THE TRUTH OF ILLUSION

"Why not settle in under the big top, sheltered from the whims of the weather? Come in, you're invited to the celebration of the palace court. You'll see how thumbing your nose at things morose can become quite exhilarating indeed." (Programme Book)

The appeal of the circus is universal. A circus show has the power to touch us, to enchant and amaze us. Ever since Cirque du Soleil’s beginnings, they’ve had this single goal: to astonish us, and leave us breathless. And ever since they re-invented the circus in 1987, Cirque du Soleil was doing just that: showing us that magic is pure and fantasy real, that dreams and reality do collide in the most bizarre and inspiring ways. Alegría builds on this by showing us that all dreams are permitted, we are the King, the poet and the Clown. The stage they've set for us is a royal court where imagination reigns, where all the emotions of the soul are expressed, but where joy wins out at the end of our tale...

Alegría is the vision of such an amazing and highly-celebrated creative team: Guided by Founding President Guy Laliberté and led by director Franco Dragone, Alegría was created by the coven of Gilles Ste-Croix (Creative Director), Dominique Lemieux (costumes), Michel Crête (set design), Debra Brown (choreography), the late Guy Desrochers (sound design), Luc Lafortune (lighting), René Dupéré (composer) and Pierre Parisien (Artistic Director).

“Alegría harks back to the travelling family circuses that criss-crossed Europe not so long ago," said Alegría's Director, Franco Dragone in an interview for "Truth of Illusion", a documentary on the creation of the show. "It’s characters, costumes, and performances evoke a time when fantasy was more real and magic was a part of everyday life; a time when each Fool had a King; a time when a person’s world was a family, his village, and beyond was the great unknown. Today the universe has shrunk, but the individual’s isolation has grown. We do not choose to turn back the clock, we cannot change the world. But we can rediscover a magical belief in human tenderness. Perhaps we need to rediscover that true ambition is not to reach for the stars but to stretch a hand to wipe the tear from our neighbor's cheek."

"Alegría was a very personal show for me," Dragone continues. "I was going through some painful experiences at the time, and wanted to express that pain." Some of that pain came during the creation of Mystère at Treasure Island, Las Vegas. He found adapting technical demands to the artistic potential of the theater created many problems. "We were [just] getting to understand the big top [and] pow!, [we're] doing a show in a theater!" And while all of that was happening, the wheels of creation were already churning on the next touring show, informing its basic theme. "It would be sad, heavy, really hard. There would be less color this time," said Dragone. "But [where I come from] Alegría means that, even when you're in pain, life goes on. It's impossible to have only joy. It's impossible to have only tears. Joy's always with tears and tears are always with joy. But this show has touched me very much."

"Alegría, for me, was inspired by history," admits Gilles Ste-Croix, the show's Director of Creation. It was just five years prior that a wind of hope swept across the planet. "The Berlin Wall was falling, Prague was starting its Velvet Revolution, the Romanians were chasing Ceaucescu and the USSR was dying. The old order was changing." A wind of hope swept across the planet. Stunned, euphoric, we witnessed, through a screen interposed, what was believed to be the advent of a New World Order, of a universal country. Today we are disillusioned. The guns of Bosnia, the failures of the economy and the barbarities of Rwanda and South Africa bloody our fresh illusions. "We were asking ourselves: what new power structures will replace the old ones? Who holds the power today? Governments? The big enterprises? The media? So Franco created two poles of order: the young vs. the old, the rich vs. the poor..."

"I hate power, any kind of power," Dragone re-affirms. "It's why I try never, never to abuse with my power. Sometime people think and been casting people out is thing that I scream a little bit too much. Alegría was an exorcism, and there was joy at the end of it." But there is more. Cirque du Soleil was celebrating it's tenth anniversary. "We are, like the planet, in full mutation," Dragone continued. "The body is transformed. We are both personally, at the same time corporately, at the same time globally in a period of transformation. All means of communication are changing. Socially, politically, economically, we are in a period of change. We compare this period to the Middle Ages."

The set was built to express the idea of a changing world. "Alegría came out of a process of questioning the whole notion of power and its abuses," Michel Crête muses. "How can anyone presume to have power over another human being? It's terrible! So, for me, the dome on the set is a sign of imposing power. We replaced the circles from previous shows with squares, which are more solid, unforgiving. The centre of the tent itself became more important. The characters live within a much more oppressive structure."

