''Alegría'' is a
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
touring production, created in 1994 by director
Franco Dragone
Franco Dragone (12 December 1952 – 30 September 2022) was an Italian-born Belgian theatre director. He was the founder and artistic director of Dragone, a creative company specializing in the creation of large-scale theatre shows. He was also ...
and director of creation
Gilles Ste-Croix. It takes its name from the Spanish word for "joy".
Since April 1994 the show has been performed over 5000 times, and has been seen by over 14 million spectators in more than 250 cities around the world.
Acts
Acts in the show included:
* aerial cube
* contortion
* fast track
* fire
* flying man
* handbalancing
* high bar
* juggling
* manipulation
* power track
* Russian bars
* shoulder pole wire
* slackwire
* strong man
* synchro trapeze
* tightwire
Costumes
![Cirque du Soleil Istanbul 2012 Alegria 1200968 nevit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Cirque_du_Soleil_Istanbul_2012_Alegria_1200968_nevit.jpg)
''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.
Music
The soundtrack was composed by
René Dupéré
René Dupéré (born 1946) is a Canadian composer from Mont-Joli, Québec, Canada.
Biography
Dupéré is best known as the composer and arranger of music for contemporary circus productions by the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil ...
, who had composed for previous productions including ''
Nouvelle Expérience
''Nouvelle Expérience'' was Cirque du Soleil's fourth touring circus show, which premiered in 1990.
Before the show's conception, Cirque du Soleil attempted to revive one of its previous shows, ''Le Cirque Réinventé''. The attempt was abandon ...
'', ''
Saltimbanco
''Saltimbanco'' was a touring show by Cirque du Soleil. ''Saltimbanco'' ran from 1992 to 2006 in its original form, performed under a large circus tent called the Grand Chapiteau; its last performance in that form was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ...
'' and ''
Mystère''.
It was released as a studio album on 27 September 1994. Robbi Finkel and René Dupéré were nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
as Best Arranger at the
38th Annual Grammy Awards
The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, inc ...
. The album was also nominated for several
Félix Award
The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' ( ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian ...
s in 1995, winning two of the latter: 'Producer of the Year' for
Robbi Finkel
Robbi Finkel (born Robert Mark Finkel; April 11, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American-Canadian composer, record producer, pianist and arranger. Grammy nominated, Finkel is an honorary lifetime voting member of the National Academy of ...
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.
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.
#
Alegría ''(Finale)''
# Vai Vedrai
#*''(Synchronized trapeze)''
#* ''(Trapeze Duplex) (2007–2010)''
# Kalandéro
#*''Shoulder-Pole Wire'' ''(1994–1995)''
#* ''Tightrope (1996, 2004)''
#* ''Juggling (2002–2004, 2006–2013)''
#* ''Slackwire (2004–2005)''
# Querer ''(Interlude to Aerial high bar)''
# Irna ''(Power track)''
# Taruka ''(Contortion)''
# Jeux d'enfants ''(Power track setup)''
# Mirko ''(Opening)''
# Icare ''(Aerial high bar)''
# Ibis
#*''Aerial Cube (1994–1995, 1997–1999, 2004–2008)''
#* ''Flying Man (1996, 2003–2004)''
# Valsapena ''(Power track)''
# Nocturne ''(Snowstorm)''
# Cerceaux ''(Manipulation)''
# Malioumba ''(Flying man)'' (2001–2013)
Other songs
# Milonga ''(Introduction to musicians)''
# Ouverture ''(Pre-Opening sequence)''
# Prelude to Vai Vedrai ''(Pre-Trapeze act sequence)''
# Fleurs ''(Clown act)'' (1997–2000, 2002–2004)
# Le Feu ''(Fire-knife dance)''
# Homme Fort ''(Strong man)'' (1994–1999, 2001–2004)
# Danze Vazoule ''(Le bal)''
# Ombre ''(Clown act)'' (1994–2004)
# Force 4/Balafon ''(Russian bars)''
# La Perche 1 ''(Shoulder-pole wire)'' (1994–1995)
# La Perche 2 ''(Shoulder-pole wire out sequence)'' (1994–1995)
# Prelude to Le Cube ''(Pre-Aerial Cube act sequence)'' (1994–1995, 1997–1999, 2004–2007)
# Prelude to Contortion ''(Pre-Contortion Cube act sequence)''
# Grands Volants Prelude ''(Pre-High Bar act sequence)''
# Sisyphe ''(Handbalancing)'' (1995–2013)
# Rinalto Vera ''(Cyr wheel)''
# Bardak ''(Clown act and Juggling)'' (1994–1997, 2005)
# Oiseaux sur la corde ''(Clown act)'' (1994–2004)
#
Concierto de Aranjuez
The ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (, "Aranjuez Concerto") is a classical guitar concerto by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is by far Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the mos ...
''(Clown act)'' (1994–1996)
Tour
''Alegría'' tour history is quite extensive as it premiered in 1994. It has toured under the Grand Chapiteau as well as in sporting arenas. During 1999 and 2000 it played as a resident show in Biloxi's
Beau Rivage.
Remount
In commemoration of the show's 25th anniversary, a new show called
Alegría: In a New Light was created, in its original Big Top format to pay tribute to the original show. The tour began on 18 April 2019 in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. It will feature revamped numbers, characters, costumes, music and makeup.
[https://translate.google.com.au/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.journaldemontreal.com%2F2018%2F04%2F25%2Fpour-son-25e-anniversaire-alegria-sous-chapiteau-en-avril-2019&edit-text=&act=url]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alegria
Cirque du Soleil touring shows