CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PRODUCTIONS
Last month we took a look at the general history of Cirque du Soleil’s filmed live releases. This month we’re taking a dive into four of those productions. We start with the company’s very first release Cirque du Soleil Tournee, travel to the Emmy Award winning Dralion, then onto Toruk filmed with 4K cameras, and finish up with the recently filmed Vegas extravaganza O.
Each film is a wonderful record of Cirque du Soleil’s captivating and inventive work. While all the performances are captured in front of a live audience, Cirque du Soleil also re-films segments for close-ups and different camera angles. They provide an interesting model for how musicals can be successfully captured and distributed.
Each film is a wonderful record of Cirque du Soleil’s captivating and inventive work. While all the performances are captured in front of a live audience, Cirque du Soleil also re-films segments for close-ups and different camera angles. They provide an interesting model for how musicals can be successfully captured and distributed.
Cirque du Soleil Tournee
Following on from the success of performances during the celebrations for the 450th anniversary of Jacque Cartier’s arrival in Canada, Cirque du Soleil Tournee was the company’s first major production. First performed in 1984, Tournee was filmed in Montreal in 1985 and was the first Cirque du Soleil production to air on television.
The video has been uploaded to YouTube, and although it possesses a grainy VHS quality, the capture is a surprisingly dynamic and exciting.
Even the opening few minutes are a masterclass in capturing live theatre, and in-the-round no less. We hear rapturous applause over the title credits, which cut to a smiling young boy in the audience. A silhouetted figure emerges from the back of the stage. As the lights grow brighter, we see he is a clown, the ringmaster. While the camera stays in a mid-shot on the clown, the shot is overlaid with a long shot, allowing us to see the clown in context of the full-stage. The clown is joined by an ensemble dressed in trench coats, and the camera cuts between different angles, long shots, mid-shots, close-ups, aerial shots, and shots that move with the action that provide the at-home-viewer with a clear view of the full stage as well as the individuals upon it.
With a resplendently 80s-sounding score, complete with plenty of soprano saxophone and synthesizer, the proceeding performance has all of the ingredients that have made Cirque du Soleil so famous. Whimsy, inventive costumes, fire twirling, acrobats on bicycles, contortionists, juggling, bubbles, aerialists, live musicians, tight-rope walkers, and break dancing clowns.
Cirque du Soleil Tournee Production Credits
Guide: Guy Laliberté
Artistic Director: Lorraine Turpin
Director of Creation: Guy Caron
Director: Michael Chelnikov Film: Serge Roy
Composer: René Dupéré
Set Design: Gilles Ste-Croix
Lighting Design: Claude Accolas
Costumes and Props: Hélène Dubé
Trainer: Ziegmunt Biegaj
Music: La Fanfonie
The video has been uploaded to YouTube, and although it possesses a grainy VHS quality, the capture is a surprisingly dynamic and exciting.
Even the opening few minutes are a masterclass in capturing live theatre, and in-the-round no less. We hear rapturous applause over the title credits, which cut to a smiling young boy in the audience. A silhouetted figure emerges from the back of the stage. As the lights grow brighter, we see he is a clown, the ringmaster. While the camera stays in a mid-shot on the clown, the shot is overlaid with a long shot, allowing us to see the clown in context of the full-stage. The clown is joined by an ensemble dressed in trench coats, and the camera cuts between different angles, long shots, mid-shots, close-ups, aerial shots, and shots that move with the action that provide the at-home-viewer with a clear view of the full stage as well as the individuals upon it.
With a resplendently 80s-sounding score, complete with plenty of soprano saxophone and synthesizer, the proceeding performance has all of the ingredients that have made Cirque du Soleil so famous. Whimsy, inventive costumes, fire twirling, acrobats on bicycles, contortionists, juggling, bubbles, aerialists, live musicians, tight-rope walkers, and break dancing clowns.
Cirque du Soleil Tournee Production Credits
Guide: Guy Laliberté
Artistic Director: Lorraine Turpin
Director of Creation: Guy Caron
Director: Michael Chelnikov Film: Serge Roy
Composer: René Dupéré
Set Design: Gilles Ste-Croix
Lighting Design: Claude Accolas
Costumes and Props: Hélène Dubé
Trainer: Ziegmunt Biegaj
Music: La Fanfonie
Dralion
First performed in 1999, Dralion is a fusion of Chinese acrobatics and Cirque du Soleil. During its first year, the production was re-staged in San Francisco in order to be filmed for television. The production was shot over 4 days using 14 cameras.
