Vocalists & Songs
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"The little girl who plays Zoé in Quidam has a real challenge, because she has
to go from singing very tremulously and uncertainly to singing with a strong,
full voice." - Benoît Jutras
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Composed by Benoît Jutras, the music of Quidam is of remarkable dramatic intensity.
Drawing on influences that range from classical music to the most eclectic and
contemporary sounds, Jutras's music accompanies, envelopes, and accentuates the magic
of the show. It mixes the swelling strings and choruses of classical music with
thumping rock beats and synthesized metallic sounds, African rhythm loops with
Arabic melodies. There are Gypsy-tinged folk songs, old-time circus sounds and
spacey waltzes, a Zydeco tune, syrupy pop songs and a slashing tango inspired
by the late Argentine bandoneon master Astor Piazzolla. "When I'm composing
for Cirque du Soleil, a lot of my inspiration comes from the work of other
creators," he explains.
Working from musical "mood" sketches he had done months before, Jutras wrote
much of the "Quidam" music in the three weeks before the show opened.
"Often I have to rewrite the piece totally to fit the natural rhythm of the act,"
he said. "You either try to accentuate that rhythm or play against it, which can
be really nice. The music has to enhance the rhythm and emotion of each act, as
well as the theatrical mood of the piece as a whole." The clowns, for example, are
cast as traditional circus characters, set amid the contemporary Cirque du Soleil.
When they appear, Jutras evokes "the circus sounds of the past" with the waltzing
"Carrousel," scored for soprano sax, accordion and the synthesized sound of a
"cheesy organ" that suggests a calliope.
"And that was the big challenge of Quidam:
to maintain unity while dealing with a changing structure, costumes and sets. And,
of course, the story..." Because Quidam is first and foremost a story - the tale
of human solitude in a world of anonymous faces, on the brink of the third millennium.
With his music Benoît Jutras roams the globe, leading us from dream to reality and
reality to dream...
"I'm working with acrobats from all over the world, so I really wanted a
wide range of music to represent different cultures," Jutras said. "Quidam is
about the reality of where we are in 1996, in big cities, isolated in the crowd.
It deals with the fragility of the human being, and the coldness of the city. I
explore that musically. That's why we decided to use a child's voice; It expresses
that fragility. And I use a lot of metal sounds. I sampled sounds in a metal shop,
hitting all kinds of metals with a hammer."
Juggling the coldness of the faceless masses with the fragile soul of the human
individual, Benoît Jutras was able to attain a perfect musical balance. His works,
at times stripped down to their simplest instrumental expression and at others
built up into full symphonic splendor, reconcile the paradoxes of contemporary society.
The impact of the vocals is particularly great, since the composer has selected voices
that perfectly complement each other: that of a little girl (his daughter, the charming
Audrey Brisson-Jutras), the adult voice of Mathieu Lavoie and, finally, the emotional
grandeur of a choir. Eleven years old and a singer and musician in her own right, Audrey
accompanied the troupe during its long travels throughout North America. "When it
came time to cast the role of Zoé, we ended up choosing my daughter," Jutras
reminisces. "It was tough, because I had been touring for years, and now, here she
was going on tour for the next four years. At the premiere, I was there as both father
and composer, so it was doubly nerve-wracking."
