How Do They Do That?!

On Saturday, we had the highly anticipated Cirque de la Symphonie performance, and honestly, it was a spectacular visual and auditory adventure! Even though I've seen a Cirque du Soleil show before, the opportunity to see people who can fly around, bend and twist through the air, and perform impressive feats of strength never loses its allure.

I had a chance to sit and chat quickly with Ralph Skiano (clarinet), Ann Choomack (piccolo), and Gustav Highstein (oboe) to see what they thought of it from their perspective. "Cool" and "distracting [from their music in front of them]" were the two words most used by them. Gus commented as well that it was probably the most enjoyable for him as a musician, because they were still able to perform orchestral works and share that music with the audience in partnership with such a cool visual component.

Erin R. Freeman, Associate Conductor, also told me that it was awesome to see how the music was paired with the visuals. The two gold strongmen were making very slow and deliberate moves while paired to the frantic pace of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. It made you see the music in a new way!

For me, Alexander Streltsov's aerial performance to the music from Star Wars was especially touching. The Red Harlequin mime/juggler (Vladimir Tsarkov) was hilarious -- though I suspect that Music Director Steven Smith was chasing him down for his wallet for quite a while after the concert!

~Teka

A few Richmond Symphony staff reactions:

Danielle Ripperton (Individual Giving Officer): "Simply AMAZING - I was on the edge of my seat the whole time with wonder, awe, amazement and even fright! How on earth does one bend like that?!"

Cheryl Yancey (Richmond Symphony Foundation): "Henry [Cheryl's husband] and I thought they were awesome! Young and old alike were thrilled with the performance."

As well as a few reactions from the concert from the Richmond Symphony's Facebook and Twitter page:

@RVAREGal - Wow! Richmond Symphony Pops concert tonight Cirque de la Symphonie was amazing! Great music & terrific talent from Cirque performers! @RichmondSymph I'm still thinking about how tangled I'd be in all of that fabric if I was agile enough to attempt those moves! :)

@hadarvc wrote a blog about the performance here: http://www.opticality.com/blog/2010/10/10/cirque-de-la-symphonie-at-richmond-centerstage/

@firedancerk8 - @RichmondSymph My mouth was literally hanging open for the entire duration of the Gold Guys' performance. WOW!!!!!

Mary Maupai - The performance on Saturday....It was amazing, had not idea the body could do such awe inspiring things.! A performance I will not soon forget! Thank you!

Our next Genworth Financial Symphony Pops concert is Let It Snow! on December 4 & 5. The Contours Featuring Sylvester Potts: Celebrating 50 Years of Motown will be on January 22 and the Music of James Bond will be on March 12.