Thus, the Big Top was transformed into the King's court. An enormous dome overhung the stage, which was surrounded by diamond-shaped paving stones to protect the occupants of the palace as if they were in a fortified castle. Four huge masts supported the dome, bringing to mind the heavy chains of a drawbridge. Two spiral staircases encircled the ring leading downwards, symbolizing the unknown (and enabling the personae to sneak in and out.) A raised platform decorated with stylistic columns and balustrades served as the minstrels' balcony. There they set up their musical instruments and looked haughtily down on the activities of the world below. Yes, Alegría's set was an imposing monument, an undefined monolithic structure suggesting an institution of great power and influence. A huge structure, heavy in its connotations yet light in its execution.

The lighting is designed to reflect a nostalgic atmosphere, like that of a 17th-century ballroom. The autumnal tones create the luminous obscurity of the show. "If you look at the Nostalgic Old Birds you really get a feeling of death and decay, which made me think of Autumn," remembered Luc Lafortune, Lighting Designer. "So I went in that direction with the lighting: the texture of heavy leaves, dark greens, reds, browns. And it works! When the Angels, who are the opposite of all that, come on, the whole place just bursts because of the contrasts." The beams of light shine through and onto a mesh cyclorama, creating dazzling lighting effects. On the floor, one can discern the head of a salamander, which lives in all four elements.

The lavish costumes for the characters representing the Old Order — Fleur, the Old Birds and the Singers — are made from richly-colored fabrics which are painstakingly hand-detailed with lace, feathers and sequins. They evoke the flamboyant costumes worn by the aristocracy at Versailles and other European palaces of the period. "Alegría is the scream of destiny. The Jester and the Old Birds represent a bygone, pompous era. Their only remaining wealth is their faded nobility. The rich fabrics and colors of the court of Versailles are the expression of this tarnished splendor. Their opposite is the White Angel, representing youth, innocence, and eternity," said Dominique Lemieux, Costume Designer.

The costumes for the New Order — the gold-clad Bronx, Nymphs and Angels — reflect the same rich tones, with less decoration, but more luminous for these young creatures. The materials are lighter and emphasize the agile bodies of these characters who will take control of the future.

"We're looking for alternative ways of expression that have normally been expressed through athleticism and tumbling, height and flight and dynamics," Debra Brown reminds us. "And what else is there that can come out of that apparatus in collaboration with the artists and the dance and the movements and the music."

The lively and emotional musical score by René Dupéré moves between jazz, pop, tango and klezmer.

"I started from a single idea that came from Gilles Ste-Croix and Franco: the idea that the fools have lost their King," Dupéré recalls in "20 Years Under the Sun'. "For me, the fool and the king can be two parts of the same individual, mirroring one another. It gave a sort of half-ethnic, half-middle-ages feel to parts of the music." "Alegría has a kind of European flavor," Dupéré continues. "So I wanted to go back to our Felliniesque origins. I was a street performer. I played in the streets and there was something very lively, something very emotional. I wanted to go back to the emotion in the music with accordion, a kind of raunchy street voice, and violin and those basic instruments. I also wanted to go back to the music I'm particularly fond of: Rota, Morricone, Vivaldi, Mancini… the Italians!"

The music of Alegría evokes the passion and intensity of travelling minstrels by using acoustic and percussion instruments including accordion, saxophone, keyboard and guitar. The vocals render the gravelly and genuine voice of the street. But in counterpoint the synthesizer arrangements also reflect the change that is imminent. The music to Alegría is the most successful in Cirque du Soleil’s history. The soundtrack has reached platinum level twice in Canada and was on Billboard Magazine’s hit parade for 55 weeks in the “World Music” category. The title song, Alegría, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1996 in the “Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s)” category.

According to Guy Desrochers, sound designer for Alegría, bringing singers and live musicians to the big top before the age of in-ear monitors posed a special challenge. "A tent is made of vinyl, and vinyl reflects sound. Because, for all intents and purposes, you're outside, and weather has a huge effect on sound, for instance when the humidity changes. With Alegría, we had to preserve the integrity of acoustic instruments like violins and accordions in that environment. And we had to ensure the singers heard themselves, so monitors had to be pointed to the middle of the tent. The audience gets mixed up in that, and it makes it even harder to point and place the speakers properly."

