It is Thursday, September 2, and I am happily celebrating the birthday of Guy Laliberté who, along with Gilles Ste-Croix, co-founded the breath-taking Cirque du Soleil.
The name 'Cirque du Soleil' ("circus of the sun"), which Laliberté came
up with while he was in Hawaii, reflects his notion that "the sun stands
for energy and youth" and that the circus is about those two words.
I had the fantastic fortune to see the show the first time it came to San Francisco thirty-four years ago in 1987. It was not the grand, hi-tech spectacle it has become. It was in the mode of the simple and small European circus traveling shows with only stiltwalkers, cyclists, fire-eaters, trapeze artists, acrobats, jugglers and, of course, clowns. I told photographer Phillip Hofstetter about the show and he captured some brilliant images of a time gone but never to be forgotten.
Cirque du Soleil - 1987
photo by Phillip Hofstetter
After seeing Cirque du Soleil I immediately had to run out and buy the album which I have enjoyed for many years and is on my Desert Island list (link below). Although there are synthesizers, acoustic instruments including great sax and flute playing by Claude Vendette (not credited on album), were used as well for a stunningly beautiful blending of sounds by composer René Dupéré.
photo of album cover by Styrous®
The acts were incredible, a robotic clown with an armpit tickler that is a scream, aerialists doing impossible things, cyclists doing even more impossible things and there was a riotous rendition of the 1812 Oveture (Denis Lacombe's "Mad Conductor"); just that alone was worth seeing. The complete show (Réinventé) is on YouTube (link below).
Design, Artwork by Thérèse Mondor
photo of album cover by Styrous®
The company's 1987 show, titled Le Cirque Réinventé (link below),
presented a simple tale of normal people accidentally stumbling
into a magic circus where each of them is transformed into a performer
or acrobat. The show featured returning characters like the Michel Barrette "Chef du Piste" from Le Grand Tour and La Magie Continue, Denis Lacombe's "Mad Conductor" from Le Grand Tour and La Magie Continue, Wayne Hronek's "Benny le Grand" from Le Grand Tour, and Gerardo Avila's "Catitan Cactus" from Le Grand Tour, along with new characters like "Panchito T. Morales" and Balthazar, who would later be in Fascination, the 1997-1998 tour of Alegría and La Nouba.
In 1989 Cirque du Soleil won an Emmy award for Outstnading Special Events.
Design, Artwork by Thérèse Mondor
album photo by François Rivard
photo of album cover by Styrous®
In 1987, after Laliberté re-privatized Cirque du Soleil, it was
invited to perform at the Los Angeles Arts Festival; participation in the festival
turned out to be a huge success, both critically and financially, and
the show would go on to tour North America and England for over three
years before ending its run in Paris in December 1990.
Design, Artwork by Thérèse Mondor
album photo by François Rivard
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Guy Laliberté was born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada in 1959. He is a billionaire businessman, and poker player. Before founding the company, he had busked, performing as an accordion player, stiltwalker and fire-eater.
When Laliberté was a kid his parents took him to watch the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, an experience which led him to read the biography of P. T. Barnum. While he was still in school, he produced several performing arts events. After school, he entered the world of street performance, playing the harmonica and accordion on the streets of Quebec.
Laliberté joined a performing troupe called Les Échassiers, which
included fire-breathers, jugglers, and acrobats who hitched around the
country from show to show. He later returned to Quebec, where he
attempted to keep a steady full-time job at a hydroelectric dam.
However, soon after his employment began, the company's employees went
on strike. Laliberté took the opportunity to return to his life as a street performer.
Cirque du Soleil - 1987
advertisement card
Laliberté co-founded Quebec's first internationally renowned circus with Gilles Ste-Croix
and a small group of colleagues. He recognized and cultivated the
talents of the buskers from the Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul and
created Cirque du Soleil in 1984 with the support of a government grant
for the celebration of the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Canada. Cirque du Soleil was originally set up as a one-year project.
In
2016 the 43-year-old son of Ste-Croix, technician Olivier Rochette,
died in what police called an "industrial accident" when he was struck
by a telescopic lift in San Francisco while he had been setting up for a
performance of Luzia.
photo of labels by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Ouverture - 1:45
A2 - Personnages - 3:12
A3 - Chaise Musicale / Musical Chairs - 4:21
A4 - Bicycles - 4:00
A5 - Masha - 5:12
Side 1:
B1 - Les Pingouins / The Penguin Step - 4:20
B2 - Tango - 5:52
B3 - Trapeze - 6:02
B4 - Charivari - 4:01
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Les Musiques Méandres Inc.
Copyright © – Les Musiques Méandres Inc.
Recorded At – Studio Victor
Mixed At – Studio Victor
Produced For – Nâga Productions
Distributed By – Distribution Select
Credits:
Arranged By – Benoit Jutras (tracks: A1), René Dupéré (tracks: All except A1)
Bass – Yoland Houle
Composed By – René Dupéré
Design, Artwork – Thérèse Mondor
Drums, Programmed By – Yvan Payeur
Electric Guitar – Luc Lanthier
Executive-Producer – Normand Latourelle
Illustration – Michel-Thomas Poulin
Keyboards – Benoit Jutras, Claude Castonguay
Keyboards, Alto Saxophone, Programmed By – Gérard Cyr
Keyboards, Programmed By – Stephen Poulin
Other [Alto] – Jocelyne Bastien
Photography By – François Rivard
Producer – Gérard Cyr, René Dupéré
Recorded By [Assistant], Mixed By [Assistant] – Le Ben
Recorded By, Mixed By – Gaétan Pilon
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Claude Vendette
Trumpet – Denny Christianson
Violin – Marc Bélanger
Violoncello – Jocelyne Leduc
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Rights Society: CAPAC
Rights Society: ASCAP
Cirque Du Soleil – Cirque Du Soleil
Label: Nâga Productions – CS 1187
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Canada
Released: 1987
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack
Label: Nâga Productions – CS 1187
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Canada
Released: 1987
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
Blue Ocean ~ Cirque du Soleil
Culture Trip ~ The Circus That Took Over The World
Emmy Awards ~ Outstanding Special Events - 1989
Fandom ~ Cirque du Soleil!
NY Times ~ Cirque du Soleil articles
YouTube link:
Thanks for the images I will always treasure, Phil.
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