Cirque du Soleil presents - Alegria - An enchanting Fable DVD 1998 / Directed by y Franco Dragone / Starring: Frank Langella, Mako, Julie Cox, René Bazinet, Whoopi Goldberg

UPC 014381687422

MADE IN THE USA

REGION 1 NTSC DVD

AUDIO: English 5.1, English 2.0

SUBTITLES: -

TOTAL RUNTIME: 93 MINUTES

English Summary:

Alegría is a Cirque du Soleil touring production, created in 1994 by director Franco Dragone and director of creation Gilles Ste-Croix.

It was one of Cirque du Soleil's most popular touring shows. Since it premiered in April 1994, it has been performed over 5,000 times and seen by over 14 million spectators in more than 250 cities around the world. Alegría originated as a touring big top show. However, beginning with its 2009-2011 North American tour, the show was converted to an arena format, enabling it to visit cities that were previously inaccessible to the big top tour. Furthermore, Alegría took a short respite and was converted to a resident show at MGM's Beau Rivage casino from May 1999 to October 2000 before it continued touring again. On 29 December 2013, Alegría performed its final show at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium.

Alegría, written by Rudy Barichello and directed by Franco Dragone.The cast included actors such as Frank Langella, Mako, Julie Cox, René Bazinet and a guest appearance from Whoopi Goldberg, as well as several performers and musicians from the touring production (many appeared in both this film and the DVD of the touring production). The film employs a conventionally structured narrative, in contrast to the abstract allegory of the live show. It tells the story of a boy named Momo who wants to save the children from their imprisonment in the dark factory of a cruel man named Marcello. Momo's only friend, a quirky clown named Frac, aids him, while also falling in love with a circus singer named Giulietta passing through town. The children turn against Marcello (who is also known as the Dragon) by throwing rocks at him. The pair soon find their destinies increasingly entwined with that of the circus.

The songs "Let Love Live", "Child in His Eyes", "Love Leaves Someone Behind" and "Mountain of Clothes" are sung by Irène Marc. The film also features Elena Lev manipulating hula hoops and Alexander Dobrynin performing on the bungee cords and the aerial cube.

Alegría

Cirque du Soleil produced a separate DVD of the touring stage show Alegría. It was filmed in July 2001 in front of live audiences in Sydney, Australia. This production was directed and produced by Nick Morris. He used 14 cameras and special filming techniques to transport the viewer to the center of the performance.

Characters

The characters in Alegría comprise people of two separate generations: the New Order and the Old Order.

• Fleur: An unpredictable and dangerous madman who believes he is king. He is the guide to the world of Alegría.
• Nostalgic Old Birds: The Nostalgic Old Birds have lived in the palace for as long as it has existed. They are empty-shelled courtiers who admire their reflections in mirrorless frames. They include Gracieuse, Blanche, Valentin, Wilfrid, Georges-Etienne and more.
• Fire Bird: He appears for a brief dance before fire knife act and is present in the background while the fire knife dancer is performing.
• Tamir and Little Tamir: Appears when needed, only to disappear once he has fulfilled his mission.
• The Musicians: They provide the show's live music, dressed entirely in white. In the first run of the show, they were sometimes referred to as Les Hiboux ("the Owls").
• Nymphs: Exuberant characters who celebrate life.
• The Death Angel: A dark, dismal figure on stilts. He appears in the background during the Contortion act. In the first year of the show, this character was in fact a clown 'killed' during the Martyr Clown Act returning as a death character. When this clown act was removed from the show, the Death Angel character stayed during the Contortion sequence.
• Bronx: The young and tough, who are the next generation in Alegría. They perform on the power track and aerial high bar.
• The Angels: The guardians who are the youth of tomorrow. They perform on the Russian bars.
• White Singer: One of the singers. She is the storyteller who sings about everything she sees around her. She is often desired by the male characters of the show.
• Black Singer: One of the singers. She has a wickedness about her and is the White Singer's opposite. She always avoids approaching the front of the stage.
• Clowns: The show's social commentators. Performed by:

1. Dimitri Bogatirev, Sergey Shashelev, Slava Polunin, Yuri Medvedev and Iryna Ivanitska (1994-1996)
2. Leonid Leykin, Yuri Medvedev, Valery Keft and Michel Deschamps (1997-2000)
3. Nikolai Terentiev, Vladimir Olshansky, Yuri Medvedev and Anton Valen (2001-2004)
4. Marcos Casuo, Ben Johnson, Oleg Popkov, Anton Valen and Yuri Medvedev (2004-2009)
5. Pablo Gomis Lopez, Pablo Bermejo Medina, Jesse Buck, Aaron de Casmaker and Maxim Fomitchev (2009-2013)