The Beatles(TM) LOVE(TM) by Cirque du Soleil(R)

The Beatles(TM) LOVE(TM) by Cirque du Soleil(R)

May 25, 2006

Director - Dominic Champagne, Music Directors - Sir George Martin & Giles Martin
Press Conference Featuring Sneak Preview Performance Held Today at The Mirage in Las Vegas

    LAS VEGAS, May 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Media from
around the world experienced the first `sneak preview' of
the latest Cirque du Soleil show, LOVE, a co-production
with Apple Corps Ltd., which celebrates the musical legacy
of The Beatles.  A press conference was held today in the
custom-built theatre at The Mirage in Las Vegas.  

    (Photo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060524/LAW002-a
            
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060524/LAW002-b
            
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060524/LAW002-c )

    Music Directors Sir George Martin and his son Giles
Martin have been working with the entire archive of Beatles
recordings to create the musical component for LOVE.  They
were present at the press conference today to describe
their unprecedented approach to the music for a stage
production.  "I think we will achieve a real sense of
drama with the music, the audience will feel as though they
are actually in the theatre with the band.  People are going
to be knocked out by what they are hearing!," said
Giles Martin.

    Using the master tapes at Abbey Road Studios, Sir
George and Giles have created a unique soundscape of
Beatles music for LOVE.  "We wanted to make sure there
are enough good, solid hit songs in the show, but we don't
want it to be a catalog of `best of's'," said Sir
George Martin.  "We also wanted to put in some
interesting and not well-known Beatles music and use
fragments of songs.  The show will be a unique and magical
experience."

    Dominic Champagne, who directed and wrote the original
concept for the show, explained his vision for LOVE. 
"I wanted to create a Beatles experience rather than a
Beatles story, taking the audience on an emotional journey
rather than a chronological one," said Dominic
Champagne.

    LOVE brings the magic of Cirque du Soleil together with
the spirit and passion of The Beatles to create a vivid,
intimate and powerful entertainment experience.  It
captures the essence of love that John, Paul, George and
Ringo inspired during their astonishing adventure
together.

    LOVE evokes the exuberant and irreverent spirit of The
Beatles.  "When we embarked on this extraordinary
adventure in 2002," said Gilles Ste-Croix, Show
Concept Creator and Director of Creation, "we set out
to create a timeless, three-dimensional evocation of The
Beatles music.  Drawn from the poetry of the lyrics, we
developed a preliminary concept that explored the content
of the songs in a series of scenes inhabited by real and
imaginary people."  The international cast of 60
channels a raw, youthful energy underscored by aerial
performance, extreme sports and urban, freestyle dance.  

    LOVE will be presented in a custom-built theatre at The
Mirage featuring 360 degree seating and advanced high
definition video projections with 100-foot digital, moving
images.  The panoramic surround sound system will envelop
the audience who will experience The Beatles music like
never before ... 

    Apple Corps Ltd. is planning to release The LOVE album
through EMI Music later this year.

    Preview performances for LOVE begin June 2.  The Gala
Premiere will be held Friday, June 30, 2006.  LOVE will be
presented exclusively at The Mirage in Las Vegas.  This
joint artistic venture marks the first time that The
Beatles company, Apple Corps Ltd., has agreed to a major
theatrical partnership.  The project was born out of a
personal friendship and mutual admiration between the late
George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy
Laliberte.

    Inspiration: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison, Ringo Starr.

    Cirque du Soleil Creative Team: 
    Guy Laliberte - Guide, Show Concept Creator
    Dominic Champagne - Director and Writer, Show Concept
Creator
    Gilles Ste-Croix - Director of Creation, Show Concept
Creator
    Chantal Tremblay - Associate Director of Creation
    Jean Rabasse - Theatre and Set Designer
    Philippe Guillotel - Costume Designer
    Jonathan Deans - Sound Designer
    Yves Aucoin - Lighting Designer
    Francis Laporte - Video Projection Designer
    Hansel Cereza and Dave St-Pierre - Choreographers
    Guy St-Amour - Acrobatic & Rigging Designer
    Daniel Cola - Acrobatic Performance Designer
    Nathalie Gagne - Make-up Designer
    Patricia Ruel - Props Designer
    Michael Curry - Puppet Designer
    Guest Creators: 
    Andre Simard - Aerial Acrobatic Designer
    Alexis Martin - Dramaturge Consultant
    Francois Perusse - Comic Audio-clips Designer
    
    For Apple Corps Ltd.:
    Sir George Martin - Music Director
    Giles Martin - Music Director
    Neil Aspinall - Executive Producer

    TICKET PRICES:
    *$150, $125, $99, $69
    All preview performances* will be discounted 25
percent.
    *Preview performances for LOVE begin June 2 and run
through June 29.  During these performances, the creative
team is in the very final stages of production.  The
audience's reaction and participation is an important step
in this process.  The artistic direction of LOVE reserves
the right to interrupt the performance to make adjustments
as necessary. 

    SHOW SCHEDULE:
    Preview performances will be presented nightly at
7:00pm.  In addition, there will be 10:30pm performances on
limited dates.  Please consult the most current show
schedule at http://www.cirquedusoleil.com .  Schedule is
subject to change without notice. 
    Following the preview period, LOVE will be performed
Thursday through Monday with no shows on Tuesdays or
Wednesdays.  Beginning July 1, there will be two shows
nightly at 7:30pm & 10:30pm. 

    TO RESERVE TICKETS:
    By phone:   [phone] or 800 963 9634 
    Online:     http://www.cirquedusoleil.com ,
http://www.thebeatles.com or http://www.mirage.com . 
    In person:  At the LOVE box office at The Mirage or any
of the MGM MIRAGE 
                box offices in Las Vegas.

    Ownership of the trademarks: Apple Corps Limited for
The Beatles (word and design), Cirque du Soleil for Cirque
du Soleil (word and design) and The Cirque Apple Creation
Partnership for LOVE (word and design).
Trademarks used under license.

    For more information, please contact:

     Anita Nelving
     Public Relations Manager of Cirque du Soleil
     Tel:   [phone]
            [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Cirque du Soleil