From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Love (Cirque du Soleil)
Love (Cirque du Soleil)
Love Official website
Love is a 2006 theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil
which combines the re-produced and re-imagined music
of The Beatles with an interpretive, circus-based artistic
and athletic stage performance. The show plays at a spe-
cially built theatre at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
A joint venture between Cirque and The Beatles’ Ap-
ple Corps Ltd, it is the first production that Apple Corps
Ltd. has partnered in. Love is written and directed by Do-
minic Champagne. Music directors are Sir George Martin,
producer of nearly all of The Beatles’ records, and his son,
Company Cirque du Soleil record producer Giles Martin. A soundtrack album of the
Genre Contemporary circus
show was released in November 2006.
On June 26, 2007, the surviving members of The Bea-
Show type Resident show tles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and the widows
Date of premiere June 30, 2006 of George Harrison (Olivia Harrison) and John Lennon
(Yoko Ono) appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live at The Mi-
Location The Mirage, Las Vegas rage.
Creative team
Director Dominic Champagne History
Artistic guide Gilles Ste-Croix The project arose from discussions in 2000[1] between
George Harrison and his friend Guy Laliberté, one of
Creation director Chantal Tremblay
Cirque’s founders. Three years of negotiations between
Theatre and set designer Jean Rabasse surviving members of The Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney
and Ringo Starr, The Beatles widows Olivia Harrison (rep-
Costume designer Philippe Guillotel
resenting George Harrison) and Yoko Ono (representing
Music by The Beatles John Lennon), The Beatles’ holding company Apple Corps
Remixed by Sir George Martin Ltd. and the MGM Mirage culminated in an agreement.
Giles Martin The first executive producer was Neil Aspinall, then-
manager of Apple Corps Ltd. Dominic Champagne shares
Lighting designer Yves Aucoin
the show concept creator credit with Gilles Ste-Croix (a
Sound designer Jonathan Deans founder of Cirque), who is also credited as the director
of creation. The creation director is Chantal Tremblay.
Choreographers Dave St-Pierre
Hansel Cereza Tickets went on sale April 19, 2006. Preview perfor-
Daniel Cola mances ran from June 2 to June 29. During these shows,
including June 16 and June 17 which were attended by
Makeup designer Nathalie Gagné
McCartney, changes were made nightly based on audi-
Projections designer Francis Laporte ence reaction, cutting or adding sections to add polish. In
attendance at the gala opening on June 30 were McCart-
Set, props and puppets Michael Curry
Patricia Ruel ney, Starr, Ono, Cynthia Lennon, Julian Lennon, Olivia
and Dhani Harrison, and Sir George Martin. It was the
Rigging designer Guy St-Amour biggest reunion of The Beatles’ ’family’ since the band’s
Company CEO Guy Laliberté breakup. At the end of the show, McCartney, Starr, Olivia,
Ono and Martin went on stage. McCartney requested the
Other information
crowd, "Just one special round of applause, for John and
Preceded by Delirium (2006) George!"
On June 26, 2007 everyone met for the one-year an-
Succeeded by Koozå (2007)
niversary of the show at The Mirage, where the Love show
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Love (Cirque du Soleil)
is staged. McCartney, Starr, Olivia and Ono were inter- The finale is a joyous celebration of The Beatles’ "re-
viewed by CNN’s Larry King shortly before the show be- union" that the show itself represents.
gan. The group unveiled a plaque at the Mirage Hotel in Love traces this path without relying on literal or his-
Las Vegas in memory of John Lennon and George Harri- torical representations of individual people. Its land-
son. scape is inhabited by fictional characters plucked from
Starting in late October 2010, Cirque du Soleil offered The Beatles’ lyrics. Sgt. Pepper, a central figure, encoun-
backstage tours of the Love theatre. The experience al- ters many familiar faces, including Lucy in the Sky,
lows visitors to see the backstage wings, training rooms, Eleanor Rigby, Lady Madonna and Mr. Kite. In an excep-
costume workshop, break area, and go up to a catwalk in- tion to this stylistic choice, the "Here Comes the Sun"
to the sound and lighting booths. Not every experience scene features a character resembling Krishna. Similarly,
will be the same, as the tour is conducted around a "reg- several scenes include mop-topped, dark-haired figures
ular day", so performers may or may not be training, re- in black suits. The international cast totals 65 perform-
hearsing, or even working out.[2][3] ers. Each song or medley is the name of a scene.
Set and technical information Characters
Love has a plethora of characters which are inspired by
the music of the Beatles.[5]
• : The host of Love.
• : An English woman.
• : A preacher from older times.
•
•
• : As a symbol of pride for the nation, she is often seen
in a large oval frame.
• : Evokes John Lennon’s mother.
