Alegría (Cirque du Soleil)

Alegría
Cirque du Soleil Alegría logo
Company Cirque du Soleil
Genre Contemporary circus
Show type Touring arena show
Date of premiere 21 April 1994 (Montreal)
Final show 29 December 2013 (Antwerp)
Creative team
Director Franco Dragone
Director of creation Gilles Ste-Croix
Composer René Dupéré
Costume designer Dominique Lemieux
Set designer Michel Crête
Choreographer Debra Brown
Lighting designer Luc Lafortune
Sound designer Guy Desrochers
Company founder and CEO Guy Laliberté
Make-up designer Nathalie Gagné
Other information
Preceded by Mystère (1993)
Succeeded by Quidam (1996)
Official website

Alegría was a Cirque du Soleil touring production, created in 1994 by director Franco Dragone and director of creation Gilles Ste-Croix.

It was one of Cirque du Soleil's most popular touring shows. Since it premiered in April 1994, it has been performed over 5,000 times and seen by over 14 million spectators in more than 250 cities around the world.[1] Alegría originated as a touring big top show. However, beginning with its 2009-2011 North American tour, the show was converted to an arena format, enabling it to visit cities that were previously inaccessible to the big top tour. Furthermore, Alegría took a short respite and was converted to a resident show at MGM's Beau Rivage casino from May 1999 to October 2000 before it continued touring again. On 29 December 2013, Alegría performed its final show at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium.

Alegría takes its name from the Spanish word for "joy." Cirque du Soleil's literature describes the show as "an operatic introspection of the struggle for power and the invigorating energy of youth."[2] Dominique Lemieux's costumes evince a baroque aesthetic of decadence and ornamentation, while René Dupéré's musical score features a unique blend of French, Spanish, African, and Mediterranean influences. The stage and props are characterized by gothic arches and harsh angular designs.

Set and technical information

Alegria's Grand Chapiteau in São Paulo, Brazil. March 2008.

The stage of Alegría is topped by a giant dome and decorated with stylistic columns and balustrades. The dome gives the sense of an impressive, powerful structure, similar to how churches and government buildings utilize similar architectural constructs. The stage has spiral ramps on opposing sides which lead down, symbolizing the unknown. The floor of the stage has the head of a salamander, used for the four elements in which it lives. The 17th-century-ballroom stylistic lighting design reflects a nostalgic atmosphere. Finally, an autumnal color palette creates the luminous obscurity of the show.[3]

Cast

The characters in Alegría comprise people of two separate generations: the New Order and the Old Order.[4]

Performed by:

Performed by:

Acts

The acts of Alegría have had a bit of turnover, but continue to fit its theme: "A baroque ode to the energy, grace and power of youth."[3][5][6]

Contortion artists

Acts in rotation

Retired acts

Costumes

Alegría's costumes have a dichotomy relating to the Old Order and the New Order. The Old Order has costumes which are reminiscent of New York's Gilded Age as they are finely decorated with feathers, lace, and other adornments. The New Order, on the other hand, representing the youth of tomorrow, have the same rich hues as the old order, while the fabrics used are lighter and softer, helping to emphasize the agility of youth.[7] Over 400 costume pieces comprise the Alegría wardrobe set, including shoes, wigs, hats, etc. As an example of how long it takes to create each custom outfit, over 200 hours are needed to create one Old Bird costume.[3]

Music

The original album artwork of Alegría, 1994.

Alegría’s highly acclaimed music was composed by René Dupéré, who had composed numerous scores for Cirque's previous productions, including Nouvelle Expérience, Saltimbanco and Mystère.

The music of Alegría was released as a studio album on September 27, 1994. Produced by Robbi Finkel, it remains Cirque du Soleil's best-selling album to date, having sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. Robbi Finkel and René Dupéré were nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Arranger at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards. The album was also nominated for several Félix Awards in 1995, winning two of the latter: 'Producer of the Year' for Robbi Finkel[8] and René Dupéré, and 'Sound Mixer of the Year' for Rob Heaney. Alegría was also ranked on the Billboard World Music Chart for 65 weeks.[9]

The album's lead vocals are provided by opera-trained, French-Canadian singer Francesca Gagnon. Gagnon also features as 'The White Singer' (principal vocalist) in the Alegría DVD, with fellow French-Canadian Ève Montpetit supporting as 'The Black Singer'.

Several versions of the soundtrack have been available since its original release. In 2002, the soundtrack was re-released by Cirque du Soleil Musique Inc., with an additional two tracks titled 'Cerceaux' and 'Malioumba' (both featuring vocals by Francesca Gagnon) recorded from live shows during Alegría’s 2001 season in Sydney. In 1995, a limited employee edition, Alegría - Live at Fairfax, was created for the artists and crew of the production. This special edition features the entire score on CD and is considered a collector's item.

