By JEFFREY KACZMARCZYK
Published December 22, 2011
GRAND RAPIDS – Ponder a few of your favorite things about Christmas.
We think a lot about twinkling lights on evergreen trees with presents all around.
Partridges in pear trees, donning our gay apparel and babes sleeping in heavenly peace fill our thoughts.
Christmas not only is the most wonderful time of the year, it's the most visual time of year, too.
So just go with it, says the Grand Rapids Symphony.
Cirque de la Symphonie, the extraordinary troupe of aerial artists, jugglers, contortionists and more, returned Wednesday to DeVos Performance Hall for the third time in three years and the second time with its seasonal "Cirque de Noel" show. Two more shows come tonight and Friday.
What Ravel and Tchaikovsky do for the ear, Cirque de la Symphonie does for the eye with lingering routines in the air and inexplicable feats of strength on the ground.
Music director David Lockington led the orchestra in an exciting performance of tuneful, toe-tapping, occasionally hair-raising music, plenty from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" Ballet.
The orchestra was a cinematic spectacle by itself with such music as highlights from the film, "The Polar Express," the original book written and illustrated by Grand Rapids' own Chris Van Allsburg.
A fair bit of of "Cirque de Noel" is a repeat performance. I've seen strongmen Jarek & Darek do the same routine three times now. First-time viewers gasp to see Jarek do a one-armed handstand on the Darek's head, then watch Darek pull himself up to a standing position with Jarek still poised there. Repeat guests are no less impressed, but they know what's coming and when.
But plenty is new, too.
Rope acts usually are the province of women. Newcomer Sagiv Ben Binyamin gave a masculine performance, flicking the ends of the rope like bolts of lightning to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."
He joined Aloysia Gavre for a swinging dance routine to Duke Ellington's "The Nutcracker Suite" that had Gavre, the girl, executing a reverse push up and Binyamin, the guy, doing a handstand on her hips. Nothing you're ever going to see from Lacey Schwimmer and Chaz Bono, or anyone else, on "Dancing with the Stars."
Nicolas Kuperus, a home schooled eighth-grader and member of the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, gave a superlative performance as treble soloist in Howard Blake's "Walking in the Air" from "The Snowman" to accompany Christine Van Loo on silks. Her aerial athleticism was remarkable with the ethereal character of the music.
By ROBERT COLEMAN
Published December 16, 2011
Rousing bands that used to accompany daring trapeze artists and other acts during the days of traveling “big-top” circuses are almost a thing of the past. This weekend Utah Symphony audiences witnessed the circus band’s new incarnation with the return of “Cirque de la Symphonie,” an elegant cadre of aerialists, contortionists, strongmen and acrobats accompanied by the symphony in Abravanel Hall. This year’s performance was a holiday celebration, featuring some of the season’s musical favorites while aerialists flew over the stage with a danger factor that increased exponentially throughout the evening.
The symphony’s dashing new assistant conductor Vladimir Kulenovic presided over the festivities with expressive baton technique and articulate banter. It became very clear that the orchestra provided more than background music for the cirque performers. Their music gave depth and immediacy to the performance with the same energy and technical precision that they muster for a Classical Series concert.
After Leroy Anderson’s rousing opener, “A Christmas Festival,” Vladimir Tsarkov amazed by juggling rings then was joined by his wife, Elena, a quick-change artist, in one of the many “how did they do that?” moments.
Symphony principals Kathryn Eberle, violin, Lisa Byrnes, flute, Tad Calcara, clarinet, and Louise Vickerman, harp, soloed impressively at the beginning of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol,” while Aloysia Grave defied gravity on the aerial hoop.
But the evening’s most gasp-inspiring moments came at the end with bronzed strongmen Jarek & Darek and Alexander Streltsov and Christine Van Loo’s aerial duet, soaring high above the audience and the orchestra.
By JANE COYNE
Published December 10, 2011
Strathmore audiences were in awe Thursday night as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of guest conductor Bob Bernhardt, presented Holiday Cirque de la Symphonie. From beginning to end, it was a wonderful concert, filled with favorite holiday music and simply stunning performances by a whole host of world class aerialists, acrobats, jugglers, dancers and contortionists. Setting a celebratory mood for the night, the orchestra opened with Leroy Anderson’s ever-popular medley, “A Christmas Festival”, followed by “O Holy Night,” which featured confident and poised boy soprano Davis Stack, a sixth grader from Baltimore, and a beautiful aerial performance by Christine Van Loo.
Next up came “Sugar Rum Cherry” and “Toot Toot, Tootie Toot” from Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite. Ellington’s fun and jazzy music served as a perfect platform for Aloysia Gavre and Sagiv Ben Binyamin, whose amazing acrobatic feats included Binyamin performing a handstand while balancing on the arched stomach of Gavre who, incredibly, was in a full backbend position.
The evening featured one artist after the next, all world level talents, performing beautiful and difficult routines that incorporated every form of dance, contortion, gymnastics, and aerial art imaginable, all performed to Christmas and Chanukah themed music from the refreshingly versatile and adventurous musicians of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. From the gorgeous strains of Rimsky-Korsekov’s Capriccio Espangnol to the always favorite ballet themes of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, to the ingeniously jazz infused Nutcracker Suite, composed by the one and only Duke Ellington, to the cinematic inspired music of The Polar Express, to Wagner’s opera Die Walkure, this orchestra plays it all, and always with enthusiasm that is at all times genuine, visible, and contagious. Neither the Holiday Cirque de la Symphonie artists nor the audience could possibly ask for more.
It would be a difficult challenge to pick a favorite from the Cirque de la Symphonie artists who performed last night. Very much at the top of their game, their talent seems to know no bounds. Lending a comic twist, Vladimir Tsarkov, dressed as a clown and in mime face, juggled five rings to the tune of “Sleigh Ride”. He was followed by Elena Tsarkova, a contortionist whose strength, beautifully toned body, and graceful flexibility kept the audience enthralled as she performed to “Skater’s Waltz”. Irina Burdetsky, a pint sized bundle of talent and personality had hoops twirling from every part of her being, as she performed to the Chanuka Suite. Aerial artist Sagiv Ben Binyamin’s grace, strength and agility was magnificent in “The Ride of the Valkyries”, as he performed on ropes and beautifully flowing scarves suspended four stories high from the ceiling of Strathmore’s equally magnificent performance hall.
Perhaps the most powerful highlight of the show, as clearly evidenced by the wildly cheering packed house of Strathmore, came during the second-act performance of “Little Drummer Boy,” which featured Polish national hand-balancing champions Jarek and Darek, a talented duo whose performances include Cirque du Soleil, NBA halftime entertainment shows, and many more. With shaved heads, bronzed bodies, and incredible talent, they simply defy the limits of human ability as one performs a handstand on the head of the other who is balanced on one foot alone.
The evening concluded with an audience friendly sing-along medley of popular Christmas carols, led by a gracious and encouraging Bob Bernhardt, principal pops conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, who like the orchestra seemed genuinely pleased to be spending a wonderful evening of fun celebrating the holiday season in the company of the many talented artists and musicians on stage and the full house audience who came to see them. With the happy and pleased audience clapped and waved, a curtain call brought the entire Cirque cast to the stage as the Baltimore Symphony performed “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.
This show presents a perfect opportunity to share a wonderful holiday experience with family and friends of all ages. Wrapping paper is not required, and the memory of this superb concert will last longer than anything one can package in a box.
By TIM SMITH
Published December 11, 2011
Having watched box office numbers decline after several years of its Holiday Spectacular (a product that originated at the Indianapolis Symphony), the BSO tried out Cirque de la Symphony this season. I caught up with it over the weekend.
There's obviously great box office appeal to the cirque idiom; turnout was strong, crowd reaction vociferously enthusiastic.
The folks of Cirque de la Symphonie clearly know how to make it all work in a concert hall setting. It's a smooth operation all around.
The ensemble has some top-notch talent, especially the hand-balancing masters Jarek and Darek. They stole the show with some amazing, strikingly choreographed feats during one of the coolest musical items on the program -- a fusion of "Little Drummer Boy" on top of Ravel's "Bolero," reconfigured into 4/4 time (this was the only time I didn't gag instantly at the sound of "Little Drummer Boy").
Alexander Streltsov and Christine Van Loo did some terrific aerial work to the familiar "Waltz of the Flowers" from "Nutcracker." Acts with hoola hoops, cubes and other props held rewards.
And juggler/mime Vladimir Tsarkov succeeded in providing some charming comic relief, as well as neat tricks.
As for the musical end of things, the orchestra, led by the amiable Bob Bernhardt, sounded crisp and colorful throughout. It was especially nice to hear the ensemble on its own in such well-crafted chestnuts as Leroy Anderson's "Christmas Festival" and Carmen Dragon's Straussian arrangement of "Deck the Halls."
By VIVIAN FULOP-SHLESINGER
Published October 31, 2011
A lot of excitement in the air, kids in costumes and happy faces was the turnout of a special kind of concert produced by the Symphony of the Americas and presented at the Broward Center for the performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, this past Sunday October 30th.
A full house enjoyed the wonderful matinee performance of the Symphony of the Americas musical program enhanced by the magic of Cirque de la Symphonie.
This original combination serves as a medium to introduce young audiences to the music concert hall. The Orchestra played enthusiastically, led by maestro James Brooks Bruccese. The selected musical pieces were chosen expressly for Halloween and the glittering and exciting cirque acrobatics and aerials show.
The program included popular music selections such as: Overture to the Phantom of the Opera by Lloyd Weber, Harry's Wondrous World from Harry Potter by John Williams, Danse Boheme from Carmen by Bizet, Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky, Danse des petites from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas, Valse from Masquerade by Khachaturian, Valse from Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky, Sabre Dance by Khachaturian, Thunder and Lightning Polka by Strauss and more.
Cirque de la Symphonie could become a tradition for Halloween among music lovers and followers of the Symphony of the Americas.
The aerial, acrobatics, and juggling acts are performed by famous and outstanding cirque performers. When the artists of Cirque de la Symphonie perform in front of a full Orchestra, an incredible fusion of these two great art forms take place, turning the concert into a three dimensional entertainment extravaganza.
The show will repeat Tuesday November 1st at 8 PM. Do not miss this entertaining and beautiful program that merges good music with the fun of cirque.
Cirque de la Symphonie will offer two special educational performances for schools of Broward County in morning performances at the Au Rene Theater.
Bravo for Symphony of the Americas original programs, and see you at the concert!
By ELISA GENTRY
Published October 4, 2011
When I opened the doors to the Ruby Diamond Auditorium, I expected to see people quietly in line for tickets, and others chatting peacefully in the lobby before the show. However, what I actually saw was out of the ordinary, because the Cirque de la Symphonie show was anything but average.
In the lobby were clown balloons, face painters and a violin duo playing exciting, bouncy music. Children were running around with soft blue cotton candy, faces painted like clowns and the adults were chomping on popcorn; these sights alone were enough to create the feeling of a small, eloquent circus.
Inside the hall, when conductor and music director Miriam Burns graced in stage in, appropriately, a gold-sequined jacket—she took one look at the audience, smiled and said "Welcome to the circus." And a circus it was.
The Orchestra began their first piece, Berlioz's Roman Carnival. The music, from the first piece to the last, was flawless. Each selection was meant to capture a certain mood, whether it was whimsical or severe, innocent or ominous, and the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra did it beautifully; had the cirque artists not been present, the show would have still been incredible from the Orchestra alone. During the second song, the first cirque performer made his appearance: Vladimir Tsarkov, the clown who proved to be the favorite of the children. Donned in a shimmering grey and red plaid clown's suit, he began juggling with three hoops–then four, then five, then six. He interacted with the audience, pulling laughs out of everyone, and was delightful to watch, especially as his juggling speed increased with the music.
Tsarkov's comical magic act later on during Tchaikovsky's Danse des cygnes from Swan Lake was also charming and especially pleasing to the younger audience.
However, it was not until Khachaturian's Valse that Elena Tsarkova appeared and a sense of grace fell over the stage. Her performance was a genuine show-stopper: the "Lady in White" was akin to a silver swan as she did hand-stands on spinning stools, contorting her body in seemingly impossible shapes. Her control and precision were breathtaking, and she did not disappoint with her second act of ribbon dancing during Dvorak's Slavonic Dance.
The grand finale for the cirque performers was set to a tune that the performers "insisted" on doing: Tchaikovsky's Valse from Swan Lake. The grand finale was quite possibly the best act yet; aerialists Alexander Streltsov and Christine Van Loo tip-toed onto the stage, dressed in white, and two long pink scarves flowed down between them. They took turns tying themselves up into the scarves at heights of 20-30 feet and flying around the stage in a blur of magenta and white; Van Loo hung at first by one hand as Streltsov spun her around from the ground, but then took things to another level by wrapping her legs in one scarf each and swinging while doing a mid-air upside-down split. As if that weren't impressive enough, Streltsov enhanced the musical climax of the Valse by hanging by an ankle and quite literally soaring around the stage, scarf billowing behind him like a cape and arms stretched out as if there were nothing holding him back. The sight was awe-inspiring.
What really made the entire show was how well the music was choreographed with the cirque performers. The two art forms, while independent, showed sensitivity to one another and worked as one; even though the cirque artists performed center-stage and acted as the soloists, they moved to the music and complimented it rather than overpowered it. The overall presentation was professional and entertaining, and certainly a show for the entire family.
By GEORGE F. DAY
Published October 5, 2011
CEDAR FALLS - Jason Weinberger, music director of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, is a remarkably creative man.
This was evident in the first concert of the orchestra's 2011-12 season, which took place Oct. 1 at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center.
Weinberger has given us unique programs before, but surely this one tops them all: the full orchestra playing a brilliant, fast-paced series of instrumental works as accompaniment to a troupe of artists skillfully performing ballet, juggling, hand-balancing and aerial maneuvers that were stunningly complex and beautiful.
The performers were members of Cirque de Symphonie, and they hail from such diverse places as Poland, Russia and Mongolia. All are masters of vivid expression through physical strength, movement and grace.
With the simplest of props (rope, hoops, spinning cube and long strips of silk fabric) they danced and performed acrobatic maneuvers that thrilled and stunned the audience. The large crowd frequently shouted their enthusiasm for this talented group.
