Customer Reviews

Cirque du Soleil: Alegria- Live in Sydney

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Alegria(Live in Sydney) is my favorite CdS DVD behind Quidam, which is slightly superior in my opinion because of the incredible acts performed. But it should be noted that Francesca Gagnon steals the show with her mesmerizing voice. The acts in Alegria of course are superb(this is CdS we are talking about after all!), but the music and the singing elevate the entire show to something almost magical. The music is intertwined with the acts for utterly amazing choreography, even moreso than the other shows.

As far as DVD content is concerned, there is much here for any Cirque fan. There are two featurettes: "A Look Behind-the-Scenes" and "A Different Perspective." Also included are short interviews of the artists themselves. The show itself is well worth the price of the DVD, but these add-ons are a very nice bonus.

It is surprising how much feeling comes through on DVD....the filming was about as well done as could have ever been expected! Any CdS fan will not tire of watching the acts of Alegria or of hearing the beautiful voice of Francesca Gagnon. If Angels sing, surely they sound like Ms. Gagnon.

Incredible acrobatics, wonderful music, dazzling artistry...this description doesn't even come close to describing what you'll experience watching Alegría, one of Cirque's oldest (and best) shows. Very revamped from its first years, the show's fresher than ever, and this recording shows it.
Spanish for "happiness", Alegría's quite a moody show; don't let that turn you off though, it's not a depressing show, but rather one that can spark your innermost feelings. You'll know what I mean when you see one particular act: the clown's "Snowstorm" act. Cirque's creativity is really displayed here, since it's not your traditional "goofy" clown; this clown can draw tears from your eyes, it's the most expressive clown act I've seen, and it's woth a look by anyone. Every other act is equally wonderful, including a syncro trapeze, fire-knife dance and Russian bars. The music is a delightful mix of mellow and joyful tunes sung in Spanish, Italian, French, English, and "Cirque-ish", all beautifully performed by Francesca Gagnon and Eve Montpetit. The DVD's extras include the very interesting "Meet the Artists" feature, a making of featurette, an Australian-produced documentary recorded during the show's stay there, and a multi-angle feature for 2 of the acts.
The show's slightly sad feel may not appeal to the very young in the family, but it will be tons of fun for everyone else; buy it now if you don't have it (or if your budget doesn't allow you to watch it live).

This is the most entertaining DVD I have ever watched. It is chock full of wonderful, breathtaking talent, giving non-stop delight. It moves from one spectacular, perfect performance to another--lots of variety. The music is superb, the characters are delightful. It's my first exposure to Cirque du Soleil. I loved all the acts, but my favorite was Elena Lev with the hoops. She is beautiful, graceful, very flexible, and she gives a flawless performance. I never tire of replaying her. I can't wait to get more CdS DVDs! I highly recommend this one.

My expertise, limited, but here it is. I've seen "Mystere" and "O" in person. I own "Saltimbanco" and I own "Alegria", soon to own "Quidam". Ratings I give "O" an 10, "Mystere" a 9.5, "Saltimbanco" a negative three ( -3)it really sucked, and "Alegria" a 9.
Alegria was fantastic. The music was superb and singers get the highest of marks. Their voices and presentation were as dramatic as the athletic performers. The costumes were astounding, at times taking the viewer to another world/dimension. As always, the performers were at the top of their game. I find it nearly impossible to say what the best acts were as they all brought a significant contribution to the show. No bad ones. The clowns were extremley amusing showing both great mime like ablities and deep humor. The camera work was five stars. I hope that if and when "O" or "mystere" are put on tape/dvd, that it is handled by the same group. If you are ready to go to another world and be put in a perpetual state of awe, then this is the dvd for you. Five stars.

We recently watched La Nouba at Orlando, FL. It was our first live - Cirque du Soleil. We watched a documentary on PBS and it wasn't that impressive. However, from many people's recommendation, we watched the live show and it was just breath taking! Cirque du Soleil has very talented people doing very unique tricks, and with very artistic classy presentations and costumes. So we bought Alegria DVD, because of their extra documentary (it was good with performers). The DVD Alegria show was so much more than what we expected. The camera did a very excellent job. They did rock concerts so they were experienced and know how to present this show well on TV. It wasn't same as live, but it was still amazing at a good price. Also, I liked the different view from the camera (i.e. from the top view). Vocal and music were great, with a pair of good speakers. This DVD is worth to keep if you like these kind of stuff.

All of the acts are in the DVD, except for "Handbalancing" which was not in the show very often back in 2001. This show is the best Cirque du Soleil touring show. Francesca Gagnon, the singer on the AlegriA CD, is in the DVD too. This makes it even better. The show is filled with beautiful emotion, from laughter, to moments that bring you an inch away from tears. After seeing the show, you feel a beautiful sense of loving life and you feel very inspired.

This was excellent! I have never seen a CdS show live, but I'm looking forward to seeing one really soon since I saw this! The camera angles are superb and the sound is excellent. The Grand Finale and the Grand Entrance is spectacular. I recommend this for everyone! I am looking forward to buying Quidam also!

O.K. I love it.

Quidam is my favorite Cirque DVD with Alegria a close second. Varekai I love but the sound is horrible.

But for Alegria the sound and video quality is excellent.

I love how for the filming they placed mini-camcorders on some of the artists.

A journey to Alegria a special is fantastic.

This dosen't have as many features as Varekai but it has a lot.

I have seen Varekai (Live and not live), Mystere (Live), Saltimbanco (Not Live), Cirque Reinvent (Not Live), Nouvelle Experence (Not Live), Quidam (Not Live), Alegria ( Live and Not Live ), And Dralion (Not Live)

So out of all of the Cirque DVDs I've seen Alegria is second best after Quidam.

I went to Alegria when they came to Miami and I think the DVD does not transmit the magic of the performance. Although I really liked the DVD, I thought they could cut some parts and add some others. If you are a Cirque fan, definitelly you should buy it. But if not, try Drallion or La Nouba instead.

What I liked about Alegria was the wonderful costuming and the beautiful voice of Franchesca Gagnon. However, as far as the other Cirque performances go, I have to rate this one as somewhat lacking.

Personally, I think a bit too much time was spent with the clowns. While an important part of Cirque's charm, it takes away time from the acts. It seemed to me that there were less acts than in most Cirque performances and to me they appeared a bit less polished than what I'm used to seeing in this series.

On the good side, though, there were a few outstanding acts such as the tumblers and a Hawaiian fire dancer. The strong man was especially intriguing and well presented.

While entertaining, I'd still recommend Quidam and Dralion to first time Cirque watchers.