Vocalists & Songs
"The music used in Saltimbanco is not a narrative composition. Instead its
musical influences aim to convey the melting pot of people and cultures that can only
be found in the city." — René Dupéré, Composer
| |
Saltimbanco marked the first time voices completely supplemented
the music. Although previous shows did have songs with lyrics,
Saltimbanco marked the first time lyrics were used throughout.
It was called "Saltimbanco Language" then and was created using phonetic sounds drawn
from many linguistic sources. Today we know it as "Cirqueish".
|
René Dupéré was involved in the creation of Saltimbanco from its conception. He
delivered a music inspired by urban life of the end of the last century: ethereal yet
baroque, rhythmic and cosmopolitan. "The idea that I had was this," Dupéré recalls.
"What would it sound like if I rode from one end of
the city to another with the car window rolled down? I would hear
everything from Jamaican to Classical music." Therefore, urban life
meant the democratization of music, that everything is available.
The composer explained that the theme of the
music for Saltimbanco was "urbanity", where one has to explore the imagery the city
brings to mind. The original idea was the city: the urban environment, the people who
live there, the signs, traces, meeting places, intersecting points, parallel paths, different
cultures... "I didn't retain the usual clichés and attempted to create the rumble of a city
we imagine, luminous and full of hope. And what is distinctive about a city and its
inhabitants? At the beginning, I understood that the human voice should be part of the
performance – in much the same way as the percussion. In addition, I realised that the
soundscape of the city is not only the rumble of five o'clock traffic. In downtown New
York, the sounds of dawn are the sounds of the countryside..."
The use of the human voice in this production is the first for Cirque du Soleil.
"In order to illustrate the ethnic and cultural diversity of the urban fabric, and
since the show is produced mainly for English and French audiences, we didn't wish to
use foreign languages as such." The score includes only one opera song in 13th century
Low Italian. All songs are in phonetic sequences taken from various languages such as
Arabic, Swedish or German. These elements serve the evocative power of music. If certain
cultures seem totally foreign, René Dupéré believes that their music always succeeds in
moving us. "The wonderful thing about all music is that it always gives rise to different
emotions in each spectator, emotions that belong to him alone." That is why the music
for Saltimbanco is not a narrative composition. On the contrary, the score appeals to
musical signs and languages to evoke the blend of peoples and cultures that only the city
has to offer.
[ Vocalists •
Songs ]
 |
| Francine Poitras |
Apr.23.1992 - Jun.1994;
Mar.09.1995 - Oct.17.1995;
May.2006 - Jun.11.2006;
Nov.02.2006 - Dec.10.2006 |
(Montréal to Tokyo);
(Amsterdam to Düsseldorf);
(Buenos Aires);
(Rio de Janeiro) |
| | |
| Chantal Girard |
Jan.30.1993 - Dec.19.1993 | (Costa Mesa to Atlanta) |
| | |
| Laur Fugère |
Mar.11.1994 - Jan.08.1995;
1995 - 1996 |
(Tokyo to Montréal);
(... to ...) |
| | |
| Chantal Hamel |
Jun.1994 - Jan.08.1995;
Nov.10.1995 - Feb.01.1997 |
(Tokyo to Montréal);
(Vienna to London) |
| | |
| Ève Montpetit |
Mar.09.1995 - Feb.xx.1996 | (Amsterdam to Hamburg) |
| | |
| Nicola Dawn |
Feb.1996 - Feb.01.1997;
Sep.19.2003 - Jul.10.2005;
Jul.31.2007 - Apr.13.2012;
Oct.10.2012 - Dec.30.2012 |
(Hamburg to London);
(Zurich to Paris);
(London to Casablanca);
(Portland to Montreal) |
| | |
| Susan Daly |
Oct.14.1998 - Feb.06.2003 | (Ottawa to London) |
| | |
| Sheinagh Anderson |
Oct.14.1998 - Nov.25.2001 | (Ottawa to Yokohama) |
| | |
| Isabelle Corradi |
Mar.xx.1999 - Sep.09.2001;
Feb.26.2003 - Aug.17.2003 |
([Australia] to Osaka);
(Bilbao to Oostende) |
| | |
| Nicole Sieger |
Feb.14.2002 - Dec.2004;
Mar.15.2006 - May.2006;
Aug.03.2006 - Oct.22.2006 |
(Amsterdam to Lille);
(Santiago to Buenos Aires);
(São Paulo) |
| | |
| Leigh-Anne Cunningham |
Oct.2002 - 2004 |
(Madrid to ...) [Backup] |
| | |
| Laurence Janot |
Dec.xx.2004 - Jan.01.2006;
Nov.2011 |
(Lille to Guadalajara);
(Moscow to St. Petersburg) |
| | |
| Vivienne Carlyle |
Aug.04.2005 - Feb.05.2006 | (Monterrey to Mexico City) |
| | |
| Chantal Blanchard |
Dec 2005 - Dec.10.2006;
Jul.31.2007 - Jun.07.2009;
Sept.17.2009 - Jan.16.2011 |
(Guadalajara to Rio);
(London to Sunrise);
(Stockholm to Paris) |
| | |
| Sujana Chand |
Jun.25.2009 - Aug.23.2009;
Feb.11.2011 - Jun.xx.2011 |
(Tampa to Columbus);
(Friedrichshafen to Hobart) |
| | |
| Charlie Jones |
Jun.xx.2011 - Oct.xx.2011;
Nov.xx.2011 - Sep.09.2012 |
(Melbourne to ... )
(Kiev to Taipei) |
| | |
| Anna "Anja" Bille |
Mar.xx.2012 - Dec.30.2012 | (... to Montréal) |
 |
| Prelude | "Cloche et Présentation" |
| Opening | Rideau, Kumbalawé |
| Adagio Trio | "Adagio" |
| Chinese Poles | Saltimbanco |
| Double Wire | Kazé, Norweg, "Rêve" |
| Juggling | "Arlequin" |
| Interlude | Pokinoï |
| Boleadoras | "Malamba" |
| Entr'Acte | "Pocoleta", "Tap Dance" |
| Russian Swing | Barock |
| Duo Trapeze | Amazonia, "Démontage Trapèze" |
| Hand-to-Hand | Urgence |
| Bungee | Il Sogno di Volare |
| Interlude | "Transfert" |
| Finale | Horéré Ukundé |
| Vertical Rope (1992-1994) | Pokinoï |
| Solo Trapeze (1994-2012) | Cantus-Mélopée |
| Contortion (1995-1997) | "Rave Out" |
| Manipulation (1998-2001) | "Rave Out" (1998; 1999-2001); "Manipulation" (1999) |
| Hand-Balancing (2009-2012) | "Rave Out", "Rêve" |
| Diabolo (2002-2006) | "Grand Tour" |
| Bicycle (2007-2012) | "Grand Tour" |
| Aerial Strap (2012) | "Grand Tour" |
| Hoops (Lev) (Feb 1996) | "Cerceaux" from Alegría |
|