The WCFSO contributed mightily to the evening's success by playing, under Weinberger's impeccable direction, magical and lively aural support to the visual feast at the front of the stage.
The music, by the way, was nicely familiar and included works from opera, ballet and film. The evening ended with a moving rendition of Bach's magisterial Toccata and Fugue in D minor. It is usually heard as an organ solo, but this was an exceptionally fine reading by the WCFSO.
As it has before, the Orchestra's motto -"Expect the Unexpected"- proved to be apt and true. Circus performers with full symphony orchestra! What a dazzling way to open the new musical season.
By DELANEY PALEN
Published October 3, 2011
Acrobats and aerialists graced the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center's stage during the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra's first performance of the season.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, which has been in the Cedar Falls area since 1929, started off their 2011-2012 season Saturday at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center.
Symphony members took the stage, filling the GBPAC with sounds of instruments and chatter as the audience entered the auditorium for "Cirque de la Symphonie," the symphony's first performance of the season.
The audience quickly fell silent as the symphony began to tune their instruments, guided by the concertmaster. Soon after, there was immediate applause for conductor Jason Weinberger as he took center stage.
Weinberger addressed the sponsors of the symphony's first event, thanking them, and then turned to his musicians and began to conduct. The musicians, in a sea of black dress attire sprinkled with multiple instruments, white sheets of music and small lamps and music stands, began to fill the auditorium with music.
As the first piece ended, a large, red piece of fabric was brought to the stage and attached to a piece of equipment from the ceiling. The added performances were about to begin, and first up was an aerialist. Audience members whispered words of astonishment to each other as the symphony continued to play while the acrobatic and aerialist acts continued at the front of the stage.
Many different acts took stage, each with different pieces of music for each act. Overall, seven performers worked with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony to create the first performance of the season.
After all pieces of music, acrobatic and aerialist feats were finished, the symphony and performers were applauded and a standing ovation was given for both the performers as well as the musicians.
By JAMES D. WATTS, JR.
Published September 26, 2011
Some things about the circus never get old.
It doesn't matter how many times you may have seen a certain type of circus act, be it someone juggling on the ground or soaring through the air. These feats can still bring a smile to one's face, even a thrill down the spine.
Cirque de la Symphonie is a company specializing in presenting cirque-style acts of strength, balance, agility, flexibility and a general disregard for the laws of gravity and physics in conjunction with symphony orchestras.
Their performers were the guests of the Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College for the orchestra's first concerts of its 33rd season. And before the show was over Friday night, artistic director Barry Epperley promised the capacity crowd at the VanTrease PACE that Cirque de la Symphonie would be back.
Epperley said that even when Vladimir Tsarkov, a mime, juggler, clown and magician, apparently made off with Epperley's wallet in the course of a magic trick. Tsarkov did the most in the evening, beginning with demonstrating a number of innovative ways of keeping first three, then four, then five, then six hoops in the air. He then assisted Elena Tsarkova in her series of quick-changes— gloves, then dresses that got increasingly lighter in color and longer in length.
Then came the magic act, where Epperley was coaxed into a large sack with a ropebound Tsarkova. After a few seconds, the sack was dropped — and Epperley's tuxedo coat was under all those ropes around Tsarkova. Tsarkova on her own performed a series of acrobatic moves and contortionist poses on a pair of tall stools.
Alexander Streltsov performed a kind of juggling act, spinning a large cube made of metal bars around the stage. He and fellow aerialist,Christine Van Loo, were featured in the show's finale, weaving themselves in two long red silks high about the stage.
Everything was done with understated grace, precision, even humor — as when one of Tsarkov's hoops got away from him, and he was able to make it a part of the act. And no matter how familiar the various acts were, they were still remarkable displays of human ability.
The soundtrack to all these goings-on was a good deal of Tchaikovsky, a bunch of Bizet and a sampling of Saint-Saens and Rossini.
In order to accommodate the cirque acts, the Signature Symphony was moved to the back of the stage. Epperley and guest conductor Pete Peterson, who divided the conducting duties for the night, had all the strings to one side, all the winds and brass to the other.
It wasn't until the final piece of the first half, the Bacchanale from "Samson et Delilah," that the orchestra's sound really came together. The medley from "Scheherazade" was maybe the best performance of the evening, with fine solo work by concertmaster Maureen O'Boyle, principal oboist Lisa Wagner and principal bassoonist Jim Fellows.
By JOHN CUTLER
Published September 17, 2011
The Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra season-opening concert Friday night at the Lied Center for Performing Arts was a circus.
"Cirque de la Symphonie" is a well-choreographed set of jugglers, aerial artists and skilled body movement acts joining with the symphony. Together, the orchestra and troupe entertained a sold-out crowd of 2,100.
The evening would be a challenge for musicians, too. They would need to keep concentration on the conductor and score, and ignore the fantastic acrobatics.
Also, the majority of pieces were familiar war-horses, which means the audience would know where the mistakes were. Players tackled the evening with confidence and the music was superb.
Rope climbers were spectacular. Climbing to near the top of the Lied Center stage, the acrobats created spectacular turns, twists up and down the rope and maneuvers while swinging in a large circle 15 feet above the stage.
Beautiful long sheets of white cloth draped Christine Van Loo as she worked her way up and down the fabric. With the cloth loosely tied around one leg, Van Loo extended her body horizontally and twirled the cloth with what seemed to be ultimate grace under a great deal of control.
Perhaps the closing acrobatic act was the most spectacular of the evening, choreographed to an orchestral version of the J.S. Bach "Toccata and Fugue in D minor," BWV 565.
Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski, former Polish national hand-balancing champions, exhibited Pilobolus-style acrobatic movements in slow motion to Bach's heroic music. A difficult maneuver found one performer using his head to balance the other, executing a one-hand handstand.
The closing act was a masterpiece both for orchestra and acrobats, and it brought the crowd to its feet in long, strong applause. There were no mistakes Friday night for anyone on stage.
By DOUG PULLEN
Published July 31, 2011
The El Paso Symphony Orchestra found an interesting way to kick off its 81st year - with people flying overhead, tossing pins and rings and even tying up its conductor.
That's the kind of spectacle you get when Georgia's Cirque de la Symphonie comes to town, in this case the first time the five-member troupe of European-style circus performers have come to town.
Their performance Thursday at the Plaza Theatre was both a hit with the orchestra, which had to be happy with a turnout of 1,300 despite some overly high ticket prices (the top price was $75), and the audience, a refreshing mix of EPSO faithful and new faces, many of whom, including obviously amused children, probably seldom, if ever, attend EPSO concerts.
The orchestra typically stages some kind of concert/fundraiser in August to warm up for the season ahead, this season being one of transition as the organization looks for a replacement for the departed maestra Sarah Ioannides. Eroica Trio headlined last year at the El Paso Museum of Art, San Antonio alt-country group Sisters Morales played a dinner-dance the year before at the El Paso Country Club.
This one beat them both and had a more populist bent to it, something groups like EPSO, El Paso Pro-Musica and El Paso Opera should do more of to cultivate new audiences.
This one amounted to a pops concert, with the orchestra as backup band playing familiar selections from the Bizet opera "Carmen," and Tchaikovsky ballets "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty," and Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre' illustrated by aerialists, a gymnast and a juggler.
It's a logical, if unusual match, the kind that got more than a few "oohs" and "aahs" out of the crowd and had more than a few in the audience pointing their cellphone cameras at the performers to capture some of their visual magic.
The first half of the program served to both introduce the concept, introduce the orchestra to the novices in the crowd, promote its conductor search (six different men each will conduct six different programs this season) and give the audience a taste of what was to come.
By TAMMY BESTER
Published July 31, 2011
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Cirque de la Symphonie paired up for an exhilarating evening at the Verizon Amphitheatre Saturday night. While they have worked together in the past, this was the first year that they performed together at the outdoor venue. Despite sprinkles of rain and threats of thunderstorms, the weather held and the show went on without a hitch.
The performance showcased the musical talents of the orchestra perfectly choreographed to the artistic movements of the cirque. Acrobats and dancers displayed balance and fluid movements on the ground as well as in the air while hanging on silk fabrics and large hoops. The strength and dexterity of the performers was demonstrated by juggling, spinning bigger than life cubes and even balancing each other one on top of another head to toe while standing on one foot.
The orchestra played a variety of music both contemporary and classical. After each piece, the conductor introduced the next and involved the audience in knowing what was coming up. Not a note was missed as this giant group of musicians perfectly played each song.
Verizon Amphitheater at Encore Park in Alpharetta was an ideal location for the event on Saturday. The outdoor venue has terraced levels and left not a bad seat in the house. Even the people in the lawn area felt as though they were able to see the performance onstage as well as by watching the giant screens to each side of the stage. The weather held steady and even offered an occasional breeze that cooled off the audience as the sun set.
The audience was varied and the performance was one that could be enjoyed by people of all ages. Children sat in parents laps and stood in awe during the show. Smaller children enjoyed the freedom of the open areas of the amphitheater to walk the aisles and even play tag in the lawn area during intermission. After each act, the audience cheered and clapped in amazement of the music and the movements from the stage.
The musical conductor said it perfectly when he said that the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra playing along with the Cirque de la Symphonie was "a treat for the ears and the eyes.".
By LEWIS WHITTINGTON
Published August 2, 2011
Cirque de La Symphonie is a troupe of aerialists, acrobats and tricksters who perform with classical orchestras. The name sounds like something out of Las Vegas, but Cirque appeals to a broad range of audiences, especially children who might otherwise be completely bored at a classic music concert. Cirque dazzled the Mann Center audience, where its greatest challenge was to avoid upstaging the Russian National Orchestra in its first Philadelphia appearance.
Conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov, cool in tails even on a very sultry night, opened with Shostakovich's Festive Overture, displaying a certain road tour brittleness. But the Russians locked in quickly during their next number: During Khachaturian's "Dance of Ayshe" (from the Gayne Suite) the musicians stole glances at aerialist Christine Van Loo, aloft on red fabric, twisting and releasing a series of contortions, split variations and spiral drops.
From there, this program became a musically muscled Russian repertoire, featuring familiar works composed by a lineup of the usual Russian suspects. Only a few lapses marred otherwise sterling musicianship. The clarity in the strings and one rebellious, sometimes livid brass and percussion corps were especially notable.
Flying without a net
Tatarnikov's accents on Borodin's Polovtsian Dances showcased the orchestra's clarion Russian musical character. Blasting past the sometimes cloying "Stranger in Paradise" section, the brass and percussion forged symphonic metal at a thrilling clip. In contrast, the orchestra demonstrated light and airy on confections like Kabelevsky's Comedian's Gallop.
During the aerial duet by Alexander Streltsov and Van Loo to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, the musicians rivaled the aerialists for vibrancy and theatricality. Streltsov and Van Loo demonstrated gorgeous chemistry in their aerial pas de deux, with Streltsov wowing the crowd as he launched into circular flight over the audience and musicians. All of the aerialists performed without a net or spotters.
Novel gimmicks
Even when some of the troupes' tricks— like the hoops— started to grow wearisome, the performer would devise some novel and mesmerizing execution. Elena Tsarkova, a kinetic contortionist, used two bedazzled swiveling stools that would have sent old guard apparatchiks into a tailspin back in Soviet days.
During a headstand sequence, she fluttered her legs à la the Dying Swan, and the audience went wild. The kids in the audience (that is, everybody) loved Vladimir Tsarkov, a mime and comic who juggled lit batons while dressed in a glittery harlequin ensemble.
Slow-motion musclemen
The evening's most surreal moment occurred in the finale, when two strapping figures, Dariusz Wronski and Jaroslaw Marciniak, entered in gold body make-up and Grecian briefs, then executed a slow-motion gymnastic routine set to the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. The two musclemen used each other as apparatus— one incredible movement had one in a one-arm handstand on the other's head. This stunt was doubly impressive because the top body was splayed-out past any vertical balance; it was a purely a strength move, almost as if the orchestra's sonic power alone was keeping them serenely centered.
Could a visual attraction like Cirque de la Symphonie be the answer to the Philadelphia Orchestra's declining attendance figures? Funny you should ask. The Cirque performers will interact with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga this week.
By PETER DOBRIN
Published July 29, 2011
If you've ever had the urge to watch a woman twirl a large hoop around her tightly wrapped bun in time to Rimsky-Korsakov's "Dance of the Buffoons," Thursday night at the Mann Center was your chance.
Not that it will be your last. Cirque de la Symphonie, a jolly entertainment that pits the Russian National Orchestra against acrobats, a contortionist and one charmingly befuddled harlequin, is making the rounds. The concept isn't likely to leave us anytime soon. The Philadelphia Orchestra has two dates next week with Cirque de la Symphonie at its summer site in Saratoga Spring.
A Philadelphia take isn't likely to bring out Thursday's crowd of perfumed Russians and Ukrainians. You could locate the audience's Eastern Bloc when the ensemble, led by Mikhail Tatarnikov, played the "Gopak" from Khachaturian's Gayaneh. These listeners knew just what to do, breaking into spontaneous clapping — on the afterbeats.
Purists will worry. All the classical world is looking for a non-musical assist; as the one-ring circus was taking the Mann, the Philadelphia Orchestra was on stage in Saratoga Springs playing a movie soundtrack — Casablanca. There's a collective sense that, in this age of searching for synergy between classical and the Spectacle Other, we're on a slippery slope. The more alluring the visuals, the harder it is to engage deeply with the music.
But Cirque de la Symphonie is all right. And it's more than all right as long as no one thinks the experience carries the virtue of introducing classical music to the masses. My guess is these kinds of shows are final destination points for most listeners, as was the Philadelphia Orchestra's outing with Beatles tunes at the Mann a month ago. Cirque de la Symphonie is sensitive to balance. Mostly, there's one acrobat on stage, perhaps with some hoops, a swatch of fabric and a hook to take one aloft. The best moments explored a relationship between music and physical movement, a familiar marriage classical defenders should remember also occurs in something called ballet.
This is the summer the Philadelphia Orchestra has decided that it has better things to do than nine concerts at the Mann, and the Russian National Orchestra — augmented by 12 local musicians — hardly came across as a weak substitute. Under Tatarnikov, there was something matter- of-fact in interpretations of Borodin's Polovetsian Dances and the "Waltz" from Khachaturian's Masquerade — an edge in the brass, a general abandon that was at once exhilarating and an argument that perhaps Western orchestras have prettified this repertoire too far beyond its ethnic sources.
