The Beatles: LOVE by Cirque du Soleil

Preview performances begin June 2 for The Beatles LOVE, the latest Cirque du Soleil production which celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles. The Gala Premiere will be held Friday, June 30, 2006. LOVE will be presented exclusively at The Mirage in Las Vegas. This joint artistic venture marks the first time that The Beatles company, Apple Corps Ltd., has agreed to a major theatrical partnership. The project was born out of a personal friendship and mutual admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. LOVE will bring the magic of Cirque du Soleil together with the spirit and passion behind the most beloved rock group of all time to create a vivid, intimate and powerful entertainment experience. Sir George Martin, The Beatles original producer, and his son Giles Martin have been working with the entire archive of Beatles recordings to create the musical component for LOVE. The result is an unprecedented approach to the music for a stage production. "After spending more than 40 years of my life working with The Beatles and their wonderful music, I am thrilled to be working with it once again, on this exciting project with Cirque du Soleil," said Sir George Martin, "The show will be a unique and magical experience." Using the master tapes at Abbey Road Studios, Sir George and Giles have created a unique soundscape for LOVE. "I think we will achieve a real sense of drama with the music, the audience will feel as though they are actually in the theatre with the band. People are going to be knocked out by what they are hearing!" said Giles Martin. Dominic Champagne directed and wrote the original concept for the show which captures the essence of love that John, Paul, George and Ringo inspired during their astonishing adventure together. LOVE evokes the exuberant and irreverent spirit of The Beatles. "When we embarked on this extraordinary adventure in 2002," said Gilles Ste-Croix, Show Concept Creator and Director of Creation, "we set out to create a timeless, three-dimensional evocation of The Beatles music. Drawn from the poetry of the lyrics, we developed a preliminary concept that explored the content of the songs in a series of scenes inhabited by real and imaginary people." The international cast of 60 channels a raw, youthful energy underscored by aerial performance, extreme sports and urban, freestyle dance. LOVE will be presented in a custom-built theatre at The Mirage featuring 360 degrees seating and advanced high definition video projections with 100- foot digital, moving images. The panoramic surround sound system will envelop the audience who will experience The Beatles music like never before... Apple Corps Ltd. is planning to release the album through EMI Music later this year.

Cirque du Soleil Creative Team:

Guy Laliberté - Guide, Show Concept Creator
Dominic Champagne - Director, Show Concept Writer
Gilles Ste-Croix - Director of Creation, Show Concept Creator
Chantal Tremblay - Associate Director of Creation
Jean Rabasse - Theatre and Set Designer
Philippe Guillotel - Costume Designer
Jonathan Deans - Sound Designer
Yves Aucoin - Lighting Designer
Francis Laporte - Video Projection Designer
Hansel Cereza and Dave St-Pierre - Choreographers
Guy St-Amour - Acrobatic & Rigging Designer
Daniel Cola - Acrobatic Performance Designer
Nathalie Gagné - Make-up Designer
Patricia Ruel - Props Designer
Michael Curry - Puppet Designer

Guest Creators:

André Simard - Aerial Acrobatic Designer
Alexis Martin - Dramaturge Consultant
François Pérusse - Comic Audio-clips Designer

For Apple Corps Ltd.:

Sir George Martin - Music Director
Giles Martin - Music Director
Neil Aspinall - Executive Producer


Tickets to LOVE will be on sale at 9:00am April 19.

TICKET PRICES:
--------------

(*)$150, $125, $99, $69
All preview performances(*) will be discounted 25 percent.

(*)Preview performances for LOVE begin June 2 and run through June 29.
During these performances, the creative team is in the very final stages of production. The audience's reaction and participation is an important step in this process. The artistic direction of LOVE reserves the right to interrupt the performance to make adjustments as necessary.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/
archive/April2006/19/c5469.html