They're all obsessed. They're all possessed. The spell which has been cast is irreversible. At last, they've all gone mad. Mad! They've all gone mad, at last... And so it goes. Faster and faster yet, higher and higher still, beyond their wildest dreams and so we go, beyond the point of no return for the sky is no longer the limit. Time is running out in the space of their dreams, however. It seems like a light year ago when they first came to life. But the old order is trying to keep the curtains drawn, to keep out tomorrow; you'd wish time could come to a halt. You wonder if the vision might be an illusion after all. A blinding darkness for a cast of shooting stars, scanned and telescoped to find their perfect orbit... No. No to this hell on Earth. No to the fears and tears. No to the sadness of many years. A new day is dawning. The future is rushing in. Alegría! Alegría!

Their time is now. And now, the time is right. It is the vigil of the longest night, when the builders of dreams, magicians, engineers, fools and kings are humbled seers, welding their flying machines for the coming of the new dawn... Your time has come. And should we ask who you are, would you remember who you were? Now that you know the mysteries of many lives ago, you may go joyfully to rest for there is music now and a dream to share... there's music now and Alegría in the air!

ON TO ASIA & EUROPE

We have no illusions. The children of the streets will not see Alegría. Laughter is still a luxury they cannot afford. Tonight, our cries of joy will become screams of rage because millions of young hearts will again freeze in the gutters of our goodwill. May Alegría become a rallying cry for those of us who still have a voice. (Europe Tour Programme Book)

Taking Alegría from concept to stage proved to be an interesting affair. Although the show had a fantastic acrobatic line-up at premiere - consisting of Synchro Trapeze, Fast Track, Shoulder-Pole Wire, a Strong Man, Snowstorm, Aerial Cube, Russian Bars, Contortion, and the Flying Lev (also known as High Bar) - there were a number of late additions to the line-up just prior to premiere (like Mikhail Matorin's Cube act; he joined Alegría just days before its world premiere). The Fire-Knife Dance was not originally part of the Alegría line-up when the show premiered on April 21, 1994. Rather, as the show went its way through Canada and began its tour of the United States, the artistic directors realized the production lacked an essential element - fire! - so they dispatched one of their talent scouts to the Pacific where they found Tovo Lisiate Tuione, who joined the tour in San Jose sometime in September 1994 as a back-up act. Elena Lev's Hoops act was also was not originally part of the Alegría line-up at premiere. Elena's father was invited to tour with his "Flying Lev" act (High Bar) and Elena and her mother tagged along. A few months into the tour, Elena would audition for Cirque and the company asked her to join the tour at 12 years of age. We believe she began performing in Alegría during the Santa Monica run (6 October to 18 December 1994), delighting audiences throughout the United States.

By the beginning of 1995, Alegría would have all the components we know and love.

Alegría would finish its triumphant 13-city North American Tour by the end of 1995 though, and go on to a three-city tour of the Asia-Pacific region, specifically Tokyo and Fukuoka, Japan, and Hong Kong. Alegría would change in the process.

Both Aerial Cube and Shoulder-Pole Wire acts went missing from the line-up. While Shoulder-Pole would never be seen again, Mikhail Matorin (the act's creator) would take his performance to Mystère (as part of that show's revamp). In its stead, Cirque presented "Flying Man in Silk" by Russian artist Yuri Maiorov (who also performed Russian Bars and FastTrack at the time). Described as "Strong yet tender, powerful yet light, natural yet surreal - the Flying Man shuns open shows of strength in favor of the more subtle artistry evoked by sensual masculine movement and the rich flow of silk..." - Yuri would go on to perform his act through both Japanese cities and Hong Kong in 1996, transfer to Mystère for a time in 1997, then become part of La Nouba's creation in 1998.

Additionally, in 2003-2004, Ebon Grayman who had been performing the character of Fleur at the time (and had also been a member of the Bronx FastTrack team before that), created and performed his own Flying Man in Silk act as an act-in-reserve. Although no longer performed (since Ebon has moved on from Cirque), his act was not only full of strength, but unending grace. (You can see him practice this act on the Alegria DVD Behind-the-Scenes Feature, but I'm getting ahead of myself here...)