Sometimes the orchestra played alone, without acrobats. But what kind of physicality could match the last movement of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5? Two beefy men clad in nothing but bikinis and gold body paint, of course. Moving like molasses, Dariusz Wronski and Jaroslaw Marciniak writhed and interlocked limbs and torsos, using each other to achieve gravity-defying feats. It was more Leni Riefenstahl than Diane Arbus, but only just. When one perched upon the other, with nothing keeping him from disaster but hand upon bald head, you worried about previously unconsidered consequences of the Philadelphia humidity.
Triumphal they were, even if this was a strange idea for a finale. It seems doubtful that the episode could have been an entry point into the classical repertoire for anyone, though, just in case, I can strongly recommend the other movements of Shostakovich's symphony. As for the gold body paint, you're on your own.
By TOM ALVAREZ
Published June 13, 2011
The combination of aerialists soaring high above the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, performing choreography set to classical music, was irresistible. These daring artists, along with extraordinary acrobats, contortionists, dancers and jugglers, joined the ISO in a family-friendly Printing Partners Pops Series concert, “Cirque de la Symphonie,” Friday at Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis.
Conducted by master showman Jack Everly, the orchestra’s program included such popular works as Aram Khachaturian’s "Gayane" and "Masquerade Suite," Camille Saint- Saens' "Danse macabre" and the "Bacchanale" from "Samson and Delilah," and Georges Bizet's "Danse Boheme" and "Les Toreadors."
Also featured were Stephen Sonheim's "Comedy Tonight" from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and John Williams' "Across the Stars" from "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones," among others.
Performing the exquisite, breathtaking feats were Alexander Streltsov, aerialist and cube spinner; Aloysia Gavre, aerialist; Christine Van Loo, aerialist; Vladimir Tsarkov, juggler; Elena Tsarkova, gymnast; Irina Burdetsky, hoop performer; and strongmen Jarek and Darek.
Performing on the stage and sometimes directly above the orchestra, the agile cast of "Cirque de la Symphonie" dazzled the audience and often drew gasps as they soared, balanced and contorted, to the delight of all.
Following the orchestra, which opened the concert with Overture to "Colas Breugnon" by Dmitri Kabalevsky, aerialist Van Loo used silks tied to a hook and attached to an anchored cable to raise and lower herself above the stage. Moving like a ballet dancer, she used the silks to tie her in place as she created a variety of positions and formed graceful shapes in sync with “Gayane.”
Another aerialist, Gavre, made an impact as she performed to "Bacchanale" with a hoop, also tied to the same cable used by many of her fellow performers. Gavre caused some heart-stopping moments as she hung from the hoop using one hand, as well as bent knees, arms and feet, while suspended high above the stage.
Saving the best for last, the concert concluded with two stunning acts that best illustrated the discipline, focus and creativity required for the cirque performers to execute their complicated and difficult movement and make it look effortless.
Also manipulating the static silks to hoist himself high above the stage, aerialist Streltsov used the fabric to create wings as he performed to “Across the Stars.” Looking like a bird and later a butterfly, Streltsov glided majestically above the orchestra and a bit beyond the stage lip, in a breathtaking display of agility and incomparable beauty.
The most dramatic performance of the evening was that of strongmen Jarek and Darek at the end of the concert. Displaying uncanny power, strength and control, the two uber-muscular men, covered head to toe in gold makeup, used their hands, feet and heads to balance themselves on the most unlikely parts of each other’s torsos. Performing to Richard Strauss’ "Also sprach Zarathustra" and "The Pines of Rome," "Pines Near a Catacomb" and "The Pines of the Appian Way," by Ottorino Respighi, the two appeared like two classic sculptures moving in slow motion
By ELAINE SCHMIDT
Published April 30, 2011
One doesn't usually hear gasps, oohs and ahs from a symphony orchestra audience, but then one doesn't usually see a woman dangling by her feet from a hoop that swings high above the lip of the stage as an orchestra plays.
Both were the case at Friday evening's MSO Pops concert, which featured the acrobatic act known as Cirque de la Symphonie.
The troupe, which has performed with orchestras across the country (including the MSO in 2010) features jugglers, strong men, contortionists and aerial acts, all set to the performances by the local symphony orchestra.
Resident conductor Stuart Chafetz led the orchestra through 15 relatively short pieces, ranging from a selection from Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" to Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries."
Although the orchestra's performance was a key element in making the show work, the depth and details of the music were often upstaged by the fact of two acrobats using long, narrow lengths of fabric to perform a graceful, aerial pas de deux, or the sight of one strong man doing a one-armed handstand on the top of another man's skull.
The performers of Cirque de la Symphonie are spectacular performers. Their performances are synced beautifully to the music the orchestra plays, but they are more than window dressing for an evening of orchestral music.
The aerial acts are breathtaking, with performers working high above the stage without nets or wires. The tumbling, juggling and strong man acts, which take place on the stage in front of the orchestra, are equally gripping and polished.
The magic of each of their performances is that they make the seemingly impossible look effortless.
There ought to be an award of some sort offered to an orchestra that manages to make it through a performance without a musical train wreck while acrobats are swinging and dangling above and behind the conductor's podium. Not surprisingly, the orchestra's performance ranged from tight, polished playing to somewhat ragged section work and solos.
The orchestra played several selections without the Cirque performers, including Bernstein's "Candide" overture.
By MATTHEW KONKEL
Published April 30, 2011
A woman dangles from a pair of long red scarves 30 feet above the stage, the strength of her body the only factor keeping her airborne. A juggler keeps seven rings afloat with incredible precision. A man balances in a one-hand stand — atop another man’s head. They do it all to the music of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, on stage right behind (or beneath) them.
This was neither dream nor fantasy, but before-your-eyes reality Friday night, as eight Cirque de la Symphonie performers joined resident conductor Stuart Chafetz and the MSO Pops at Marcus Center Uihlein Hall in a successful symbiosis of fine art and fine circus talent. Repeat performances are set for 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 30. (No Sunday concert this weekend.)
The live soundtrack wasn’t circus music. The MSO played the masters — Bernstein, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, Bach and more — as Cirque acrobats, contortionists, strongmen and a juggler performed solo and in pairs. The production was simple; the astonishing feats, carefully choreographed and timed with the music, were enough. You might imagine an ache in your back as you watch a young contortionist shape her body in ways you thought could only be achieved with computer animation. Your mouth will gape when you see the rope climber curl into fetal position and drop to the stage in slow motion. Two aerial acts will leave you breathless. During a waltz from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, two aerialists suspended on twin sets of white scarves perform a stunning overhead ballet.
All the Cirque performers are of course in peak physical condition.
After a series of balanced swings in a hoop, a female aerialist sways– with seeming effortlessness –upside-down from the apparatus using only the strength of her ankles. A pair of balancing contortionists incited a standing ovation. Two young men, their upper bodies so rippled with muscle that they looked like bubble wrap, posed in one impossible position after another, as if they were as vaporous as the air around them. The crowning feat for them comes when they balance vertically neck to neck without assistance from their hands.
It wouldn’t have been the same with recorded music; the MSO held its own in the amazement department. Cirque will keep your eyes wide open; Chafetz and the MSO will do the same for your ears.
Published March 6, 2011
Circus and Symphony? No. Circus and Symphony!
For a fun thrilled evening, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center was turned into the magic of the circus Saturday complete with strongmen, aerialists, and other acts accompanied to familiar light classics masterfully performed by the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra.
Cirque de la Symphonie is a troupe of circus actors that has been fascinating concert goers in recent years. It is a wonderful blending of artistry and acrobatics, a synthesis of two great art forms with a long tradition.
Set to the music of Khachaturian, Bizet, Dvorak, Saint-Saens, and Shostakovich, artists of the cirque came alive on the stage.
The audience was first introduced to juggler Vladimir Tsarkov who performed in mime while dressed in a red harlequin costume. As expected, his facial expressions won over the crowd, all the while tossing rings and pins.
Equally exciting was "The Lady in White" whose balancing, twisting, and other gymnastic maneuvers brought gasps and applause from the audience.
Aerial acts included those on using the silks, and a rope, which kept those in attendance enraptured as one daring move after another took place.
Mixed in with these acts were orchestral performances of concert favorites. I used the term "light" classics, but for the musicians, these pieces are no "light" task to play as many notes, and most of them fast, abound.
It was interesting hearing a symphony orchestra replace the circus band of the Big Top.
Dvorak's Carnival Overture opened the program with its joyously festive strains. The orchestra was up for the task, and was carefully attentive to Maestro Brian Groner's gestures and nuances. The same was true for their next featured work, another piece by Dvorak, his Slavonic Dance in B-flat.
Other featured works for the orchestra were Chabrier's exciting Rhapsody from "España", Glinka's Overture from "Russian and Lyudmila" and Tchaikovsky's ever popular Valse from "Sleeping Beauty."
The highlight of the evening, however, was the Strong Men and their choreographed performance using the climactic final movement of Shostakovich's powerful Symphony No. 5.
Powerful is the operative word here. Costumed in gold paint and portraying themselves as sculptures, their compelling movements and displays of human strength held the audience captive as each display was more demanding than the one prior. Truly, this was a tour-de-force for both the artists and the musicians.
Let us hope that we see this troupe of performers in our town again.
Published February 21, 2011
Over 2,400 patrons were awed this past Sunday as the Eugene Symphony accompanied a number of dazzling acts in the production of Cirque de la Symphonie. The rich combination of aesthetic beauty interwoven with musical compositions held attendees in a trance for the few hours of the performance and probably for some time after. Usual symphony rules flew out the door as children and adults alike burst into applause with each of the performers many demonstrations of strength, grace, and artistry.
While the performance itself was nothing less than mesmerizing, the dynamic of the crowd provided interest and entertainment for anyone paying attention. As the crowds moved from the orchestra to the upper balcony, suits, ties and high heels were slowly replaced by jeans, collard shirts, and flat soled shoes. Seasoned veterans of the symphony might tell you that the sound resonates more fully in the higher seats, but ask most of the attendants and they will give you the simple truth that the seats are cheaper. Charlotte Smith, a 22 year old recent graduate of the University of Oregon bought the tickets for her and her boyfriend as a birthday present. When asked about the performance she gaped and said "Oh, I loved it." She made it clear that normally the two of them did not spend much money going out to dinner or getting drinks but that "it was worth it to see such an amazing demonstration...and I wanted to treat my boyfriend to something special."
Listening to the crowd file out after the show with nothing but praises, it seemed that Charlotte's general sentiments were echoed in their conversations. People recognize that even when money is a little tight, it really is worth it to pinch some pennies here and there to do something special by being immersed in a performance. Not just because it is entertaining or out of the ordinary, but because art is inspiring and on some level that we might not even recognize, art actually is good for us.
By SAMUEL BLACK
Published January 1, 2011
The New Year's Eve concert from the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra was truly an EVENT Friday night, celebrating the opening days of the new Amsoil Arena at the DECC. Music Director Markand Thakar was joined by Cirque de la Symphonie, with an ice skating troupe in addition to other amazing feats of balance and beauty.
After a racy Tchaikovsky opening, violinist Janice Martin came to the stage, let her silks fall to the floor, then climbed into a suspended bird cage with her violin deftly attached to her shoulder. While she performed a familiar vivacious "Czardas" (Monti), she performed an amazing gymnastic routine with the cage. She played upright, upside down and in full motion, never missing a beat. Martin came back later to sing "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic," which turned out to be the most beautiful performance of the evening. Ice dancers Denis Petukhov and Melissa Gregory were simply charismatic. They acted deeply in love, and allowed that emotion to reach out to all corners of the ice floor. Their concluding embrace was perfectly timed and all hearts were melted in spite of the ice.
From another angle, the most incredible act of the evening was Bruce Bilodeau and a seven-foot wheel with cross bars called a German wheel. On the stage, Bilodeau floated as one with the rotating wheel, never going off the edge, and always rolling from side to side. Inside the wheel, he even spun on one side, like a quarter slowing down, then righted the wheel without ever losing momentum. The orchestra played a Rossini "Tarantella," if anyone was listening.
As in a previous performance, strongmen Jarek and Darek left the crowd gasping in astonishment as they did absolutely impossible contortions on a small platform, while Jan Sibelius' "Finlandia" filled the air. Over and over the audience applauded each incredible muscular suspension. Such physical control is part of the mystical excitement of any Cirque performance.
Alexander Streltsov and Christine Van Loo climbed up and around floating silk streamers, flying around the front part of the arena in an amazing defiance of gravity. Rings were juggled, a delicate, large cube was set spinning on the ice, and a series of propellers were set into juggling suspension.
Local newscaster Barbara Reyelts was engaged to offer some gentle leadership for the DSSO performance of the Toreadors' March from Bizet's opera "Carmen."
All this made a very special mark in Duluth with a new arena in the mix. More than 5,000 people enjoyed food, drink, music, ice dancing and athletic amazement, and the DSSO brought 2010 to an eventful close. "Happy New Year" certainly was in the air from start to finish.
Published January 1, 2011
A sold out crowd at the new AMSOIL Arena in Duluth rang in the New Year with the sights and sounds of high flying acrobatics and classical music. The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and Cirque de la Symphonie performed together.
Figure skaters took to the ice...jugglers juggled to the music...and some performers even danced in the air.
Performers say the AMSOIL arena gave them more space than concert halls...where they traditionally hold shows.
"There's so many great acts in our stable we cannot use because of the space, so actually the ice arena allows us to really show our true potential," said Alexander Streltsov, the show's Technical Director and an aerialist.
The News Center's Barbara Reyelts was a guest conductor during the song "Prelude to Carmen."
Cirque de la Symphonie has shows across the US and Canada nearly every weekend.
By JEFFREY KACZMARCZYK
Published December 23, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS -- Christmas, with its tales of flying reindeer, nutcrackers coming to life and trains making fantastic journeys to the North Pole, is a season for wonder, surprises and enchantment.
Cirque acts also are about wonder and surprises, beginning with "how do they do that?" followed by surprise when performers then do something even more improbable.
