEB — https://www.cirquefascination.com/
RSS FEED — https://www.cirquefascination.com/?feed=rss2
TEXT FILE — https://www.cirquefascination.com/Issues/Issue132.txt