Tight Wire was another addition to the show. It made its first appearance during the Japanese Tour (1996) and continued through to Hong Kong that same year. "Reminiscent of a young girl thoughtfully playing out her game of hopscotch, the artist is a study in nimble, dexterity and relaxed grace. Balanced on a wire measuring less than two centimeters in diameter, no one breaks her concentration or disturbs the lively pace of her intricate footwork for she is in a world which only she commands." The act was performed by Molly Saudek, a young artist from the United States, and was not employed when Alegría went to Europe (1997-1998). When Alegría returned to Japan/Hong Kong in 2004-2005 (as Alegría 2), those extra elements were once again added. One of those was a "Slack Wire" act performed by Yang Huang, a young artist from China. When Alegría moved on to Europe for the second time (2006-2007), Slack Wire did not continue.

The final new act to be introduced to Alegría during this period is Samuel Tétreault's Hand-Balancing number, which the programme book described thusly: "Like the stately spires of a medieval cathedral, this elegant equilibrist reaches to evermore lofty heights seeking not only the challenge of the rarefied air but some illusive deity. Whether on the ground or precariously perched, the performer is dexterous on one hand or two. His style is simple and pure, as unwavering as the tower which protects the throne."

One Alegría reached the shores of Europe in early 1997, Saudek's Tight Wire and Maiorov's Flying Silks would be replaced, and Aerial Cube would make its triumphant return under native Australian Paul Bowler, who learned the art directly from the act's creator. (While Paul was busy on tour, Mikhail took up residence at Mystère.)

Paul, of course, would continue on until the end of the European Tour. Tétreault's Hand-Balancing act would also. But even more drastic changes were coming to Alegría. On April 29, 1998, Cirque du Soleil and Mirage Resorts announced that Alegría would find a permanent home at the Beau Rivage.

THE BEAU RIVAGE ENGAGEMENT

"Come to a place where genuine Southern hospitality and charm go hand in hand with meticulous service..."

Situated on the salty-shores of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Steve Wynn's Beau Rivage sported 1,780 "elegantly appointed" guest rooms and 66 luxurious suites, which come with either a spectacular view of the Gulf of Mexico or of the Bay. And under the 32-story tower was a 78,000 square-foot casino, twelve restaurants, a full spa, a salon, a shopping promenade, a marina, a pool, and a sandy white beach - all for your pleasure. The final price for all this luxury? $800 million. And that isn't a lot considering the Bellagio cost double that amount.

With the Beau Rivage's opening on March 16, 1999, came another collaborative effort between Wynn's Mirage Resorts and Cirque du Soleil - the fourth such venture. Nouvelle Experience began the partnership in 1992 when it was presented in the white and gold Big Top on the grounds of The Mirage. Mystère solidified that partnership in 1993 (at Treasure Island), which "O" extended in 1998 (at Bellagio). And after much discussion, Cirque du Soleil and Steve Wynn settled on Alegría to set up stakes at the Beau Rivage. But not just under the Big Top, oh no... within was a 1,552 seat theater reflecting the "warm welcome inspired by the climate of southern France."

For those who bore its splendor, the design of the venue was simple and elegant, featuring a wonderful splash of color. And, unlike the "O" theater the Alegría Theater was ornamented with an elegant display of the show's name - right above the door. Inside, the ceiling was a vibrant shade of blue, representing the skies of the village Alegría played upon. Here, Sky Art also provided designs for a 15,000 square- foot mural "reminiscent of Claude Montet's water paintings." Below the skies were the theater seats, bright yellow, creating an allegory of the beaches where the Beau Rivage was founded. And then there were the walls, adorned in oranges and reds, bringing meaning to the rising and setting sun.

Besides the wonderfully adorned space, the Beau Rivage Theater incorporated a no-proscenium arch design quite similar to its Mystère counterpart. Like the Treasure Island Theater, the Beau Rivage Theater also had no obstructive poles, providing a limitless viewpoint to all spectators. The set and stage retained its familiar squarish form, complete with the Fast Track built into the floor. Overhead an enormous dome that for designer Michel Crête signifies "a sign of imposing power," which reflects the theme of the show - an allegory about power; who has it and who does not.