As for enchantment, well-known, much loved holiday music is answer enough.
Cirque de la Symphonie, a company of aerial artists, gymnasts, jugglers and strongmen who debuted here last year, returned to DeVos Performance Hall with a new holiday show with music director David Lockington and the Grand Rapids Symphony.
Mostly, it was a new show. Much of it, even a second time around, was extraordinary. The audience of 1,730 ended the night with a standing ovation.
Juggler Vladimir Tsarkov, a Red Harlequin clown, who juggled hoops and batons, was a cut up from the moment he set foot on stage.
Aerial artist Christine Van Loo, who performs on silks, was beautifully in balance and full of surprises with falling unravels.
Contortionist Elena Tsarkova's mind-boggling ability to do a handstand and maneuver her legs as gracefully as the wings of a bird in flight to the music of Aram Khachaturian's "Valse" from his "Masquerade" was an amazing feat, topped only by her ability to do a handstand, lift her leg behind her and touch her forehead with her foot.
For strength times its square root, there was the sheer power of Jarek and Darek, the upper doing a one-handed headstand on his partner's head all while the lower rose from a sitting position to a standing position that had the audience gasping to a clever remake of Ravel's Bolero only with the melody of "Little Drummer Boy."
The night's big finish, indeed was a big finish, with Alexander Streltsov and Van Loo performing on silks to the "Waltz of the Flowers" from "Nutcracker," an aerial pas de deux of grace and beauty.
The entirely new twist was aerialist, violinist and singer Janice Martin, who did all three on stage, usually two at a time. Martin was at her best playing the solo passages from Vivaldi's "Winter" movement of "The Four Seasons," while high above the stage, spinning on a ring, hanging upside down from her feet, an effort was made possible with a short bow and a cutaway electric violin strapped to her left arm.
Aloysia Gavre's virtuoso performance on a single ring, whether spinning at high velocity or hanging only from the tops of her feet, was one of supreme competency matched well with Lockington leading the orchestra in portions of Rimsky-Korsakov's equally virtuosic "Capriccio espagnol" featuring solos by concertmaster Jamie Crawford and flutist Christopher Kantner.
In fact, the show was solid with tough musical scores, skillfully played by the Grand Rapids Symphony, among them a "Troika" from Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije" Suite, which is nothing you just toss off.
What mattered is the orchestra didn't merely phone in the performance. Even without Cirque de la Symphonie, the musical portion alone was well worth the price of admission.
Taken together, Cirque de la Symphonie's show is a real treat for the eye as well as the ear.
By GREGORY SULLIVAN ISAACS
Published August 22, 2010
FORT WORTH -- When the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra announced that it would present a concert called Cirque de la Symphonie, it was puzzlement. How were they going to have the high-flying acts on the stage of Bass Hall and with the orchestra sharing the space?
It all worked spectacularly.
The orchestra began with a frantic ride through Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Op. 92 with Ron Spigelman, principal pops conductor, doing the honors. In a regular concert, his reading would have been too fast, but it worked here to get everyone ready for the circus. After that, the orchestra played a selection of orchestral music that functioned as a ballet score for the choreography of the athletes.
There were two different acro-gymnasts, working on a pair of long scarves. They hook their legs and fly through the air. Christine Van Loo appears in the first act, all feminine grace.
In the second act, the more musical Alexander Streltsov did many of the same moves, but he brings a sensitive masculinity that makes everything different.
Elena Tsarkova did a balancing and contortionist act with nothing to hold her up but two stools. She is able to twist her body into the proverbial pretzel in the most graceful way. Irina Burdetsky twirls multiple hula hoops, from her toes to her ponytail, while doing a perky dance. Aloysia Gavre is another aerialist, who works on a hoop suspended high above the stage.
Vladimir Tsarkov is a triple threat: clown, mime and juggler. He acted as continuity, bringing out the various pieces of equipment and juggling six hoops in the air.
The finale was the jaw-dropping hand-balancing act of Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski, former Polish national hand-balancing champions. To the pounding strains of Ravel's Bolero, they moved in slow motion into one astounding pose after another. They started out with one of them doing a single handstand on the other's head just as a warm-up.
As they all came out for a final bow, the audience gave everyone a well-deserved standing ovation.
Published October 24-November 2, 2010
"Soaring Beauty"
By VICKI MCKAIN
The Austin Symphony in collaboration with an international group of performers captivated the audience with an evening of enchanting beauty for the eyes and ears.The orchestra led by the engaging Peter Bay(who also participated in a magic trick)was splendid.The various performances harmonized with the classic pieces as well as a few modern works(Harry Potter).The performers were riveting. Alexander Streltsov was especially stunning when wrapped in white silk soared over the audience like a dove. Christine Van Loo was equally as elegant in her silk and rope aerial performances.These two along with others required grace and strength.The last two men, bald and painted gold, performed a slow motion balance and contortion act of amazing strength.Some humor was provided by a harlequin mime and his feats of juggling.The children and adults around me were fascinated and cheered throughout the show.Hopefully,this troupe will be invited back to perform with the symphony-a show not to be missed.
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"Cirque! Cirque! Symphonie! Symphonie!"
By PRESTON KIRK
I always wanted to run away and join the circus. (The symphony? Not so much.) I typically thought symphony halls were good places to mellow, to chill-out. But marry the two entities — eye-popping aerialists and about 80 dedicated, talented musicians — and, well, I'm packing a bag!
The Saturday night audience seemed to be an eclectic mix of classic music enthusiasts and fans of sawdust, sideshows and cotton candy. But we all were enthralled by the mime-juggler, the cube spinner, the hand balancers, acrobats, hoop, rope and static silks performers. We were kids again in a grown-up atmosphere!
The orchestra, under Conductor Peter Bay's inimitable (and playful) baton, swept the audience and the onstage action along with suites, marches, dances, rhapsodies, overtures and movie themes that heightened further the riveting acts while delighting the ear. Works by Dvorak, Khachaturian, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Respighi/Rossini and Chabrier added to the excitement, the suspense and the thrills.
Alexander Streltsov, Aloysia Gavre, Vladimir Tsarkov, Chrstine Van Loo and Elena Tsarkova are not exactly household names, unless you are a diehard fan of champion circus celebs extraordinaire. But their feats were and are absolutely unforgettable. The dynamic balancing act of Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski, a Polish pair polished to a golden sheen (literally), captivated with their incredibly powerful balancing act. Ravel's "Bolero" built to its crescendo as the bald, nearly nude men performed jaw-dropping feats of strength.
Magnificent, sexy and breath-taking! Scary, awesome and totally entertaining. Even P.T. Barnum would've loved this show! Austinites can only hope that this program will be repeated or replicated here or nearby, sooner than later.
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"Spellbinding Treat for Ears and Eyes"
By RONDA DALE-KIRK
If you missed this Austin Pops concert, please find another opportunity to see this outstanding blend of aural and visual beauty. Seven incredibly athletic and graceful Cirque artists performed magical feats choreographed to select pieces of classical music and movie themes. The program included "Les Toreadors" from "Carmen," John Williams pieces from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and from "Star Wars: Episode II," and other majestic stirring compositions.
When the applause died down after the first aerial artist's magnificent performance, the almost sold-out audience was quietly awed with anticipation. A patron behind me said, "I'm starting my diet tomorrow." Each performance was spectacular and layered by admiring applause throughout. "How can they top themselves?" I kept asking myself. Then came the final act, two Polish athletes, former national hand-balancing champions. Their toned bodies, painted a soft gold from baldpate to muscled toe, they were like sculptured Adonises, slowly coming to life, moving from one unbelievable pose to the next.
The next ASO Pops concert is: "Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to the Beatles." Better buy tickets now or miss out on another stunning evening.
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"Spell-binding beauty and grace"
By MICHAEL ALAN FOSTER
As I sat spell-bound in The Long Center enjoying the symphony music under the able direction of Maestro Peter Bay and the soaring aerial works of talented and beautiful women and one gloriously attractive, skilled, and focused young man, this scripture suddenly came to my mind:I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14).The evening WAS wonderful.The display of talent,beauty and grace was awe-inspiring.I pondered the skill,training and dedication of ALL the artists on stage and the incredible sense of timing and grace required to present us with this two hours of magical, beautiful, joyous entertainment.Celebration was the mood for this moving performance by The Austin Symphony and seven world class artists. Alexander Streltsov was especially stunning as he soared above us on wings of white silk. When he/they return I am sure the house will be filled to capacity. I would give more stars if this system allowed!
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"Simply Stunning"
By RUBY SINCLAIR
This was my first experience going to the Austin Symphony and WOW what an experience! The beauty of the cirque performances were fantastic and I was equally impressed with the skill and elegance of the music performed by the orchestra! I will be back...no doubt about it!!
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"Great Show!!"
By ERIC G
What a great marriage of cirque elements and classical music!! Loved the entire performance. Was especially impressed with the talent of the musicians being able to keep perfect internal tempo during the Danse des Petits Cygnes while Peter Bay participated in the wonderful magic performance! Shows the true sign of a greatly talented ensemble of musicians!!
By RICH COPLEY
Published August 22, 2010
Movies are usually the way most audiences hear orchestral music these days. As the action swells to a climax, the percussion rumbles and the winds blare, or romance is born in the gentle embrace of the strings. Despite decades of electronics, nothing has emerged that quite replicates a real orchestra for underscoring powerful moments.
That is exactly what the Lexington Philharmonic did at this year's Picnic with the Pops performance Saturday night. The orchestra shared the stage with Cirque de la Symphonie, a troupe of international acrobatic artists who gather almost weekly to perform with symphony orchestras around the country. For his first Picnic with the Pops, Philharmonic music director Scott Terrell got Lexington in on the act, and the result was a summer blockbuster of sight and sound - easily the best Picnic with the Pops I have attended.
In addition to being Terrell's first Picnic, this was the first time in nearly three decades the event moved out of the Kentucky Horse Park, which could not host it this year due to preparations for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Keeneland was a more than splendid substitute. The field behind the Library and Entertainment Center formed a natural amphitheater with an open feel, easy parking and a westward orientation that let the more than 6,000 patrons watch the sunset as the show approached. Twilight giving way to night helped refocus attention from the party in the audience to the performance on the stage, even if some patrons could never find an end to their conversations and there was a steady slam of porta potty doors through the show.
The program was engaging enough that distractions fell away. Bringing in Cirque actually enhanced the musical heft of the concert. No pop songs and showtunes here. There were a few things some may classify as "light classics" such as Les Toreadors from Georges Bizet's Carmen Suite 1. But overall, this was a program filled with substantive orchestral music by composers such as Camille Saint-Saens, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Given the setting and size of the audience, the orchestra had to be amplified. The balance was good, and the orchestra sounded sharp and robust, even under the microscope of microphones.
With Cirque, the highest profile artists were the aerial acts, including Shana Lord on aerial silks and rope, Svetlana Ghetman performing on the ring and Alexander Streltsov giving a dramatic and dazzling silks performance to a selection of John Williams' Star Wars music. Performing to Saint-Saens Bacchanale from Samson et Delilah, Ghetman provided some of the evening's best drama, her grip on the ring seeming to grow more and more tenuous as the music intensified.
In the open amphitheater of Keeneland, particularly perched atop the hill, where I was sitting, it was presumable that the floor performers may have had more trouble translating all the way to the back. That was hardly the case as Cirque de la Symphonie performers play big, Vladimir Tsarkov juggling his bright rings perilously high and Streltsov's spinning cube making a huge impression. Video screens helped Irina Burdetsky's hula hoop performance and contortionist Elena Tsarkova dazzle the audience front to back. The grand finale, Jarek & Darek's strongmen act, may have been the best demonstration of finely tuned physique of the evening.
Unfortunately, for some of us, their performance to the fourth movement of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony was somewhat marred by audience members heading to the exits. Their wagons filled with picnic gear rattled behind them as they left, as if they were in the fourth quarter of a football game where the outcome had already been decided instead of at a concert where the best is traditionally saved until last. Their haste to beat the crowd marred the final touchdown of the evening for some of us. But by then, Terrell and his orchestra had already won the night.
It seems under his baton, we will have to take Picnic with the Pops seriously.
By TIMOTHY MANGAN
Published July 19, 2010
It's the silly season for classical music and it is likely that more people in Southern California heard a live classical concert this weekend than at any other time of the year. Up at the Hollywood Bowl, the venerable Los Angeles Philharmonic performed two nights of a "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony" program, playing soundtracks for Looney Tunes cartoons transmitted on giant screens.
Meanwhile, Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, the Pacific Symphony dug into a "Cirque de la Symphonie" agenda, serving as circus band for an amazing troupe of acrobats. The crowd was large and happy and ate it up, and rightly so.
Don't expect this critic to get all snobby. Just saying that maybe the music wasn't the main point of focus Saturday night, though it certainly added a certain classy something to the proceedings. But it wasn't exactly an evening for high brows.
The Georgia-based Cirque de la Symphonie is currently one of the busiest acts on the orchestral pops circuit. Members of the troupe perform feats of derring-do and legerdemain in front of and above live orchestras on stage. It looked dangerous on Saturday, but nothing untoward occurred. It looked impossible, too, but troupe members managed it. I kept thinking that I really need to do more sit-ups.
The various acrobatic routines are "choreographed" to, in this case, the light classics, but choreographed is probably too strong a word. It's more that they fit the music in a general aspect of mood and in various small points of timing. Cirque members work without a net and without safety harnesses. Every routine seen Saturday was a delight.
To the strains of John Williams' "Harry Potter" music, Christine Van Loo, an award-winning acrobatic gymnast (well, yeah), wrapped herself in aerial silks as if she were made of putty. She came back later and looked like she might kill herself on an aerial rope while the orchestra played Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre."
Aloysia Gavre, an alum of various circus schools, kicked it up a notch when she hung by her feet from an aerial hoop and swung out over the audience to the Bacchanale from Saint-Saens' "Samson and Delilah." Alexander Streltsov, a veteran cirque artist, twirled a three-dimensional cube niftily (to "Les Toreadors" from "Carmen") and added an elegant (though strenuous) routine on aerial silks himself (to some atmospheric music from "Attack of the Clones").