Dralion aired on television in 2001 and 2002. The program won 3 Emmys including Outstanding Costumes fir a Variety or Music Program (Francois Barbeau), Outstanding Directing for a Variety or Music Program (David Mallet, who also directed War of the Worlds), and Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
The program was released in North America on DVD and VHS in 2001. The DVD was re-released to the North American market in 2011, and on region free DVD in 2012. The DVD features bonus content, including a making-of-documentary, “In the Heart of Dralion,” and the ability to watch the show from 4 different camera angles during 4 different numbers.
Dralion was made available on demand in 2013, and is now available on BroadwayHD. It is unfortunate that the DVD bonus features, particularly the ability to switch camera angles, is not available in the online content.
Of the four Cirque du Soleil productions I watched, Dralion was the weakest filmed live capture. The constant use of slow motion during acrobatic acts is distracting, and there are a few moments of awkward editing where it is clear a number is cut short, or the edit jumps in mid-way.
There are moments where the camera catches the theatre lights to great effect, and the eye of the camera is cleverly used as a part of the story-telling, but where Dralion works best is the inclusion of the live audience. Throughout the film, there are shots of the audience smiling and applauding. The excited sounds of the audience also help to elevate the screen viewing audience’s experience. Particularly during the clown and tumbling acrobat acts, it is wonderful to be able to see, hear, and be able to feel the excitement of the live audience.
Dralion Production Credits
Guide: Guy Laliberté
Director: Guy Caron
Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Composer: Violaine Corradi
Costume Design: François Barbeau
Set Design: Stéphane Roy
Lighting Design: Luc Lafortune
Sound Design: Guy Desrochers
Choreography: Julie Lachance
Acrobatic Acts: Li Xining
Dralion aired on television in 2001 and 2002. The program won 3 Emmys including Outstanding Costumes fir a Variety or Music Program (Francois Barbeau), Outstanding Directing for a Variety or Music Program (David Mallet, who also directed War of the Worlds), and Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
The program was released in North America on DVD and VHS in 2001. The DVD was re-released to the North American market in 2011, and on region free DVD in 2012. The DVD features bonus content, including a making-of-documentary, “In the Heart of Dralion,” and the ability to watch the show from 4 different camera angles during 4 different numbers.
Dralion was made available on demand in 2013, and is now available on BroadwayHD. It is unfortunate that the DVD bonus features, particularly the ability to switch camera angles, is not available in the online content.
Of the four Cirque du Soleil productions I watched, Dralion was the weakest filmed live capture. The constant use of slow motion during acrobatic acts is distracting, and there are a few moments of awkward editing where it is clear a number is cut short, or the edit jumps in mid-way.
There are moments where the camera catches the theatre lights to great effect, and the eye of the camera is cleverly used as a part of the story-telling, but where Dralion works best is the inclusion of the live audience. Throughout the film, there are shots of the audience smiling and applauding. The excited sounds of the audience also help to elevate the screen viewing audience’s experience. Particularly during the clown and tumbling acrobat acts, it is wonderful to be able to see, hear, and be able to feel the excitement of the live audience.
Dralion Production Credits
Guide: Guy Laliberté
Director: Guy Caron
Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Composer: Violaine Corradi
Costume Design: François Barbeau
Set Design: Stéphane Roy
Lighting Design: Luc Lafortune
Sound Design: Guy Desrochers
Choreography: Julie Lachance
Acrobatic Acts: Li Xining
Toruk - The First Flight
Inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar, Toruk - The First Flight is “a live immersive multimedia spectacle” that first opened in 2015. Toruk was filmed live with eight 4K cameras at the Centre Vidéotron, Montreal, in January 2016.
A “pre-quel” to James Cameron’s Avatar, the pre-historic story follows three young Na’vi adults, Ralu, Entu, and Tsyal. When their land, and the sacred Tree of Souls, is threatened by a volcano, the Na’vi must go on a journey to find the giant bird Toruk.
