Cirque de la Symphonie director Bill Allen does not mind that his wildly popular family presentation is sometimes compared to that other mega-spectacular, Cirque du Soleil.
“My show works exclusively with symphony orchestras,” he said, speaking from his home office in Atlanta. “The common thread is that many of my performers were former members of Cirque du Soleil. Every one of them is a veteran and the best at what they do.”
What they ? and Allen ? do, basically, is add spice to a symphony?s regular pop season repertoire. Between 10 and 15 circus performers, including jugglers, acrobats, aerialists and strongmen, work on stage with an orchestra in choreographed fashion to set pieces of symphonic music. Allen says his troupe can provide the music, or the orchestra that hires his group can determine the musical fare.
“It?s magical the way this program fits a niche with symphonies,” Allen said. “Each show is fresh and unique, [with] each orchestra maintaining its own identity.”
For the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presentation under the direction of Maestro Andrew Constantine, the pieces chosen include, appropriately, Dvorak?s “Carnival,” Khachaturian?s “Sabre Dance” and Saint-Saens? “Danse Bacchanale.”
“I suppose it?s the only time I?ll ever get to feel like a circus ringmaster,” Constantine said.
Alexander Streltsov, formerly of the Moscow Circus, looks forward to flying over the audience.
“People are overwhelmed because they never expect to see anything like this,” he said. “It?s a benefit to my act [and] gives a three-dimensional aspect to the overall performance.”
He also prefers working with a live orchestra, which, he says, boosts his performance.
“Cross-genre programs like Cirque de la Symphonie have allowed us to reach patrons ? often families and young people ? who are experiencing the BSO at Strathmore for the first time,” said Michael Mael, vice president of the BSO at Strathmore. “SummerFest is a great opportunity for everyone to letdown their hair, have a good time and listen to great music.”
IF YOU GO
Cirque de la Symphonie
» Venue: The Music Center at Strathmore; 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda
» Time: 8 p.m. Thursday
» Tickets: $30; call 877-BSO-1444
» Venue: Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore
» Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday
» Tickets: $12.50-$35; call 410-783-8000