A delightful harlequin/mime, played by Vladimir Tsarkov, juggled various objects to different tunes, helped set up for the next routines, and generally gamboled about merrily. My 11-year-old guest enjoyed him the most.
Elena Tsarkova is apparently a boneless creature judging from her contortionist routine performed to the Waltz from Khachaturian's "Masquerade." Larissa Sherman twirled more hula hoops (including on the bun of her hair) than suggested by the owner's manual while the orchestra ran through Rimsky-Korsakov's "Danse des Bouffons."
The piece de resistance was a pair of strongmen, Darek and Jarek, bald, painted bronze, who muscled through a slow-motion routine of power, balance and contortion to a truncated version of "Bolero."
The Pacific Symphony's talented young assistant conductor, Maxim Eshkenazy, led the ensemble with a light touch and stylish taste. If "Danse Macabre" wasn't quite as wild as it could be, the Bacchanale was less cheesy than usual. On their own, Eshenazy and the orchestra provided a vibrant, rhythmically acute performance of Chabrier's "Espana" and lively, if hardly immaculate, accounts of Dvorak's "Carnival" Overture and Kabalevsky's Overture to "Colas Breugnon." Eshkenazy even gamely got involved in a magic act with the Tsarkovs at one point, as the orchestra carried on by itself with Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Reed Flutes."
The amplification was trebly, wiry in the strings, the tambourine a solo instrument, but I doubt many cared.
In short, a memorable, entertaining, easy-to-like evening that, if repeated, will surely draw them in again.
By MARK KANNY
Published April 23, 2010
The only question after Thursday evening's sold out Pittsburgh Symphony Pops presentation of "Cirque de la Symphonie" is: How soon will the musically adept circus act return to Heinz Hall?
Three performances remain this weekend but that won't be enough. They'll be sold-out, too, and many people won't be able to get tickets.
The audience was extremely enthusiastic. People often applauded during the routines, while the quick intake of breath of those sitting nearby provided quieter evidence that the show is a hit.
Although chief aerialist Alexander Streltsov views the circus element as a supplement to the orchestra, people were sitting on the edge of their chairs watching the exciting action.
Conductor Jack Everly and the orchestra were in top form. The musicians played with unfailing artistry and energy. That's great for the ears. But unlike most concerts at Heinz Hall which have nothing very exciting to see, this one was visually riveting.
The orchestra was pushed back toward the rear of the stage to create a 15-foot wide strip of stage for the acrobats, contortionists, strong men and other performers. That's a very narrow space with no safety netting.
The most exquisite and artistic moments were in Streltsov's solo to "Across the Stars" from "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones." He commanded the stage and the space over it, sometimes reaching 30 feet above the stage floor as he maneuvered on a pair of long white cloths held up by rigging. At all times, while walking on the stage and swinging out over seven rows of the audience, Streltsov conveyed concerned introspection.
Vladimir Tsarkov was dressed as a harlequin and was the master of tossing hoops. In one segment, he let hoops fall to the stage and played off their controlled rebound. He's a wonderful mime, too, and would probably be a great Petroushka.
Hula hoops were Irina Burdetsky's props. She kept them twirling with most every part of her body while doing contortions on the floor. At the end of the routine, she even picked up what looked to be at least 18 hula hoops and ran them at the same time.
The finale featured strong men Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariuz Wronski, who were painted in gold and looked like two Oscars who had left their pedestals. They performed slow-motion contortions and power lifts with great control, to imposing music.
Everly led the orchestra in several outstanding performances while the circus performers took a breather. Modest Mussorgsky's "A Night on Bald Mountain" was the best, a performance worthy of a subscription concert. But the "Colas Breugnon" Overture by Dmitri Kabalevky, which began the Pops concert, wasn't nearly fast enough.
Another purely musical highlight was the arrangement of "Comedy Tonight" from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" by Stephen Sondheim. Don Sebesky's score was a laugh riot, which included, among its improbable extras, the big bass trombone slide and a few measure more from Bela Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra."
That's entertainment, too.
By OLIVIA BEVAN
Published April 17, 2010
The Orpheum brimmed at capacity and the excitable chatter among old and young only added to the intrigue of what was billed as an evening of original talent, unique adaptations and professional choreography. This alone was exciting enough, but what I hadn't expected was to have to physically shut my jaw after several notable performances. Closer inspection revealed I wasn't the only one left so astounded.
The incredible reputation of the Cirque du Soleil (or "Cirque" as I've heard it said casually by those in the know) was evident by the large crowd drawn here tonight. But this wasn't your usual performance. Instead, Cirque de la Symphonie (a smaller group associated with the original Cirque) has developed truly amazing choreography and acrobat feats performed in perfect timing to such popular classical tunes such as Ravel's Bolero, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries and Khachaturian's Masquerade: Valse.
On stage we were watching the very best—be they musicians or members of Cirque. As aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers, and strongmen captivated the audience, it was obvious that the natural combination of these two arts forms provided new dimensions that only enhanced one another. At times the Symphony Orchestra held centre stage. At other times, they took a back seat. But neither would have felt quite tonight right without the other.
The selection of music was fittingly uplifting, spirited, boisterous and playful. It was about having fun and being adventurous. The tone of which was set from the very start with the much recognized Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Op. 92, followed by pieces including Bizet's Carmen Suite 2 and 1, Smetanta's Bartered Bride and Saint-Saens' Samson et Delilah: Danse Bacchanale.
During this first half we were left in awe by something as straight-forward as a man spinning a large metal cube frame (which is absolutely not as simple as it seems) and were mesmerized by a woman clad in white who performed as if physical bone structure was no object while she casually contorted her body in to mind-boggling positions. No circus is complete without a clown though and his ever-present antics kept us smiling whenever he appeared on stage (he even turned an impressive juggling trick or two of his own).
Following the intermission, more popular classics were heard including Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (to which the conductor was literally roped in to an on-stage performance) and Chabrier's Espana: Rhapsody for Orchestra.
Performers so far had danced, swept and swooped their way across the stage using materials such as hoops, ribbon or crimson cloth hung from the ceiling, but by far the best performance had been saved until last. To the tune of Ravel's Bolero, two acrobatic, bronzed (and scantily clad) strongmen climbed on to the box on centre stage to perform moves that left the audience audibly gasping. From one-handed handstands on top of the one another's head to balancing at almost impossible angles, their fluid control and perfect precision caused audience members to swoon with admiration. As they clambered down from their box the audience rushed to their feet with rapturous applause celebrating not just them (although they were incredible) but the entire selection of performers on stage who, in turn, humbly admired one another.
As we shuffled out of the theatre it seemed everyone tonight (even those on stage) left with a feeling of having been part of something really quite special. Sometimes magic does happen.
By THOMAS B. HARRISON
Published March 21, 2010
MOBILE, Ala. -- Now for something completely different ...
Scott Speck was equal parts conductor and ringmaster Saturday night as Mobile Symphony Orchestra pulled off a first: a performance of classical music for the aerialists, acrobats and contortionists of Cirque de la Symphonie, who demonstrated the artistry of the human body taken to extreme limits.
The sellout audience, minus a few no-shows, was treated to quite a spectacle, from the opening with Christine Van Loo on crimson aerial silks to the stunning second-half closer with strongmen Jarek and Darek upping the ante for anyone who thinks hand-stands and balancing acts are the stuff of sideshows.
Like the breathtaking Van Loo, the two men drew some of the loudest and most appreciative applause of the evening, and they more than earned it. That proved high praise from the symphony audience, which is accustomed to traditional music played in a traditional setting. But they were all smiles under the Saenger Big Top, and MSO supporters could not have been more pleased.
Cirque de la Symphonie was a break with tradition for most of the right reasons, and audience responses throughout the evening were spontaneous and sometimes breathless at the dazzling virtuosity of the Cirque artists.
Perhaps the loudest ovation of the night was reserved for Alexander Streltsov, who performed on white aerial silks to the sounds of John Williams' melancholy "Across the Stars" from one of the "Star Wars" films. Streltsov is a master, elevating himself by wrapping the fabric around his arms and soaring at alarming speed.
No one would have been the least surprised had he flown, sans silks, across the balcony and out through the roof.
In the first half of the program, Streltsov delivered an impressive routine with an enormous metal cube that he wielded as nimbly as he would a drum major's baton. You had to be there.
The first half closed with an aerial hoop number by Aloysia Gavre, who performed to Saint-Saens' "Bacchanale" from "Samson et Delila." By the end of her performance, during which Gavre swooped over the orchestra and startlingly close to Speck, everyone wondered whether the Maestro might be joining her on that hoop.
The orchestra will perform a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m. today. That show is a sellout, according to chief operating officer Greg Gordon, who said the nose-bleed seats were sold and the box office has been turning folks away. That is gratifying news indeed for the performing arts in our town.
Speck and the musicians earn high marks for remaining focused on the music, which was lovely. When the Cirque artists were not on stage (or in the air), the orchestra performed an eclectic program including Chabrier's "Espana," Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5, and another Williams piece, "Harry's Wondrous World" from .*.*. well, guess which mega-hit movie franchise.
If the conductor or his musicians were distracted by the goings-on — which included recurring appearances by Vladimir Tsarkov, a mime/juggler — it was not evident in their musicianship. Concertmaster Jenny Gregoire merits special praise for her marvelous violin work in the second half of the program.
The closing half showcased Van Loo on the aerial rope ("Danse Macabre," Op. 40 by Saint-Saens) and the Respighi/Rossini piece "Cancan" from "La boutique fantastique" featuring Tsarkov and his wife, contortionist Elena Tsarkova in a bit of magic mischief with Speck.
For the curtain call, the orchestra reprised "Les Toreadors" from Bizet's "Carmen," and the audience clapped along enthusiastically. Why, one would have thought that the European circus was in town.
By TIM SMITH
Published March 12, 2010
Admit it. The first time you heard about the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's "Under the Big Top" series of circus-theme concerts, your cynical muscles started clenching.
And when you spotted publicity photos of music director Marin Alsop in a ringmaster's get-up (what were they thinking over there?), you just knew the whole thing had to be too darn silly.
Well, relax and get over it. This project could turn out to be the sleeper hit — and hoot — of the season.
Thursday's concert, featuring the brilliant flying, juggling, contorting troupe called Cirque de la Symphonie, might have settled for mere gimmickry, from the smell of popcorn and sight of cotton candy in the lobby to the stage decked out with streaming fabrics behind the orchestra and bathed in show-biz lighting. But Alsop constructed too substantive of a program to be mistaken for a pops night out, and she made sure that the music registered with terrific impact, even when the cirque folk had the limelight.
It was cool to hear collective "oohs" and "ahs" rise from the crowd at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall — people really did get into the circus mood — and also to hear shouts of approval for such a gritty score as the Suite from Bartok's ballet "The Miraculous Mandarin." That piece was wisely delivered without any visual extras, but the rhythmic thrusts and melodic leaps in the music created their own kind of dazzle. Alsop was in her element here as she drew a taut, biting response from the orchestra.
The conductor led impressive accounts of three other vivid ballet scores — Copland's "Billy the Kid," Poulenc's "Les Biches" and Satie's "Parade" — that were expertly, inventively choreographed by Cirque de la Symphonie. Aerialists took complex and elegant flights into the rafters, occasionally out over the audience. During the Satie work, there was a startling demonstration of slow-motion, seemingly impossible hand- (and foot-) balancing by the duo of Jarek and Darek. Vladimir Tsarkov's colorful juggling was remarkably well-timed to the music.
All of these scores could have stood solidly on their own, of course. Poulenc's distinctive voice is delectably urbane and witty in "Les Biches," and Satie indulges in wonderfully audacious touches, including wacky additions to the percussion section. Copland's ballet seems as fresh as ever. Alsop was attentive to details large and small in each of the works, and the BSO's responded with vigor and clarity.
There's always a lot of talk about the need to break down barriers in classical music, to rethink concert the format and put a fresh spin on the experience. This imaginative concert actually did that, and with a panache that whets the appetite for what's next under the BSO's inviting tent.
The Cirque program repeats Friday and Sunday at Meyerhoff, Saturday at Strathmore.
By SCOTT PATTON
Published March 7, 2010
Comedian Patton Oswalt once said "Cirque ... is like catnip for old people!" Well, really, "cirque" is like catnip for a lot of people.
One glance over the sold out house of Shreveport Symphony's joint performance with traveling performance artists, Cirque de la Symphonie, revealed many, young and old alike.
One should be careful not to jump to the conclusion that adding acrobats, aerialists, jugglers and dancers to a bill of classical music (primarily from the opera and dance repertoires) is just a gimmick to fill seats. Though the seats were full, one could not help but recognize the power that good music lends to the moving human body and vice-versa.
In those carnival arts commonly found beneath big-top tents or Vegas glam shows — even on street corners of more bohemian towns than our own — we find a unique human achievement, a synthesis of art and athleticism that rarely ceases to amaze those of us who drone about the daily grind.
A juggler or clown (such as Vladimir Tsarkov), hurling five rings into the air, and flirting with his own enormous shadow on the wall, reminds us of something colorful long buried that may bubble up in a chuckle or tear. A graceful contortionist (such as Elena Tsarkova), twisting and bending her body while spinning on a bar stool, illuminates the human form in a way that seems alien to our mechanized pedestrian movements.
But what of the music? There was no calliope hemorrhaging scary circus themes. For the most part, the music selections were choice and many of them are rarely performed by the likes of Dvorak, Chabrier and Borodin. In fact, Borodin's "Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances" was a high mark for the orchestra — and during that piece, they performed without the visual aid of performers from the Cirque troop.
Throughout the program, conductor Michael Butterman and the orchestra played with a vigor and enthusiasm that was visceral and appreciated. Less it be missed amid all the eye candy, the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra deserves a heavy dose of the evening's gratitude. They worked hard for their audience.
The choice to include a theme from the ubiquitous Spielberg film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" by John Williams, was the only pandering moment. Really, it didn't feel at home in the program at all and only served as an obstacle between 1,700 drooling kittens and their mysterious, intoxicating, audio-visual catnip.
By GAYLE G. HATHORNE
Published February 4, 2010
The Cirque came to the Symphony this weekend, drawing sell-out crowds. The program that lasted just over an hour was presented by the Kansas City Symphony as the latest installment in its Family Series concerts.