Toruk opens with a wide aerial shot of the arena, a sped up time lapse of audience filling the seats, and the stage going dark.
A rule of good theatre is “show, don’t tell,” and while there is plenty of show in this visually stunning production, the use of an English-speaking narrator, unusual for Cirque du Soleil shows, results in too much telling. The plot is clunky and not particularly interesting, something critics who saw the show in person all noted.
Despite the stilted storytelling, Toruk successfully integrates inventive puppetry, acrobatics, aerial work, and live music into the narrative. The circus elements that create the pre-historic world inhabited by giant flowers, flying creatures, and fearsome dinosaurs are dazzling, and serve to create jaw dropping moments of theatre.
Where Toruk works best is in Kym Barrett’s intricate costume and make-up design for the blue-skinned Na’vi people, Carl Fillion’s stunning scenic design (Michel Lemiuex and Victor Pilon are also credited with being Multimedia Directors, along with being the writers and directors). The entire floor of the arena stage is covered in gorgeous projections that move with the actors and create beautiful vistas, from lush green meadows to rocky canyons, lava filled canals, and rivers of rushing water.
With such incredible visuals, it is a shame to watch Toruk on a small screen. The production was filmed in 4K, and one can imagine how much more spectacular it would be on a 4K screen. The camera switches seamlessly between multiple views, providing a good blend of wide shots, close-ups, and a range of dynamic angles that move with the action. During some of the acrobatic scenes, slow motion is used to heighten the drama of the stunts. Although the slow motion is used sparingly, it actually takes the viewer out of the performance, reminding you that you’re watching a show on screen.
According to interviews with the creative team, this cinematic effect was used purposefully, as the directors sought to create “a true narrative feature film,” and “not just to do a live-to-tape capture of a stage show.” Interviews also revealed that some of the lighting had to be adjusted for camera, and close-ups were digitally altered to hide “the seams between costumes and made-up faces.” In this way, Toruk - the First Flight is a true theatre/film hybrid, and a beautiful one at that.
Toruk - The First Flight was distributed internationally on television. It is available to view on BroadwayHD, and also available to purchase on region-free DVD from the site of the touring production. A behind-the-scenes documentary, Toruk Takes Flight, is also available on BroadwayHD, and as a bonus feature on the DVD.
Toruk Production Credits
Show writers, Directors and Multimedia Directors: Michel Lemiuex and Victor Pilon
Film Director: Adrian Wills
Producer: Sébastien Ouimet, Cirque du Soleil Images, Quebec Television, Lightstorm Entertainment
Director of Photography: Jeremy Benning
Editor: Heidi Haines
Writers: Michel Lemieux, James Cameron
Sound Design: Jacques Boucher, Film: Gael Poisson-Lemay
Founder: Guy Laliberté
Chief Creative Officer and Creative Guide: Jean-François Bouchard
Director of Creation: Neilson Vignola
Set and Props Designer: Carl Fillion
Costume and Make Up Designer: Kym Barrett
Music: Bob & Bill
Choreography: Tuan Le, Tan Loc
Puppet Designer: Patrick Martel
Acrobatic Performance Designer: Germain Guillemot
Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer: Pierre Masse
Stage Manager: France Godin
A “pre-quel” to James Cameron’s Avatar, the pre-historic story follows three young Na’vi adults, Ralu, Entu, and Tsyal. When their land, and the sacred Tree of Souls, is threatened by a volcano, the Na’vi must go on a journey to find the giant bird Toruk.
Toruk opens with a wide aerial shot of the arena, a sped up time lapse of audience filling the seats, and the stage going dark.
A rule of good theatre is “show, don’t tell,” and while there is plenty of show in this visually stunning production, the use of an English-speaking narrator, unusual for Cirque du Soleil shows, results in too much telling. The plot is clunky and not particularly interesting, something critics who saw the show in person all noted.
Despite the stilted storytelling, Toruk successfully integrates inventive puppetry, acrobatics, aerial work, and live music into the narrative. The circus elements that create the pre-historic world inhabited by giant flowers, flying creatures, and fearsome dinosaurs are dazzling, and serve to create jaw dropping moments of theatre.