[ Vocalists •
Songs ]
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| Mathieu Lavoie | Apr.23.1996 - Oct.xx.1998 | (Montreal to Atlanta) |
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| Richard Price | Jan.xx.1997 - Sep.05.2003; | (Costa Mesa to Osaka) |
| | Jan.xx.2004 - Apr.xx.2004 | (Tokyo) |
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| Craig Jennings | Oct.xx.1998 - Nov.xx.2003 | (Atlanta to Fukuoka) |
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| André Boileau | Sep.xx.2003 - Jul.xx.2005; | (Osaka to Perth) |
| | Jan.19.2006 - Jul.31.2006; | (San Diego to Philadelphia) |
| | Jan.04.2007 - Feb.22.2009 | (Dubai to London) |
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| Alain Labrie | Jul.xx.2005 - Dec.15.2005; | (Perth to Hong Kong) |
| Jul.xx.2006 - Oct.22.2006 | (Philadelphia to St. Louis) |
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| Jamieson Lindenburg | Feb.xx.2009 - Nov.18.2012; | (London to Loveland) |
| Jun.06.2013 - Feb.26.2016 | (Cedar Rapids to Final) |
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| Josué Anuar | Dec.06.2012 - May.19.2013 | (Columbus to Orlando) |
| Audrey Brisson-Jutras | Apr.23.1996 - Aug.xx.2000 | (Montreal to Rotterdam) |
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| Emily Duncan-Brown | Jan.xx.1997 - Dec.xx.1998 | (Costa Mesa to Atlanta) |
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| Amélie Landry | Mar.xx.1999 - Apr.xx.2001 | (Amsterdam to Antwerp) |
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| Kathryn Samman | Jul.xx.2000 - Jan.xx.2002 | (Rotterdam to London) |
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| Gabrielle Cloutier | 2000 - Jun.29.2002 | (... to Detroit) |
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| Denise Stefanie | Feb.xx.2002 - Jul.05.2003 | (Miami to Nagoya) |
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| Catherine Downey | Aug.28.2002 - Jul.31.2004 | (Boston to Calgary) |
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| Letitia Forbes | Jun.xx.2003 - Aug.26.2007 | (Nagoya to Shanghai) |
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| Camille-Hélène Poliquin | Jul.23.2004 - Jun.25.2006 | (Calgary to Ottawa) |
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| Tori Letzler | Jun.xx.2006 - Aug.12.2007 | (Ottawa to Shanghai) |
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| Dalyane Gauthier-Dumas | Aug.xx.2007 - Jan.16.2011 | (Shanghai to Chicoutimi) |
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| Ella Bangs | Aug.xx.2007 - Jan.15.2011 | (Shanghai to Chicoutimi) |
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| Joi Marchetti | Mar.xx.2011 - Jan.xx.2013 | (... to [North America]) |
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| Alessandra Gonzalez | Mar.09.2011 - Feb.26.2016 | (Vancouver to Final) |
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| Opening | Atmadja ("Petit Salon") |
| German Wheel (1996-2012, 2013+) | "Procession", Incantation ("German Wheel") |
| Hopscotch Interlude | Marelle |
| Diabolos | Enfants d’Acier ("Diabolo"), "Badauds" |
| Dans L'Air | "Dans L'Air" |
| Aerial Contortion in Silk | Let Me Fall ("Tissu"), "Isabelle" |
| Skipping Ropes | Innocence, Zydeko / ("Skipping") |
| Aerial Hoops | "Coeur Sanglant", Séisouso |
| Entr'Acte | "Rain"/"Égaré" |
| Hand Balancing | "Cannes" ("Olga") |
| Spanish Webs | "Cordes" |
| Statues | Réveil |
| Cloud Swing (1996-2013, 2015) | "Petra", Séisouso (2nd Half) |
| Banquine | Misère |
| Finale | "Circus Animals", Quidam |
| Manipulation (1996–1998) | ("Juggler"), Rivage |
| Juggling (1999+) | "Juggler" [1999-2004], Rivage |
| Clowns (1996–2004) | Carrousel |
| Aerial Straps (Duo) (2004–2005) | Steel Dream |
| Hand Balancing (1996-1997) | "Équilibre" |
| Aerial Strap (Solo) (1997) | "Mana" |
| Trapeze Duplex(2012) | "Cloud Swing", Séisouso |
| Hoops (2002-Elena Lev, 2007-2008) | "Cannes" |
| Manipulation (2005) | (Unknown) |
| Cyr Wheel (2012-2013) | "Procession", Incantation |
| John - Coat Rack | "Gopher Mambo" by Yma Sumac |
| Dance Trapeze (2014+) | Steel Dream ("Strapeze") |
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