Audience members of all ages were in for a memorable treat Saturday as six of the world's finest cirque artists joined Symphony members on the stage of the Lyric Theatre to juggle, contort and fly above the stage in a ballet of motion to the music of favorite orchestral hits.
The show opened with the orchestra alone in an ebullient reading of Dvorak's Carnival Overture, under the skillful baton of Steven Jarvi, associate conductor. Bravo! to Kenneth Lawrence, who shaped the four-note English horn ostinato in the Andante section with engaging musical variety. With the final festive tones of the overture sounded, the stage was set for the feats of athleticism and beauty that followed.
The program was presented Saturday, January 30 at 2 p.m. at the Lyric Theatre and Sunday, January 31 at 2 p.m. at Yardley Hall on the Johnson County Community College campus.
First up, to the sound of the "Danse Boheme" from Carmen, was ring juggler Vladimir Tsarkov, who held the audience rapt with his skillful manipulation of rings — five and six at a time — in perfect synch to the music. Tsarkov was seen onstage throughout the program in other roles as well. As mime artist and magician, he and his wife, Elena Tsarkova, managed to coax Maestro Jarvi to leave the orchestra to play on its own while Jarvi disappeared with the rope-bound Elena behind a velvet curtain, to emerge again with Elena wearing Jarvi's jacket under her ropes.
Alexander Streltsov delivered an impressive act of strength and balance by spinning a large metal cube about, above and below to the music of "Les Toreadors" from Bizet's Carmen.
Elena Tsarkova stole this reviewer's admiration with her stunning contortionist act as the Lady in White, performed upon two bar stools. Cutting an impossibly perfect human figure with her wasp waist and scintillating grace of movement to the music of Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers," she slithered into postures that one could only imagine being drawn, not enacted. Program notes did not mention that she is the mother of three children — one would not have believed it possible.
The orchestra performed solo again mid-program, delivering Glinka's "Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla" with exhilaratingly tight string ensemble. It was followed by the sultry strains of Saint-Saens' "Bacchanale" from Samson and Delilah. Principal oboist Mingjia Liu pulled out the snake charmer stops for his sinuous solo, enacted in Fantasia-like choreography by aerial hoopist, Aloysia Gavre-Wareham, who writhed 20 feet above the stage, swinging upside down held at times by only one foot or one hand.
Alexander Streltsov cut a striking figure in white pants and bare torso to contrast dramatically against the long red silk tapers that bore him high above the orchestra onstage in a suspenseful aerialist act. Performed to the thrilling score of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" (minus Brunnhilde's glorious soprano tones) he brought down the house.
But of all the feats of remarkable strength and graceful form these gold medal-winning artists delivered, the finale performed to Tchaikovsky's "Marche Slave" by the duo of strongmen, Vitaliy Pridhodko as bottom strongman, and Alexei Anikine, top strongman, brought the wildest applause of the show. They were astonishing to behold.
The orchestra reprised Bizet's "Les Toreadors" as the Cirque artists took their bows, bringing the house to a standing ovation.
By RICK WALTERS
Published January 4, 2010
Combining aerialists, jugglers and acrobats with classical music played by an orchestra is the most exciting idea to hit the symphonic pops circuit in some time. Cirque de la Symphonie played three concerts with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra last weekend to large and diverse audiences. The best thing about the Saturday evening performance was that it all happened to an uncompromised classical hit parade of well-played, real music.
Cirque de la Symphonie began playing dates in 2006, and has built to a substantial career with major and minor orchestras in North America. It's easy to see why. The act apparently changes with each date. For the MSO appearance a troupe of four men and three women performed on and above the apron of the stage, in front of the orchestra.
A blond woman dressed in black climbed a white rope 20 feet above the stage and did dazzling choreographed tricks to Saint-Saens' Danse macabre. A male aerialist dressed in white tights swung high above the audience to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries." The other acts included a charming Harlequin mime juggler, a woman aerialist on a high ring, an acrobat on two stylized stools doing a dizzying parade of poses, and a man manipulating a giant metal-framed box. It was all artfully and gracefully done, with stylish European flair.
In the showstopper finale two gold-painted men presented slow-moving, seemingly impossible combinations of strength and acrobatics to a movement from Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. I just have three more words to add about Cirque de la Symphonie: Bring 'em back.
By MIKE DREW
Published January 2, 2010
Any unsuspecting visitors dropping into Uihlein Hall this weekend might be stunned to see airborne athletes swooping over the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra cellos, conductor and patrons. Attractive overachievers were spinning while entwined in ropes or long silk pendants, exhibiting the beauty, muscularity and contortions rarely found in staid concert halls.
For years, symphony orchestras have sought ways to fill auditorium seats with younger eardrums. Opening a three-concert weekend and new year before an enthralled 1,800 people Friday night, the MSO seemed to have found a temporary answer: Cirque de la Symphonie.
Minus the performing animals and sawdust, the big top has come to town, big time.
While billed as a pops concert, the program isn't typical popular pap - movie themes and other, over-orchestrated trifles. The selections are meatier offerings from such classical titans as Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Wagner and Shostakovich.
Under Stuart Chafetz's baton, the symphony brought vigor, precision and soaring sonority to some very challenging music.
Even so, the bigger stars were the seven visiting aerialists, acrobats, strongmen and a mime-juggler. On opening night, they earned the extended cheering you would expect from sports crowds or opera buffs.
The MSO players got few solo opportunities. But reliable concertmaster Frank Almond navigated his magical Stradivarius through impressive work on Dvorak's "Carnival Overture," and a dance of death on Saint-Saens' ominous tone poem, "Danse Macabre." All evening, Almond drove the strong MSO violins through some extremely presto fiddling.
Among the visitors, some of the biggest cheers went to Aloysia Gavre as a seductive Delilah twirling on a high hoop to Saint-Saens' "Bacchanale" from "Samson and Delilah." And to gilded strongmen Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski , who did some truly heavy lifting to the fourth movement from Shostakovich's 5th Symphony.
On the way out Friday, some serious music fans might have pondered this question: Is adding circus acts to a symphony concert a pandering distraction? Perhaps somewhat.
But isn't filling most of 2,183 seats at three performances on a frigid January weekend with an aesthetically spectacular program some achievement? And something that, in these perilous times, any arts group would kill for?
By TOM KEOGH
Published December 11, 2009
"In case holiday music doesn't bring out your inner child," said Seattle Symphony's "Holiday Pops" guest conductor Gregory Vajda, "we have the circus."
Indeed they did. While Vajda — resident conductor of Oregon Symphony — led the orchestra through engaging and frequently moving performances of Christmas standards and a few exotic surprises, the Benaroya Hall stage became a launching pad for spectacular aerial feats, juggling madness and a strongman act that resembles a hallucination.
Vajda's "Holiday Pops" guests Thursday night were members of Cirque de la Symphonie, which last performed with Seattle Symphony in July 2008. The half-dozen Cirque artists will be a part of the "Pops" show through Sunday.
Following an opening medley encompassing the many moods of Christmas — contemplative ("Silent Night"), sprightly ("Jingle Bells") and joyful ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") — Vajda took a detour to Howard Blake's bittersweet "Walking In the Air."
Tony Osborne's arrangement of "Walking," from "The Snowman," an animated TV classic, was so moving as to almost make one forget to watch Christine Van Loo as she climbed a sash high in the air, sculpting her body in unique ways while winding the fabric around her limbs.
Juggler-mime Vladimir Tsarkov kept five rings aloft to "Sleigh Ride," comically pretending to get cross at a patron who returned a misfired prop to him.
Olga Pavlova danced ethereally to Tchaikovsky's "Russian Dance" from "Swan Lake," and quite a bit more sensually to Bizet's "Arogonaise" from "Carmen." Aloysia Gavre's act proved not for the fainthearted as she dangled from a hoop by her feet alone.
The most striking of the Cirque acts were aerialist Alexander Streitsov — who reflected the uplifting spirit of Schubert's "Ave Maria" in an almost angelic performance — and Jarek and Darek, hulks who move with a languid grace from one seemingly impossible gymnastic stunt to another.
Vajda, recently named music director of the Music In the Mountains festival in Grass Valley, Calif., didn't need Cirque to put on a compelling performance. When the athletes weren't onstage, the orchestra explored the wintry somberness of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on 'Greensleeves,' " and the romance of Leroy Anderson's "Song of the Bells," a lovely waltz.
On the other hand, all that circus hoopla certainly stokes holiday excitement. The look on kids' faces in the crowd doesn't lie.
By CINDY WARNER
Published December 7, 2009
San Francisco Symphony presented the dazzling and elegant if not death-defying Cirque de la Symphonie on Saturday night to a full house of delighted and mesmerized adults and children. So you thought coping with the holidays proved death-defying enough in itself? Come, take a seat, sit back and relax.
The orchestra, conducted by Donato Cabrera, played a perfectly chosen set of Christmas classics elegantly and even included a song from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on this magical evening. Incidentally Cirque de la Symphonie has no official connection to Cirque du Soleil but some of the artists have worked with Soleil among many prestigious European and American groups. The artists adapted the performance to the tiny confines of the orchestra stage and the airspace above it, choreographing the cirque to the set of mostly carols.
Twisting the Nutcracker?
Interestingly conductor Cabrera never turned to face the audience or the performer who often dangled and posed high above and behind his head. Once when the jester juggled a rainbow of lit bowling pins, the music ended with finality but the last pin had yet to finish it's decent to the hand of the juggler. It could have been intentional as it provided a fine comic moment with the conductor turning around just in time to see the catch. That would be mime and juggling artist Vladimir Tsarkov, juggling rings and batons to Parade of the Wooden Soldiers and to the Russian Dance of the Nutracker Suite.
So you thought hula hoops went the way of the lava lamp?
World class aerial acrobats, gymnasts, contortionists and strong men gilded bald head to toe for Christmas held the hall spellbound. Starting with the only American, acrobatic gymnast Christine Van Loo performed on red aerial silks, costumed in white with her blond hair in a pony tail. Each soloist demonstrated feats of strength and control from head to toe. However Irina Burdetsky, the hula hoopster in her red dress with mistletoe pattern, provided some comic twists. An irresistible show off, the brunette twirled her hoop around the tight, doll-like little bun on top of her doll-like head. She almost winked at the audience. She with her comic sensibility was a campy, crowd pleasing joy to behold.
Those who love the Nutcracker ballet across the street would appreciate a couple of numbers performed to Nutcracker Suite songs. Maria Malachikhina, contortion and dance. Her novel and daring presentation breathes fresh air into the classic song. A woman with a gymnast's ball balanced on a pedestal, essentially performing her waltz of the flowers with beauty and delicacy and precision. The waltz continued with a lovely harp solo. She continued the performance in her gold and black leotard with her gymnast's streamer tied to a baton, also reminiscent of the Nutcracker ballet.
Sleigh bells ring, are ya'll listening?
The percussion section jingled it's merry way along with the triangle tinkling. The harpist plucked strings along with the spirited violin sections. I imagine the musicians themselves had a great time during this novel event, looking at the animated smiles on their faces and how they would glance happily at each other while playing. The percussion section included jingle bells plus a pair of clacking boards almost like that you see on a film set but used to create the crack of the whip on a sleigh ride. What do you call that? I like it, where can I buy one for my boyfriend?
The brass section managed a great horse's whinney.
The music became seductive and exotic, an Eastern sound as an aerial acrobat spun in a hoop hanging high above the stage. The audience roared as the music became a frenzy and the acrobat hung by just her feet hooked over the bottom of the hoop. No net. Aloysia Gavre in her aerial hoop and Bacchanale from Samson et Dahlia.
A male/female team in some serious black performed next, he spinning her rope from the stage while she whirled in mid-air. It's Christine Van Loo and her partner performing to Danse macabre, Opus 40.
In contrast, the hula hoop girl added some comic cheer after the drama. The mischievous jester brought out about twenty more hoops for her to spin at once after she showed off by spinning a hoop around the bun on her head.
The Dynamic Duo
The most dramatic applause and cheering came from the gilded pair of muscle men who arose like statues on a platform from below the stage. Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski performed "Duo Design". They are former Polish hand-balancing champions. Every move came in measured slow motion using impeccable balance, strength and counterbalance. Incredible precision and timing created the most beautiful poses an artist would love to paint or sculpt.
Ave Maria, elevating la cirque's finale
The grand finale came in the form of aerial artist Alexander Streltsov, pictured above, an angelic young man floating out and over the front rows of the audience to Ave Maria. He would wrap his feet or wrists in the white streamers suspended from above the stage and take flight. He performed pristinely in his winter fresh, snow white pants and naked torso. He was beautiful and only cracked a smile on his smooth, serene face when he came back to the stage for a bow before the elated audience.
Here's the wonderful set list.
Holiday, Leroy Anderson: A Christmas Festival
Howard Blake; arr. Tony Osborne : "Walking in the Air" from The Snowman
Leon Jessel; lyrics Ballard MacDonald: "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers"
Ralph Vaughan Williams; arr. Ralph Greaves: Fantasia on Greensleeves
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Flowers from Nutcracker Suite, Opus 71a
Sergei Prokofiev: Troika from Lieutenant Kije Suite, Opus 60
Camille Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila
Georges Bizet: Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2
Camille Saint-Saens: Danse macabre, Opus 40
John Williams: Harry's Wondrous World from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Russian Dance from Nutcracker Suite, Opus 71a
Wolfgang Amade Mozart: German Dance, K.605, no.3, The Sleigh Ride
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Dance of the Tumblers from The Snow Maiden
Holiday, Harry Simeone, Henry Onorati, Katherine K. Davis; arr. Robert Wendel : "Little Bolero Boy"
Franz Schubert; arr. Carmen Dragon: "Ave Maria"
English, Holiday, Traditional; arr. John Finnegan: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
By JEFFREY KACZMARCZYK
Published November 14, 2009
"Wow!"
Followed by assorted "oohs" and "ahhs" and more than a few choruses of "oh my gosh," and you've summed up the audience reaction to the Grand Rapids Symphony's Pops Series show on Friday night.
"Cirque de la Symphonie" joined conductor David Lockington and the orchestra for a spectacle with symphonic sound in DeVos Performance Hall.