Where Toruk works best is in Kym Barrett’s intricate costume and make-up design for the blue-skinned Na’vi people, Carl Fillion’s stunning scenic design (Michel Lemiuex and Victor Pilon are also credited with being Multimedia Directors, along with being the writers and directors). The entire floor of the arena stage is covered in gorgeous projections that move with the actors and create beautiful vistas, from lush green meadows to rocky canyons, lava filled canals, and rivers of rushing water.
With such incredible visuals, it is a shame to watch Toruk on a small screen. The production was filmed in 4K, and one can imagine how much more spectacular it would be on a 4K screen. The camera switches seamlessly between multiple views, providing a good blend of wide shots, close-ups, and a range of dynamic angles that move with the action. During some of the acrobatic scenes, slow motion is used to heighten the drama of the stunts. Although the slow motion is used sparingly, it actually takes the viewer out of the performance, reminding you that you’re watching a show on screen.
According to interviews with the creative team, this cinematic effect was used purposefully, as the directors sought to create “a true narrative feature film,” and “not just to do a live-to-tape capture of a stage show.” Interviews also revealed that some of the lighting had to be adjusted for camera, and close-ups were digitally altered to hide “the seams between costumes and made-up faces.” In this way, Toruk - the First Flight is a true theatre/film hybrid, and a beautiful one at that.
Toruk - The First Flight was distributed internationally on television. It is available to view on BroadwayHD, and also available to purchase on region-free DVD from the site of the touring production. A behind-the-scenes documentary, Toruk Takes Flight, is also available on BroadwayHD, and as a bonus feature on the DVD.
Toruk Production Credits
Show writers, Directors and Multimedia Directors: Michel Lemiuex and Victor Pilon
Film Director: Adrian Wills
Producer: Sébastien Ouimet, Cirque du Soleil Images, Quebec Television, Lightstorm Entertainment
Director of Photography: Jeremy Benning
Editor: Heidi Haines
Writers: Michel Lemieux, James Cameron
Sound Design: Jacques Boucher, Film: Gael Poisson-Lemay
Founder: Guy Laliberté
Chief Creative Officer and Creative Guide: Jean-François Bouchard
Director of Creation: Neilson Vignola
Set and Props Designer: Carl Fillion
Costume and Make Up Designer: Kym Barrett
Music: Bob & Bill
Choreography: Tuan Le, Tan Loc
Puppet Designer: Patrick Martel
Acrobatic Performance Designer: Germain Guillemot
Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer: Pierre Masse
Stage Manager: France Godin
O
O, a play on the French word for water “eau,” takes place in a $70 million dollar theatre complete with a 1.5-million-gallon purpose-built swimming pool in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Featuring a cast of 85 people and 150 technicians, the production draws on a wide range of traditions, with inspiration from street theatre to grand opera. Described as Cirque du Soleil’s most successful production, O opened in 1998, and continues to be performed almost daily, twice a day, 20 years later.
European “culture TV channel” Arte filmed O in December 2017 and released it on television during its winter Magical World of Circus season.
Arte’s capture is astonishing. With a wide variety of camera angles and shots, the film successfully encapsulates the immense scale of the theatre without losing the incredible intricate detail of the costumes, faces, and beauty of the performances.
With such a grand stage, there is often more than one thing happening at once. The camera elegantly switches between close-ups, mid-shots, wide shots, and aerial views to give a full sense of the stage, whilst also providing a clear view of the main action.
The show itself is like an Esther Williams MGM water-based musical on crack. The water transforms from a pool to lake to watering hole, and to the ocean. Performers emerge from it, descend into it, and defy it. It is a whimsical world where an Elizabethan dress sits by a faceless screaming torso, carousel horses fly, and acrobats dressed as fluorescent amphibious creatures swim and contort beneath a suspended singing diva. Zebra-people and cortontionists walk on water, and a clown can sit reading a literally flaming newspaper.
O takes all your childhood rules for safety, don’t run around a pool’s edge, don’t play with fire, don’t swing from high levels, and continually breaks them in ever more exciting and visually resplendent ways.
Despite the strong use of audience participation in the show, the audience’s reactions are audibly muted throughout the capture. Unlike other filmed live productions where this is the case, the strength of the show and the deftness of the capture, the lack of live audience response does not take away from the on-screen audience’s enjoyment. In fact, I found myself clapping and cheering out loud because what I was seeing was just so incredible.