For the Beau Rivage engagement the show would go under the knife, cutting several segments previously seen on tour (such as the Aerial Cube and Strong Man), updating the Fast Track to something a little more reminiscent of the choreography seen in "Alegria: Le Film", and re-ordering the flow of the acts slightly to accommodate the missing acts. What audiences got was a highly truncated version of the show (at 90-minutes) that ran through seven still-amazing acts: Syncho Trapeze, Hoops (by Elena Lev), Fire/Knife Dance (by Isaac Samuela), Russian Bars, Fast Track, Contortion (by Chimed Ulziibayar and Tseveendorj Nomin), and Aerial High Bar, clinching the show.

Audiences in Mississippi didn't "get" the show, or Cirque du Soleil for that matter, as patrons in Las Vegas had undoubtedly had - much to the chagrin of both Cirque and Mirage Resorts. And thanks to Saltimbanco's re-staging and tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1999, and a return to Japan (as Saltimbanco 2000), Alegría's time on the Gulf Coast was as short as its truncated running time; it was going back on tour under the Grand Chapiteau!

BACK ON TOUR

A low wall surrounding a field flowing with waves of wheat, shimmering with shocks of sunlight, stands silent sentinel to a man, old and infirm, dancing, crazed and crooked, with arms akimbo. Beating time with a tired twig, he serenades the serene sky: mother of my mother, father and friend feast on this wonderful wheat, generous gift of my God. The Old Man's cracked cackle careens over the wall and wails into the nearby vale where a goat grazes. The butt of the beast bolts up to listen to the lament of the drunken devout. With a moist mouth and a goat's gaze the beast bellows a bleat of enamored emotion. The Old Man and the Ram rhapsodize a crazy cantata. (Programme Book)

Alegría packed up its troubles on October 2, 2000 and prepared to conquer new markets, beginning with Australia. The re-staging would forever change the show, though, making it darker, heavier, more powerful.

Although some acts missing during the Beau Rivage engagement would be re-integrated into the line-up (such as the Strong Man), others would be retired forever: Elena Lev, who'd been with Alegría since the very beginning, would retire from Cirque (for a while - she'd later return for the show's filming, to replace Hand-Balancing in Quidam for a time, and even star in Wintuk and Zaia, before those shows closed.) Elena Lev's Hoops Act was replaced by a Manipulation number: "The enchanting performer combines rhythmic gymnastics, flexible contortion, deft juggling and graceful ballet into one act. Using silver hoops and beautiful silk ribbons, she dances and leaps across the stage as the music plays on."

Aerial Cube, which was not presented at Beau Rivage, would be represented on tour now as "Flying Man": "Combining the elasticity of the bungee with the power of the gymnastic rings, the artist soars through the air while performing acrobatic feats. His awe-inspiring performance is a combination of incredible skill, agility and strength. His sculpted physique is imposing, yet he is tender and graceful." And Hand-Balancing would return as an act-in-reserve, performed by young Ukrainian Denys Tolstov: "Using his incredible strength and his great abilities in ballet and contortion movements, he executes slow figures on canes of different heights. The tallest cane is at 1m 90 from the stage."

And later, when Alegría returned to Japan/Hong Kong in 2004-2005 (as "Alegría 2"), extra elements were once again added into the show: A "Slack Wire" act performed by Yang Huang, a young artist from China. And once again "Aerial Cube".

When Alegría moved on to Europe for the second time (2006-2007), "Slack Wire" did not continue. (But occasionally an Aerial Cube act was seen in rotation.) Another act-in-rotation was kept in reserve too: a jugging number by Victor Moiseev, a young artist from the Russian Bars number, who just wanted to have a solo act of his own. Attaining a high level by creating original movements and tricks with the balls, he succeeded to manage his own place in the show.

And the song played on...

* * *

Fifteen years after its birth, Alegría was given a fourth life. Once again thanks to Saltimbanco, the show would be reborn in 2009 as an arena construct, setting out across North America and Europe with one-week engagements at a time. And, yes, ushering in even more changes - new acts such as the Cyr Wheel and Hand-Balancing (which was integrated int the main course of the show rather than set in reserve), and some simplifications too - but the song still played.

Until now.

It's hard to believe that Alegría's journey is now over. That we'll never get to see this amazing, fantastic, and classic expression of Cirque du Soleil's prowess under the Grand Chapiteau ever again. Or will we? Only our friends at Cirque du Soleil know for certain. Who knows what may happen in five... or ten years down the road. If a set of young acrobats may want to resurrect Saltimbanco one day... we can only hope Alegría may follow. In the mean time we'll miss you, and thanks!