Count eight acts by six cirque performers, plus nearly two hours of well-known melodies — "The Toreadors" from Bizet's "Carmen" to John Williams' music from "Harry Potter" — and you have a show for children of all ages.
Surprised reactions spread through the audience again and again through the evening as Lockington led the orchestra in music by composers of Armenian, Czech, French, Russian and American extraction.
Alexander Streltsov, suspended by white silks, soared in circles around the stage in a performance as ravishingly beautiful as it was powerful, finely choreographed to lesser known melodies from John Williams' score to the "Star Wars" films.
The eye-popping feats of strength of Jarek & Derek, the golden boys of hand balance and head balance, had more than a few of the orchestra's string players sitting slackjawed while strumming Ravel's "Bolero."
The evening was a pleasurable marriage of music and movement. Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" became a duet for violin and acrobat with orchestra, Christina Fong fiddling on stage, Christine Van Loo spinning above stage, the former on strings, the latter on rope.
Vladimir Tsarkov, juggler and comedian extraordinaire, sent three, four, five and finally six hoops spinning aloft to the "Bohemian Dance" from "Carmen."
The "Valse" from Khachaturian's "Masquerade" provided the backdrop for Elena Tsarkova's blend of contortion and balance. Her movements often were serpentine, but her legs also were as graceful as wings.
Aloysia Gavre spun on a hoop with sensual abandonment to the "Bacchanale" from Saint-Saens' "Samson and Delilah."
The well-organized show had plenty of nice touches, from sidelights illuminating Streltsov's spinning cube, to a bit of hocus pocus involving Lockington that temporarily deprived him of his possessions while the orchestra played, mostly on its own, the "Dance of the Little Swans" from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
The Grand Rapids Symphony worked up a bit of a sweat as well with some tough tunes to play.
Dvorak's Carnival Overture, which opened the program, was festive and smartly done.
While playing Glinka's Overture to "Russlan and Ludmilla," Lockington cajoled the audience to clap and cheer with each passing phrase.
It wasn't quite a football game — no one started doing the wave. But as concerts go, the experience sure came close.
By CHRISTOPHER HYDE
Published October 26, 2009
There were quite a few children in the large audience in Merrill Auditorium for the first pops concert of the Portland Symphony Orchestra's 2009-2010 season Saturday night. I can't think of a better way to introduce them to classical music than the fascinating Cirque de la Symphonie.
It's actually better than a three-ring circus, because one can concentrate on a single performer, while enjoying the musical accompaniment as it was meant to be played. Many familiar classical lollipops have been adopted by the circus with less than stellar results, but the Portland Symphony, under conductor Robert Moody, restored them to their former glory.
Two of the music-only interludes were outstanding – "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship" from Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" (Op. 35), a masterpiece of orchestration, and the finale of the Sibelius Symphony No. 2, which the PSO will play in its entirety on Tuesday. If the sample was any indication, that is one concert that should not be missed.
Either I haven't been to the circus for a long time, or the acts – with just four performers in a variety of roles – were death-defying, colossal and stupendous. I wish the gymnasts, jugglers, contortionists and escape artists could have been listed by name, so they could get the credit they deserve.
The program opened with Dvok's "Carnival Overture" (Op. 92), followed by Harlequin in a juggling act to Bizet's "Danse Bohme" from "Carmen." The juggling was excellent, but the next act, with a whirling 4-foot cube of metal rods, to the Toreador song, was almost hallucinogenic.
The gymnast who followed (I won't call her a contortionist, since all of her moves were as graceful as those of a ballerina) accomplished the most astonishing poses seemingly without effort. She danced to the Khachaturian Waltz from "Masquerade."
The trapeze artist on a ring suspended over the stage performed with equal grace to the "Bacchanale" from Saint-Sans' "Samson and Delilah." There were "oohs" and "ahs" as she navigated the precarious perch without a net, and as many of them came from adults as from the children in the audience.
After intermission, the gymnast took on the role of escape artist and deprived maestro Moody of his coat in spite of being bound with several coils of rope.
In the great tradition of the circus, the performers saved the best for last – an astounding aerial pas de deux on red silk ribbons, with some poses and turns I had never seen before.
In one, the ballerina knots herself in the silk so that it unties and re-ties as she descends in horizontal rolls, like one of those old fashioned toys of tumbling blocks on ribbons.
A double horizontal pose, forming a perfect square high above the stage, brought the house down, and the strains of the "Swan Lake" waltz ended in a well deserved standing ovation.
Published July 12, 2009
GUADALAJARA, JALISCO.- Sonoros y prolongados aplausos durante más de cinco minutos del público alzado en pie y un desfile de fuerza, sorpresas y emociones a cargo del Cirque de la Symphonie y la Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco (OFJ), dirigida por Héctor Guzmán, pusieron el viernes el colofón a la temporada de conciertos "Fusión" de la formación musical más representativa del Estado.
El espectáculo "La OFJ y el circo" preparado para la ocasión en el Teatro Diana cautivó la atención de los espectadores de principio a fin.
El Danzón número 2 de Arturo Márquez sirvió para abrir la velada y aderezar el derroche de sensualidad, contorsiones y levantamientos que una pareja de artistas del Cirque de la Symphonie ofreció con movimientos de tango, maravillando y robando los primeros aplausos de los espectadores reunidos en el Teatro Diana.
Después, durante la interpretación de la Danza bohemia de Georges Bizet, un profesional del malabarismo con aros dio muestra del dominio de la disciplina circense y en varias ocasiones provocó sonidos que sincronizó intencionalmente con la OFJ.
Llegado el turno para que los músicos tocaran la composición también de Bizet Toreador, el acróbata de cubo Sasha Streltsov corroboró el alto grado de dificultad del espectáculo, ya que la mayoría de los actos se realizó con la orquesta como fondo y el espacio de acciones en el piso se redujo a no más de cuatro metros por el largo del escenario.
Completaron la oferta musical de la primera parte del espectáculo Danza de los bufones, de Nicolai Rimsky y Korsakov; España, de Emmanuel Chabrier; Vals Suite Masquerade, de Aram Khachaturian; y Bacchanale, de Camille Saint-Saëns, piezas que permitieron apreciar el trabajo de la OFJ a las órdenes de la batuta de Guzmán, así como una muestra de equilibrio sobre plataformas girantes.
Tras el intermedio, la Danza de los cisnes compuesta por Tchaikovsky amenizó un apartado de ilusionismo con cuerdas que tuvo como invitado al director de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco. Casi al final del espectáculo, la selección musical vistió y acentuó actos de malabarismo, listones, hula-hula y números aéreos sobre cuerda y telas que causaron sorpresa y provocaron las ovaciones de los presentes que casi llenaron el Teatro Diana.
Una rutina de levantamiento y contorsiones con las notas del Bolero de Ravel puso punto final al concierto de clausura de la temporada "Fusión" de la OFJ.
Al inicio del espectáculo, los números circenses provocaron aplausos y ovaciones espontáneos que algunos callaron por protocolo y respeto a la formación musical. Sin embargo, durante el desarrollo de la velada, las muestras de reconocimiento por parte del público fueron una constante.
En el balance de los resultados obtenidos con el ciclo "Fusión", Juan Pablo Alvear, gerente general de la Filarmónica de Jalisco, destaca que "es la primera temporada de la OFJ que el Teatro Degollado, en muchos años, no había estado tan lleno. En cuestión de públicos, ha sido completa y totalmente un éxito. La gente esta reencontrándose con la orquesta y un edificio patrimonio".
By SAMUEL BLACK
Published May 31, 2009
No words will do justice to the special Cirque de la Symphonie program Saturday by the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra.
If you weren't there, you simply won't understand. Those of you who have attended other Cirque events will at least know the feeling.
I watched Irina Burdetsky gyrate five separate hula hoops around different parts of her body simultaneously. Elena Tsarkova straddled two pedestals and allowed her body to flow and bend and ask us still to believe that she really had a spine.
Alexander Streltsov took to the air on two ends of a long sheet of silk and awed the crowd with his grace and muscle control. Finally, Vitaliy Prihodko and Alexei Anikine balanced on each others' heads and shoulders, as well as arm to arm.
Meanwhile, Markand Thakar led the DSSO through 15 short pieces, fairly familiar to most listeners of public radio. Five featured the symphony alone. And once again, the wonder of the new acoustical shell in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Auditorium deserves praise.
From the opening blaze of energy in Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" to the blossoming of the low brass in John Williams' "Harry's Wondrous World" from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the rush of warm, full sound surrounded the sold-out auditorium.
Leonard Bernstein's "Overture" from "West Side Story" offered the greatest variety of sound, while Georges Bizet's "Dance of the Gypsies" from "Carmen" was the most delicate. The fullness of the entire ensemble hurtled into Edward Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King" that made the earth-tone hues of the shell glow.
But when members of the Cirque came on stage, the efforts of the DSSO were hardly noticed. For example, during two more Khachaturian excerpts from his ballet "Gayane"--"Dance of the Rose Maidens" and the "Gopak"--juggler-mime Vladimir Tsarkov began dawdling with three, then four, bouncing hoops. But he didn't stop until he had six in motion. Who heard the orchestra?
An acrobatic "Delilah," Aloysia Gavre, took Camille Saint-Saens' "Bacchanale" to new heights with an aerial swinging, twisting, and turning in and around a spinning hoop. None of Bizet's toreadors could hope to keep pace with the dancing Streltsov spinning a cube at least as large as him. This same artist took the "Star Wars" piece into another galaxy with his aerial silk gracefulness.
Lastly, the familiar Bach/Stokowski "Toccata and Fugue in D-minor" was background static once the balancing duo defied gravity in the light of center stage.
This was not an evening to go to the concert hall to hear what current composers tell us. But this was stellar entertainment, with a lush-sounding orchestra and Cirque de la Symphonie taking us beyond what seems possible. Only those present can fully understand what I witnessed. I hope this included you.
By PHYLLIS SEGAL
Published April 24, 2009
If we could all live our lives with the beauty, the elegance, the strength, the flexibility and the humor of the members of the Cirque de la Symphonie troupe that performed Saturday, April 18, with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, we'd all be in great shape!
Jed Gaylin, guest conductor for the evening, compared their performances to our lives in his introduction:
"Maybe many in the audience felt they had to go into contortions to get to the concert on time. We all juggle so many activities in our life. So when we see a performer like Vladimir (Tsarkov) juggle so adroitly and with such skill, it lifts the spirit. But when he juggles with such humor and humanity, it goes beyond acrobatics and reaches art. When Elena (Tsarkova) can twist and flex in so many ways, it is indeed impressive. But she does it with such elegance and beauty!"
The evening was amazing.
From the beautiful sounds of the Wheeling Symphony to the astounding moves of the members of Cirque de la Symphonie, it was a feast for eyes and ears ... and also a bit unnerving as well when watching the balancing, the flying and the contortions.
"... The Cirque de la Symphonie troupe are truly artists, impressing us with their skill, but moving us with their humanity as they mine and mime the human experience with their gestures. For this reason, their art is so aptly paired with the unparalleled beauty of expression to be found in live symphonic performance — each expression enhances the other," Gaylin said.
Cirque de la Symphonie strives to elevate the cirque art form to the level of symphony music. The artists all know each other from performances through the years, and it is evident that they are a tight-knit group.
The selection of music was, of course, perfect with the cirque acts. Bizet's "Toreadors" from "Carmen Suite No. 1" played as Alexander Streltsov tossed a giant cube with his arms and legs like it was made of air. Aloysia Gavre moved with grace above the stage with the aerial hoop to Saint-Saens' "Bacchanal" from "Samson and Delilah." Irian Burdetsky spun hoola hoops like no one has ever spun hoola hoops before, to the "Ritual Fire Dance" from "El Amor Brujo." In fact, at one point she looked like a human slinky as she moved inside at least a dozen, maybe more, hoops. She even spun the hoola hoop on her hair that was twisted into a knot on top of her head!
Streltsov, who is one of the troupe's founders, pulled the emotional heart-strings as he flew on aerial silk banners to John Williams' "Across the Stars" from "Attack of the Clones." It was gorgeous.
And the piece de resistance was Ravel's "Bolero" with Darek and Jarek, two beautiful, strongmen, balancing, lifting, melting into one another as if they were made of liquid gold. Their act was breathtaking.
"I was also delighted to work for the first time with the Wheeling Symphony. What a pleasure! The orchestra is wonderfully seasoned, skilled and cohesive. The alacrity with which the symphony approached this concert — the enthusiasm and dedication — was absolutely inspiring. The people of the Ohio Valley have a lot to be thankful for in the Wheeling Symphony and all who make what they do possible," Gaylin noted.
I'll second that.
And if you didn't witness the beautiful artistry of the cirque performers, check out the Cirque de la Symphonie Web site to watch video clips.
By BARBARA ZUCK
Published April 24, 2009
Think aerialists at a symphony orchestra and you might conjure up players in the brass or woodwind sections, where virtuosity and air power are most often produced while seated.
At the local debut last night of a new touring production dubbed Cirque de la Symphonie, the definition of aerialists turned literal, with the floor becoming a backdrop for all manner of daring and dramatic solos going on above it.
Fit, young circus performers dangled from the Ohio Theatre ceiling or flew through the air over the audience, giving the large, appreciative crowd the kind of thrills typically accompanied by peanuts, popcorn and a calliope, not violins and oboes.
This circus is a small ensemble of talented and versatile soloists. Each artist works in more than one medium.
The beautiful Lady in White (Elena Tsarkova) balanced on stools in one act and worked with rings in another. Her male counterpart (Alexander Streltsov) dazzled with a huge spinning cube as well as his own aerial act. A droll harlequin (Vladimir Tsarkov) entertained between these daring feats with juggling and other antics.
This circus also had strong men. Jarek and Darek's "Duo Design" combined bulging muscles with balance. No surprise that this hefty pair, Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski, are Polish balancing champions that continue to compete internationally.
This being a symphony performance, there was, of course, music. Orchestra members, ably directed by Associate Conductor Peter Stafford Wilson, performed beautifully, having long ago perfected the art of watching both their scores and what else of interest might be going on onstage.
The institutions of circus and symphony have both met with challenges in recent years. Combining forces might be a fun and rewarding diversion for both entities. At the very least, Cirque de la Symphonie proved a fun way to expand the kind of virtuosity usually found in a concert hall.
