by Deirdre Donovan

If you think going to a classical concert is a snooze, you missed the recent program Cirque De La Symphonie with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra at NJYPAC.  On October 17th Cirque De La Symphonie teamed up with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for an unforgettable evening in Newark.  Since 2006, the troupe has been performing alongside classical orchestras and astonishing audiences with their aerial feats, acrobatic maneuvers, and balancing acts.

 

 

With New Zealand-born Gemma New conducting the orchestra, and serving as commentator, this event conflated the worlds of cirque and symphony and morphed it into something else.  And while I am a true classical music-lover, this hybrid show was utterly jaw-dropping.  It added a three-dimensional ingredient to the traditional concert experience—and shook the dust off the old classical pieces.  

 

Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Op. 96 opened the program and was one of the few stand-alone pieces of the evening.  Its musical boldness and dynamic tempo seemed to signal that the audience soon would be viewing death-defying feats (with no safety net), incredible aerial maneuvers, and strong-man balancing acts.  The show lasted 2 hours, with nary a dull moment.

 

 

The orchestra, which typically occupies the venue’s entire performing space, was set back a few feet, to accommodate the cirque artists and their spare paraphernalia:   rope riggings and silk sheets hung from the flies, and assorted juggling equipment. Indeed it was uncanny how the cirque performers could do their stunts in such a small space.  But they did, and with much brio. 

 

Some of the formally-dressed orchestra members appeared a bit anxious before numbers, occasionally eyeing the cirque performers as they entered the stage.  But there was no need for any orchestra member to fear, as the muscular ensemble were always in control, executing each daring feat with efficiency and nimbleness.  

 

The entire show went off without a hitch.  Imagine listening to the slow, graceful score of Rimsky–Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, Op. 90 and Bizet’s nimble “Danse Boheme” from Carmen Suite, No. 2 as you watch flying bods overhead.   In Act 1, aerial artists—Alexander Streltsov, Christine Van Loo, and Aloysia Gavre—executed gravity-defying maneuvers to these pieces, and other beloved works. 

 

The entire audience appeared spell-bound by the show, as each cirque artist seemed to outdo the last one.  An elderly couple sitting near me, in fact, were so mesmerized by the troupe’s performance that they joined hands and swayed in rhythm as Respighi’s Tarantella wafted through the air.  The nine member cirque ensemble—Alexander Streltsov, Christine Van Loo, Jaroslaw Marciniak, Dariusz Wronski, Aloysia Gavre, Vladimir Tsarkov, Elena Tsarkova--performed solo or in pairs.  But each number was unique, and always informed by the classical music.

 

The classical music essentially became theatrical underscoring for the dynamic cirque acts.  No, this wasn’t a sedentary music event.   This performance was all about what happens when cirque artists join their creative forces with classical musicians.  And there’s only one answer:  theatrical magic.

 

My favorite moments during the evening were “the hoop act,” that was musically synched with Saint-Saens “Bacchanale” from Samson and Delilah.  Don’t ask me how—but two cirque artists, employing a number of hoops, created a kind of  “slinky” that one artist held as the other moved through it.  It was incredible to watch the beveled bodies of this duo, seemingly without effort, pull off this magic act.

 

My only quibble is that the playbill only provided bios of the nine cirque artists.  I would have enjoyed the program even more if I could have known with certainty which particular cirque artist I was watching for each number.   Their bios, however, revealed that all are world-class athletes and various members have performed at the Olympics, Cirque du Soleil, and other prestigious companies all over the world.

 

All in all, this program sparkled!  Everyone should watch for the return of Cirque De La Symphonie to NJPAC.  It was a feast for the eyes and ears.  And it was the perfect marriage of cirque art with the music hall.

 

One performance only, on October 17^th.

For more information on future programs with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, visit www.njsymphony.org

Running Time:  2 hours with one intermission.