The tracks for the original 1994 release, including the two extended tracks from 2002 are listed below and alongside are the acts during which they are played.[10]

  1. Alegría (Finale)
  2. Vai Vedrai
    • (Synchronized trapeze)
    • (Trapeze Duplex) (2007-2010)
  3. Kalandéro
    • Shoulder-Pole Wire (1994-1995)
    • Tightrope (1996, 2001)
    • Juggling (2002 - 2004, 2006 - 2013)
    • Slackwire (2004 - 2005)
  4. Querer (Interlude to Aerial high bar)
  5. Irna (Power track)
  6. Taruka (Contortion)
  7. Jeux d'enfants (Power track setup)
  8. Mirko (Opening)
  9. Icare (Aerial high bar)
  10. Ibis
    • Aerial Cube (1994 - 1995, 1997 - 1999, 2004 - 2008)
    • Flying Man (1996 , 2003 - 2004)
  11. Valsapena (Power track)
  12. Nocturne (Snowstorm)
  13. Cerceaux (Manipulation)
  14. Malioumba (Flying man)

Other songs

  1. Milonga (Introduction to musicians)
  2. Fleurs (Clown act)
  3. Le Feu (Fire-knife dance)
  4. Homme Fort (Strong man)
  5. Danze Vazoule (Le bal)
  6. Ombre (Clown act)
  7. Flowers (Clown act)
  8. Force 4/Balafon (Russian bars)
  9. La Perche (Shoulder-pole wire)
  10. Sisyphe (Handbalancing)
  11. Rinalto Vera (Cyr wheel)


Vocalists

There have been many singers in Alegría. Here is a full list of all of the singers:

Female Singers

Male Singers

Filmography

Alegría, the Film

In 1999, Alegría was adapted into a film of the same name, written by Rudy Barichello and directed by Franco Dragone.[11] The cast included actors such as Frank Langella, Mako, Julie Cox, René Bazinet and a guest appearance from Whoopi Goldberg, as well as several performers and musicians from the touring production (many appeared in both this film and the Alegría DVD). The film employs a conventional structured narrative as opposed to the abstract allegory of the live show. It tells the story of a boy named Momo who wants to save the children from their imprisonment in the dark factory of a cruel man named Marcello. Momo's only friend, a quirky clown named Frac, aids him, while also falling in love with the singer of a circus named Giulietta passing through town. The children turn against Marcello (who is also known as the Dragon) by throwing rocks at him. The pair soon find their destinies increasingly entwined with that of the circus. The fluffy white rabbit is the only animal in the film and the songs "Let Love Live", "Child in His Eyes", "Love Leaves Someone Behind" and "Mountain of Clothes" are sung by Irène Marc.

This film also features Elena Lev manipulating contortion and hula hoops in front of the middle of the great fountain and Alexander Dobrynin doing the bungee cords and the aerial cube inside the ruins.

Alegría

Cirque du Soleil released a DVD production of the show, Alegría. It was filmed in July, 2001, in Sydney, Australia.[12] This production was directed and produced by Nick Morris. He used 14 cameras and special filming techniques to create a viewing experience that transports the viewer to the center of the performance.[13]

Tour

Alegría's tour history[14][15] is quite extensive as it premiered in 1994. Since it began it has toured under the Grand Chapiteau as well as in sporting arenas. Additionally during 1999 and 2000 it played as a resident show in Biloxi's Beau Rivage. After 19 years of touring, Alegria performed for the last time in Antwerp, BE on December 29, 2013.

Alegria has been to many different regions, here is the list of all of them.

The following colorboxes indicate the region of each performance:  EU   Europe  NA   North America  SA   South and Central America  AP   Asia/Pacific  OC   Oceania

Arena tour

Grand Chapiteau tour

References

  1. "Cirque du Soleil - Press Room - Arena Shows - Alegría - About the show". www.cirquedusoleil.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  2. "Cirque du Soleil to present Alegria this fall in Philadelphia". Cirque du Soleil. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  3. 1 2 3 "Alegría Fiche Technique" (PDF). Cirque du Soleil (Press Kit). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  4. "Alegría: Characters". Cirque du Soleil (Press Kit). Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  5. "Alegría: Acts". Cirque du Soleil (Press Kit). Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  6. "Alegría Acts". Cirque Tribune. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  7. Clément, Ronald (2009). Cirque du Soleil 25 Years of Costumes (in Chinese, French, and Japanese). Canada: Dépôt légal, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. pp. 34–39. ISBN 978-2-9803493-4-8.
  8. RobbiFinkel. "Robbi Finkel's website". Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  9. "Music - Alegría - Official soundtrack". Cirque du Soleil. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  10. "Music - Alegría". Cirque Tribune. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  11. "Alegría (1999) - IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  12. "Cirque du Soleil: Alegria". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  13. "Alegría DVD". Cirque du Soleil (Boutique). Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  14. Cirque Tribune Alegría Schedule
  15. Cirque du Soleil Alegría Ticket Information
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