René Dupéré | |
---|---|
Born | 1946 (age 77–78) Québec, Canada |
Genres | Theatre, film score |
Occupation | Composer |
René Dupéré (born 1946) is a Canadian composer from Mont-Joli, Québec, Canada.
Dupéré is best known as the composer and arranger of music for contemporary circus productions by the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil. Among the Cirque du Soleil stage shows he has scored are: Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil (1984), La Magie Continue (1986), Le Cirque Réinventé (1987), Nouvelle Expérience (1990), Saltimbanco (1992), Mystère (1993), Alegría (1994), Kà (2004), and Zed (2009). According to press releases from Cirque du Soleil, "René Dupéré played a key role in shaping the artistic universe of Cirque du Soleil during its first ten years." [1]
Dupéré's album of music from Cirque du Soleil's Alegría was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995 and spent 65 weeks on Billboard's World Music Chart. [2] The albums Mystère and Kà also spent several weeks at the top of the Billboard charts. As of 2009, Dupéré has sold over 3 million CDs. [3]
His work outside of Cirque du Soleil has included writing music for various TV and film productions (see Filmography below). In 1997, he wrote part of the music for the ceremony marking the handover of Hong Kong to China. He also composed the soundtrack for Xotica: Journey to the Heart, a Holiday on Ice show that toured in 1998. A modified version of a song entitled "Earth" from the Xotica soundtrack was used as the backing track for the 2003 short film Oïo by Simon Goulet. [4]
In June 2005, René Dupéré received an honorary doctorate in music from his alma mater, Université Laval de Québec. [5]
Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 June 1984 by former street performers Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix.
Saltimbanco was a touring show by Cirque du Soleil. Saltimbanco ran from 1992 to 2006 in its original form, performed under a large circus tent called the Grand Chapiteau; its last performance in that form was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 10, 2006. A new adaptation of the show started touring North America on July 31, 2007, with its first stop in London, Ontario, Canada. The new version was staged in arenas with fewer performances in each city it visited. The new version closed at the end of 2012.
Alegría is a Cirque du Soleil touring production, created in 1994 by director Franco Dragone and director of creation Gilles Ste-Croix. It takes its name from the Spanish word for "joy".
Mystère is one of six resident Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas, Nevada. Held in a custom theatre at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, the show was first performed on 25 December 1993, making it the company's longest running show. As with many Cirque du Soleil productions, Mystère features a mixture of circus skills, dance, elaborate sets, opera, worldbeat music, and street theatre-style comedy. Featuring a musical score composed by René Dupéré and Benoît Jutras, the show was created under the direction of Franco Dragone.
Franco Dragone was an Italian-born Belgian theatre director. He was the founder and artistic director of Dragone, a creative company specializing in the creation of large-scale theatre shows. According to CNN, Dragone was "one of the key architects of Cirque du Soleil's unique theatrical style." He was also known for his work with Celine Dion.
Kà is a show by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kà describes the story as "the coming of age of a young man and a young woman through their encounters with love, conflict and the duality of Kà, the fire that can unite or separate, destroy or illuminate."
Alegria or Alegría (Spanish) or Allegria (Italian), means joy in English. It also may refer to:
Solstrom is a Cirque du Soleil television series in thirteen 45-minute episodes from 2003. It was initially broadcast on the U.S. Bravo cable network and aired on Bold in Canada and SBS Television in Australia. It has also been released on DVD.
Nouvelle Expérience was Cirque du Soleil's fourth touring circus show, which premiered in 1990.
Benoît Jutras is a Canadian composer. Jutras is best known for his work with the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, first as music director and later as composer for several of the company's contemporary circus shows. Jutras' music often blends eclectic influences, including world beat, classical, rock, trip hop, and electronica. His scores for Cirque du Soleil shows include O, Mystère, Quidam, and La Nouba. His work outside Cirque du Soleil has included original soundtracks for Le Rêve, the Glow in the Park Parade, and The House of Dancing Water. He has also composed for film and television.
Chinese poles are vertical poles on which circus performers climb, slide down and hold poses. The poles are generally between 3 and 9 metres in height and approximately 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Some poles have a slightly larger pole that rotates around the static central pole using ball bearings. This rotating pole allows a performer to spin on the vertical axis, giving a performer the ability to incorporate rate of spin into a performance. Bringing the body closer into the pole causes the performer to spin faster. A few Chinese pole tricks have been incorporated with pole dancing techniques.
The following discography is a catalogue of the albums and singles released by the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil.
Francesca Gagnon is a Canadian singer and theatre actress featured in Cirque du Soleil's Alegría and Midnight Sun. During her career of more than two decades, she has recorded several solo albums and toured three continents singing in French, English, Italian and Spanish.
Luc Lafortune is a Canadian lighting designer for the entertainment industry as well as one of the original designers of the Cirque du Soleil.
Zed was Cirque du Soleil's second resident show in Asia. It premiered on October 1, 2008, at the Cirque du Soleil Theater, Tokyo Disney Resort, in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. Inspiration for Zed was taken from the Tarot and its Arcana; the main character Zed represents the Fool of the Tarot. The show depicted Zed's journey and his role in uniting two mythical groups, the people of the earth and sky. The production closed permanently on December 31, 2011.
Zaia was a Cirque du Soleil stage production based at The Venetian Macao on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The 90-minute show opened in August 2008, bringing together 75 high-calibre artists from around the world. Zaia was Cirque du Soleil's first resident show in Asia and was directed by Neilson Vignola and Gilles Maheu. The custom-built theater housing the performance was capable of seating 1,800 spectators at a time.
Koozå is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil which premiered in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, in 2007. The show was written and directed by David Shiner, who had previously worked as a clown in Cirque du Soleil's production of Nouvelle Expérience. His experience as a clown and his time with Switzerland's Circus Knie and Germany's Circus Roncalli informed his work on Koozå.
René Bazinet is a German-Canadian clown, mime, and stage and film actor. He is known for his work with Cirque du Soleil, first as a performing artist touring extensively with Saltimbanco, and later as the clown act creator and acting consultant for the show as well as for Cirque du Soleil's 2011 production Zarkana. He has also starred in shows at the Berlin Wintergarten and the Circus Roncalli.
"Alegría" is a pop song by Cirque du Soleil, which was recorded in 1994 with the voice of Francesca Gagnon.
Krzysztof Soroczyński is an artist, performer, trainer, and designer who works in the circus industry. Soroczyński has been involved in the circus arts for almost five decades. He has worked with many companies, including Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Éloize and has collaborated with many people, including directors Franco Dragone and Daniele Finzi Pasca.