O is unofficially available to view on YouTube.
O Production Credits
Theatre: Bellagio Theatre, Las Vegas
Producer: Sébastien Ouimet, Cirque du Soleil Images, 2DF, 2DF Enterprises, Arte, Bell
Editors: Martin Julien, Nicolas Dupont
Guide and Founder: Guy Laliberté
Writer and Director: Franco Dragone
Director of Creation: Giles Ste-Croix
Set Design: Michel Créte
Costume Design: Dominique Lemiuex
Composer and Musical Director: Benoit Jutras
Choreography: Debra Brown
Lighting Design: Luc Lafortune
Sound Design: François Bergeron, Jonathan Deans
European “culture TV channel” Arte filmed O in December 2017 and released it on television during its winter Magical World of Circus season.
Arte’s capture is astonishing. With a wide variety of camera angles and shots, the film successfully encapsulates the immense scale of the theatre without losing the incredible intricate detail of the costumes, faces, and beauty of the performances.
With such a grand stage, there is often more than one thing happening at once. The camera elegantly switches between close-ups, mid-shots, wide shots, and aerial views to give a full sense of the stage, whilst also providing a clear view of the main action.
The show itself is like an Esther Williams MGM water-based musical on crack. The water transforms from a pool to lake to watering hole, and to the ocean. Performers emerge from it, descend into it, and defy it. It is a whimsical world where an Elizabethan dress sits by a faceless screaming torso, carousel horses fly, and acrobats dressed as fluorescent amphibious creatures swim and contort beneath a suspended singing diva. Zebra-people and cortontionists walk on water, and a clown can sit reading a literally flaming newspaper.
O takes all your childhood rules for safety, don’t run around a pool’s edge, don’t play with fire, don’t swing from high levels, and continually breaks them in ever more exciting and visually resplendent ways.
Despite the strong use of audience participation in the show, the audience’s reactions are audibly muted throughout the capture. Unlike other filmed live productions where this is the case, the strength of the show and the deftness of the capture, the lack of live audience response does not take away from the on-screen audience’s enjoyment. In fact, I found myself clapping and cheering out loud because what I was seeing was just so incredible.
O is unofficially available to view on YouTube.
O Production Credits
Theatre: Bellagio Theatre, Las Vegas
Producer: Sébastien Ouimet, Cirque du Soleil Images, 2DF, 2DF Enterprises, Arte, Bell
Editors: Martin Julien, Nicolas Dupont
Guide and Founder: Guy Laliberté
Writer and Director: Franco Dragone
Director of Creation: Giles Ste-Croix
Set Design: Michel Créte
Costume Design: Dominique Lemiuex
Composer and Musical Director: Benoit Jutras
Choreography: Debra Brown
Lighting Design: Luc Lafortune
Sound Design: François Bergeron, Jonathan Deans
Upcoming Filmed Live Cirque du Soleil
Launched in 2014, Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities is described as “an immersive adventure.” Fathom Events will host screenings of Kurios in cinemas across North America on November 13. Kurios is also available on region free DVD.
Sources
Articles
Websites
Articles
- Kim Campbell, “Magical World of Circus TV Series in Europe,” Circus Talk (Dec 29, 2017)
- James Careless, “Cirque’s Avatar-Inspired ‘Toruk’ Captured In 4K,” TV Technology (Sept 30, 2016)
- Hans Czerny, “Homage to the boundless magic of the theater,” Prisma (Dec 27, 2017)
- Daniel Lehman, “How Cirque du Soleil Made the Move from Stage to Screen,” Backstage (Dec 21, 2012)
- Jérémy Parayre, “Cirque du Soleil: "O" (Arte) - An aquatic show that adds up to the records,” Télé7 (Dec 27, 2017)
Websites
- Fathom Events, “Cirque du Soleil in Cinema Presents KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities,” Accessed via: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/cirque-du-soleil-in-cinema-kurios-cabinet-of-curiosities
- Richasi’s Le Grand Chapiteau, “Creations: TORUK - The First Flight,” Accessed via: http://www.richasi.com/Cirque/Toruk/index.html
- Richasi’s Le Grand Chaptieau, “Le Grand Tour,” Accessed via: https://www.richasi.com/Cirque/LeCirque/index.html