•
• : Unites the cultures and sounds of the East and
West.
•
The Love stage moments before start of show; two of the scrims •
can be seen. • : Represents the aristocratic traditional values.
• : Represent the zeitgeist of Love.
Created by French designer Jean Rabasse, the Love the- •
ater at The Mirage houses 6,341 speakers and 2,013 seats •
set around a central stage. Each seat is fitted with three •
speakers,[4] including a pair in the headrest. The sound •
system was designed by Jonathan Deans. The stage in- •
cludes nine lifts and eight automated tracks and trolleys. •
Video images on two walls above the audience on two
sides of the auditorium emphasize elements of the show
and provide transitions. High-definition projectors also Acts
create enormous images (designed by Francis Laporte) The acts of Love evoke the spirit of the Beatles, from
on four translucent screens that can be unfurled to divide which they were inspired.[6]
the auditorium. A total of 28 projectors are used. • Korean rope
The Love theater, which replaced the Siegfried & Roy • Russian swing
theater at The Mirage, is said to have cost more than $100 • Rope contortion
million. • Bungee
• Trampoline
Storyline • Latex rope
• Skater
The loose story of the production traces The Beatles’ bi- • Spanish web
ography in broad strokes from The Blitz, through the • Free running
band’s founding and climb into superstardom, their psy-
chedelic and spiritual works and their break-up in 1970.
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Love (Cirque du Soleil)
Costumes [1] Wise, Thom (2006). Made with Love. Las Vegas
Magazine Volume 1, Number 18: 78-79.
Philippe Guilottel, Love’s costume designer, wanted to in- [2] "Love - Cirque Insider Access". Best of Vegas.
fuse the same spirit of the Beatles into the costumes for http://www.bestofvegas.com/Shows-Tickets/
Love. The different costumes reflect the decades from Cirque-Du-Soleil-Insider-Access-LOVE-Mirage/.
which the Beatles songs were popular. Many include jux- Retrieved 2011-04-22.
taposed elements, such as traditional and Victorian fash- [3] "Cirque: Backstage Pass". Las Vegas News Now.
ions being combined with colorful, imaginative designs. http://www.8newsnow.com/category/28259/
Many of the costumes are highly sophisticated and volu- 8-news-now-video?clipId=5507979&a. Retrieved
minous, almost as if taken from a cartoon. For example, 2011-04-22.
Savile Row tailoring traditions were utilized for the Sgt. [4] Cope, Matthew (2006). Love Story. M Lifestyle
Pepper Parade, turning the outfits inside out.[7] Volume 4, Issue 3: 40-42.
[5] "Love: Characters". Cirque du Soleil (Press Kit).
Music http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/press/kits/
shows/love/resources/characters.aspx. Retrieved
Unlike most other Cirque productions, which feature live 2011-02-14.
music, Love uses prerecorded material from The Beatles [6] "LOVE: Acts". Cirque Tribune.
catalog. Many of the original Abbey Road Studios record- http://www.cirquetribune.com/database/
ing session tapes have been reorchestrated and inspired show.php?show=LOVE. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
Love’s dance, acrobatics, as well as visual and theatrical [7] Clément, Ronald (2009) (in CN, EN, FR, JP). Cirque du
effects. Love samples 130 songs to create 26 musical Soleil 25 Years of Costumes. Canada: Dépôt légal,
pieces. The songs are mixed so that the lyrics and instru- Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. pp. 96–101.
mentation from one song blend into the next. One mu- ISBN 978-2-9803493-4-8.
sical highlight of the show is a new version of "While [8] "Love unveils new angle on Beatles". BBC.
My Guitar Gently Weeps", which matches the first studio 2006-11-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
demo of the song with a string arrangement written for entertainment/6159426.stm. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
Love by Sir George Martin.[8] A commercial soundtrack of [9] "Pre-Order ’All Together Now DVD’". Apple Corps
the show was released in November 2006. Ltd. http://beatles.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/
Further information: Love (The Beatles album) and WebObjects/fanfire.woa/wa/
Cirque du Soleil discography product?sourceCode=BEAWEB&sku=BEA43388.
Retrieved 2008-07-19.
Filmography
A documentary on the making of Love titled All Together External links
Now was released on October 20, 2008.[9] • Official website
• It’s big-top Beatles, by George
References • Beatles’ extravaganza is a magical mystery tour
you’ll never forget (Daily Mail Review)
Coordinates: 36°07′16″N 115°10′31″W / 36.12111°N • Something in the Way You Remix, NPR Interview
115.17528°W / 36.12111; -115.17528 with Giles Martin
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Love_(Cirque_du_Soleil)&oldid=466067999"
Categories:
• Cirque du Soleil
• Tributes to The Beatles
• Production shows in the Las Vegas metropolitan area
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