By LAURA KRUTY
Published March 31, 2009
The circus came to town.
No, it wasn't at the Indiana State Fairgrounds or Conseco Fieldhouse. It was at the Hilbert Circle Theatre, a venue typically reserved for orchestral music.
There were no animals and no tightrope walkers but plenty of great music and awe-inspiring performances in Cirque de la Symphonie, a collaboration between the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and cirque acts.
Among the acts set to classical tunes were Elena Tsarkova, who contorted her body in a way that would give any gymnast a run for her money — all atop what looked like two connected bar stools. Vladimir Tsarkov, a mime/stagehand, who juggled rings and lighted clubs in two separate acts, and Aloysia Gavre, who did the majority of her act suspended roughly 30 feet above the stage on a hula hoop connected to a rope, garnered their fair share of audience applause. Aerialist Alexander Streltsov soared out over the audience on two curtain-like strips of fabric, giving the impression of a large white — and graceful — bird.
The final act, however, elicited the most "oohs" and "aahs" from the audience and deservedly so. Polish duo Jarek and Darek — who probably have a combined body fat of 1 percent — balanced on top of one another and contorted themselves in ways that left my muscles sore just watching them. When one balanced his entire body — one-handed — on top of the other's head, it was truly an amazing scene.
The ISO was flawless as usual, playing songs like "Flight of the Bumblebees" and the theme from Star Wars under the direction of Jack Everly.
Cirque de la Symphonie was a unique and entertaining show, definitely fun for the entire family. It was just the right length, too. I only hope the powers that be at the ISO decide to bring back the show next season, hopefully for more than just three performances.
By MARY KUNZ GOLDMAN, Classical Music Critic
Published January 31, 2009
Wild things are happening this weekend in Kleinhans Music Hall.
In town is Cirque de la Symphonie, a half-dozen circus athletes with exotic names and capabilities. These artists are teaming with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Resident Conductor Robert Franz for an unusual program of music and antics.
The high points came near the beginning and the end. The first Cirque artist to take the stage was Elena Tsarkova, also known as “the Lady in White.” Clad in snowy sparkles, she went through unbelievable dance-like movements to the Valse from Khachaturian’s “Masquerade” — bending this way and that, doing splits in the air, undulating, balancing on one hand, etc. She accomplished it all in slow motion perched on a stool.
At one point her legs turned into her arms. She was upsidedown and her legs were stretched in a split and she began conducting the orchestra with them, in time with the music. People gasped.
The last act was Jarek and Darek, former Polish national hand-balancing champions. To the uncompromising tones of Bach’s D Minor Toccata, they entered stage left in single file, as if one were the other’s shadow. They wore expressionless faces and bodysuits that made them look naked.
The feats these muscle men pulled off! Once, one was standing while the other balanced on one hand on his head. Another time, one balanced on his hands on the other man’s feet, which were in the air at a 90 degree angle. It went on and on. The audience was agog. No one else quite touched these two acts. But they came close. Aerial artist Alexander Streltsov created weirdly beautiful moments as he soared silently through the air wrapped in sheets, looking like a white-winged bat. Christine van Loo, who has performed at the Olympics, made some spectators nervous as she flew over people’s heads hanging on to a ring by her toes.
There was also a harlequin/juggler, Vladimir Tsarkov, who commanded attention with his juggling and comic flair.
Music included excerpts from “Carmen” — there was a fascinating act involving the “Toreador Song” and the metal outline of a cube. And the lurid, thrilling “Bacchanale” from Saint-Saens’ “Samson and Delilah.” And Mars and Jupiter from “The Planets.” And the first part of “Scheherezade,” with Amy Glidden providing the evocative violin solos.
by ERIC E. HARRISON
Published October 4, 2008
You’ve never seen anything like this on any local concert stage - six cirque artists doing amazing and even magical things with their bodies and a few props Friday night at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Music Hall.
Well, maybe if you paid the big bucks to see Cirque du Soleil at Alltel Arena, but even it didn’t have a full symphony orchestra backing it up - the Arkansas Symphony under the baton of new Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson in the opening concert of the orchestra’s Acxiom Pops Live! series.
It’s hard to say which act in “Cirque de la Symphonie” was the most astonishing:
White-clad contortionist Elena Tsarkova twisting herself into unimaginable shapes and performing gymnastics that would stun Olympic winner Nastia Liukin atop a pair of stools while the orchestra played the Waltz from Aram Khatchaturian’s Masquerade
Mime-juggler Vladimir Tsarkov (who also served as comic stagehand and quasi-emcee) tossing rings to Antonin Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance No. 8 and lighted clubs to the “Sabre Dance” from Khatchaturian’s ballet Gayane
Aerialist Aloysia Gavre soaring on a sky-hung hoop to the orgiastic strains of the “Bacchanale” from Camille Saint-Saens’ opera Samson and Delilah
Aerial artist Alexander Streltsov soaring out on silk wings over the first few rows of the audience while the orchestra played the Waltz from Peter Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty
And, for the grand finale, “Duo Design,” strongmen Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski, aka Jarek and Darek, doing the most incredible hand-balancing act - including the one poised straight up with just a single hand on his partner’s head, while the applause practically drowned out J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d minor.
Robson, in his first main-stage conducting assignment with the orchestra, maintained tight tempos both in accompaniment and in the orchestral interludes. Alas, there was no printed program, and nobody announced the titles from the stage.
Cirque artists and orchestra will again offer “Cirque de la Symphonie” at 8 p.m. today at Robinson, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. Ticket information is available by calling (501) 666-1761 or at the Web site, www.arkansassymphony.org
By STEVEN UHLES, Staff Writer
Published September 27, 2008
Tuxedos and tights came together Friday night when Cirque de la Symphonie performed with the Augusta Symphony at a special Westobou Festival performance.
The performance, which combined a program of orchestral music with cirque-style circus acts, played out in front of a packed house at Bell Auditorium.
Acts included acrobats, aerialists, jugglers and the odd bit of illusion with Augusta Symphony conductor Donald Portnoy at the center.
The show opened with Dvorak's Carnival Overture , a buoyant piece that hinted at the upcoming orchestral experience. Only a frail-looking rig hanging quietly over Mr. Portnoy's head offered any clue that more than music was in the offing.
After the overture, a female acrobat performed feats of flexibility on a pair of swiveling stools.
Sandra Self, the executive director of the Augusta Symphony, acknowledged that Cirque de la Symphonie was not an expected orchestral performance. She said that was part of the appeal.
"The Porter Fleming Westobou support we received was really to do something we normally don't do," she said. "That's exactly what this is."
Ms. Self said all but a few tickets had been sold by Friday morning and that box office business had been brisk in the hours leading up to the performance.
"I've never seen this hall this packed," she said.
The orchestral repertoire consisted primarily of excerpts from Russian pieces, with the occasional clip from a film soundtrack or European composer thrown in.
Ms. Self said dramatic music was the appropriate score for the dramatic cirque performances.
"Just look at it," she said, motioning toward the stage. "It's perfect."
by R.M. CAMPBELL, P-I Music Critic
If the Seattle Symphony sought new audiences in its inaugural SummerFest, it succeeded Friday at Benaroya Hall.
However, the program is not readily duplicated: a parade of hits with circus acts. The capacity house expressed open admiration for everyone, including jugglers, contortionists, aerial artists and strongmen. There was humor and magic as well.
Pushed back from the apron of the stage to allow the performers room to maneuver, the symphony played overtures of Dvorak, von Suppe and Glinka and dances of Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian, Borodin and Saint-Saens. An excerpt from John Williams' film score for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and the final movement from Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony ended the evening. Sometimes the musicians played alone or as an accompanist and sometimes they just watched the proceedings. Carolyn Kuan, SSO associate conductor, held forth on the podium with her usual aplomb. Many of the musicians were substitutes for regular SSO members, away on holiday.
The performers, several of whom are Russian, are part of a company that has appeared with orchestras for more than a decade, thus the name Cirque de la Symphonie. Among the most notable is Vladimir Tsarkov, a mime artist who juggles and does magic acts. He was funny and endearing and very deft. Among the most unusual was Alexander Streltsov, who spins a large metal cube. The finale was the pair of strongmen billed as Jarek and Darek (born Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski), former Polish national hand-balancing champions. They were astonishing.
By TOM KEOGH
Special to The Seattle Times
There was an awful lot of clowning around Friday night at Benaroya Hall. And the capacity crowd that turned out for "Cirque de la Symphonie," the Seattle Symphony Orchestra's unexpectedly illuminating collaboration with circus artists, could not have been more pleased.
A mime, aerialists, strongmen and more: Benaroya went truly big-top as world-class performers achieved the seemingly impossible and a black-tie orchestra kept up a three-ring atmosphere. The Seattle Symphony played no less than a dozen selections of music reflecting the many moods of a typically eclectic circus bill, from the delirious (Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance") to the pastoral (moments in Dvorák's "Carnival Overture").
Guest conductor Carolyn Kuan, as fun to watch as she was dynamic, was fully engaged in the show's spirit despite having her back to every breathtaking feat of strength and agility.
But she also led the orchestra through five pieces (including Franz von Suppé's familiarly galloping "Overture" to "Light Cavalry"), scattered through the program, where no performers appeared.
It was at those times when the real point of "Cirque de la Symphonie" kicked in: a symphony orchestra has a lot in common with circus acts. Both involve developing and maintaining suspense. Both involve spectacle and modulating emotional pitch, capturing the rapt attention of an audience willing to surrender to every nuance or peak.
Whenever the orchestra and artists were working together, those principles were obvious. But when the circus folk took a break, one realized those effects were still in play, in the music. The clearest sign that "Cirque" was working was in the way kids in the audience were just as absorbed by the stand-alone musical portions of the program as they were by the ones featuring the performers.
Still, the artists provided some great thrills. Vladimir Tsarkov, accompanied by Bizet's "Danse Boheme" from "Carmen," looked like he was barely moving while juggling multiple hoops, pins and day-glo balls in the air.
Elena Tsarkova, a contortionist, caught the magic of Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers" (from "The Nutcracker") in her nimble act.
But it was strongmen Jarek & Darek — in bronze body makeup, their movements reminiscent of languid reptiles under a hot sun — whose weirdly compelling, proto-human vibe captivated the audience. (To the tune of Shostakovich's finale from Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47.)
The vision of a slight Kuan taking her bow between the near-nude, copper-colored Jarek & Darek was the perfect, surreal note to end this successfully dreamy evening.
By PAUL CLARK
Cincinnati Pops maestro Erich Kunzel played ringmaster over the weekend on behalf of “Cirque de la Symphonie,” a two-in-one program that might as easily be called “Symphonie de le Cirque.”
The concept, and a crowd-pleasing stunt it was, aimed at synergy of orchestral accompaniment to the spectacle of cirque, itself a hybrid of circus tricks and fine art: Ringling Brothers gone to finishing school.
The Pops and eight veteran cirque artists held up their respective ends. A program thick with movie themes provided sound for flawless exhibitions of aerial performance, juggling, hoops and other intricate tricks that often owed as much to Balanchine as to Barnum.
The music and acrobatics could have delighted the crowd separately, but the synchronization proved admirably adept. A highlight of that convergence came as Cirque du Soleil aerial hoopist Aloysia Gavre vamped to the sultry suite from “A Streetcar Named Desire” even while dangling 20 feet above the stage.
Two of the guest acts, aerial artist Alexander Streltsov and the hand-balancing team Jarek & Darek are familiar to Pops audiences from previous appearances. Joining Gavre as newcomers to the Music Hall stage were hoop artist Irina Burdetsky, handstand acrobat Vladimir Malachikhin, juggler Vladimir Tsarkov and his contortionist wife, Elena Tsarkova, who provided dazzling twists and turns on a pair of bar stools.
The orchestral program selected from a big tent of genres including the jazz-flavored “Streetcar” and big-band sounds of “From Here to Eternity,” along with an obligatory John Williams power-pick (this time from “Harry Potter”).
The Pops displayed particular mastery with Bernard Herrmann’s challenging score to “North By Northwest,” while the only underwhelming moments came via “On the Waterfront,” pocked with Leonard Bernstein passages more suited to fumigation than to humming.
All that felt missing from the evening was a calliope, but the suite from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” did include a theremin, an electronic instrument whose eerie sounds are familiar to fans of ’50s science fiction movies. The introductory demonstration of its capabilities produced a deliberately blunt note which elicited from Kunzel a flatulence joke, that perennially popular device nevertheless withered from neglect on the American concert stage.
By MARTY CLEAR, Times Correspondent
Published January 12, 2008
TAMPA - The creator of Cirque de la Symphonie said orchestras around the country like booking the show because it sells tickets, adds substance and sparkle to pops performances and draws younger people.
Friday night, the performance of Cirque de la Symphonie with the Florida Orchestra succeeded powerfully on two of those levels.
The idea is to add a visual boost to orchestral concerts by adding world-class "cirque" acts, which basically means acts that combine circus skills with a fine art sensibility.
Carol Morsani Hall was packed, and if anyone was disappointed it didn't show. They audience regularly erupted into applause.
Five cirque acts appeared, at different points through the show, and most were stunning. Aerialist Alexander Streltsov provided a melancholy work of poetic fluidity, floating above the stage with grace and real drama. Juggler Vladimir Tsarkov offered comic counterpoint without diminishing the artistry. Contortionist Elena Tsarkova did things that humans shouldn't be able to do, and she did them with style and beauty.
Behind them, the Florida Orchestra played beautifully, conducted by Michael Krajewski of Cirque de la Symphonie. The orchestra also played several selections without the cirque acts.
Musically, the first was more successful by far. The orchestra played 45 minutes or so of classical music, including pieces by Dvorak, Khatchaturian, Rimsky-Korsakov and Saint-Saens. It was mostly excerpts, but a full set of classical music is a rare treat in a pops concert.
After intermission, the music selection regressed into standard pops territory, including music from Star Wars and Harry Pottermovies. Considering how well the classical selections worked, and how heartily they were received, it didn't seem necessary for the orchestra to play popular music. But it still sounded great.
One goal of the show, which will come to Mahaffey Theater tonight and tomorrow, did not accomplish was to attract younger people. At Friday's show, the demographic appeared about the same as that of standard pops concerts.
