Cirque du Soleil
When I was just a little kid, during the 90s and early 2000s, when business was still good, my family attended several shows of Cirque du Soleil at my mom's initiave. I don't recall all the specifics, and the chronology, but one specific show is etched into my memory. Alegría. Its hauntingly beautiful theme song regularly plays in my head until this very day. Based on the booklet I reverently kept, it must have been a 1997 or 1998 performance in Antwerp. As far as my younger self was concerned, this show was the height of human achievement. A touch of the sublime. And I am not really keen to disagree with it now.
In early 2024, I won free tickets to Ovo in a raffle. I took my mom, as a repayment for her taking me in my youth. Its theme and vibe did not speak to me as much as Alegría, but it was nonetheless breathtaking and awe-inspiring. We had such a great time. This cemented it for me: I like this sort of stuff. I like it very much.
Quite a few of there shows were filmed. I hope to eventually have all of them. In the table below I have marked my own collection: silver for DVD, blue for Blu-Ray, and green for digital. There's obviously also documentaries and other releases, some of which I own, but I am primarily focused on their shows.
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Cirque du Soleil | TV adaptation filmed live in Montréal in 1985. Only broadcast on TV. A recording floats around online. |
| 1988 | La Magie Continue | TV adaptation, filmed live in Toronto in 1986. |
| 1989 | Le Cirque Réinventé | TV adaptation, filmed live in Montréal in 1988. |
| 1992 | Nouvelle Expérience | Film adaptation, filmed live in Toronto in 1991. |
| 1992 | Knie Presents Cirque du Soleil | TV adaptation of the company's collaboration with Circus Knie, filmed live in Switzerland in 1992. |
| 1994 | Saltimbanco | TV adaptation, filmed live in Atlanta in 1993. |
| 1999 | Quidam | TV adaptation, filmed live in Amsterdam in 1999. |
| 2001 | Dralion | TV adaptation, filmed live in San Francisco in 2000. |
| 2002 | Alegría | TV adaptation, filmed live in Sydney in 2001. There's also a movie adaptation that strays further. |
| 2003 | Varekai | TV adaptation, filmed live in Toronto in 2002. |
| 2004 | Midnight Sun | Filmed live at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal on 11 July 2004, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the festival and Cirque du Soleil's 20th anniversary. |
| 2004 | La Nouba | TV adaptation, filmed live in Orlando in 2003. |
| 2006 | Corteo | TV adaptation, filmed live in Toronto in 2005. |
| 2008 | Koozå | TV adaptation, filmed live in Toronto in 2007. |
| 2008 | Delirium | TV adaptation, filmed in London. |
| 2012 | Worlds Away | A partnership with James Cameron, showing bits from O, Mystère, Kà, The Beatles Love, Zumanity, Viva Elvis, and Criss Angel Believe in 3D. |
| 2013 | Amaluna | Film adaptation, filmed live in Toronto in 2012. |
| 2015 | Le Grand Concert | TV adaptation, produced by Echo Media exclusively for Canadian TV channel Ici Radio-Canada Télé, filmed live in Montréal on 23 December 2014. |
| 2016 | Toruk - The First Flight | Film adaptation of the show inspired by James Cameron's film Avatar, filmed live at the world premiere in Montréal in December 2015. |
| 2016 | Luzia | Film adaptation, filmed live in Montréal in May 2016. |
| 2017 | Kurios | Film adaptation, filmed in Miami in December 2016. |
| 2017 | O | TV adaptation for Arte, filmed live in Las Vegas in 2017. |
| 2018 | Volta | Film adaptation, filmed live in Montréal in 2017 and released on Bell Fibe TV. |
| 2024 | O | Film adaptation for the Cosm Los Angeles immersive movie theatre, filmed live in Las Vegas in 2024. |
Beyond these filmed shows, there are much more that were never officially filmed. Some seem strongly appealing to me: two based on Michael Jackson, one based on Elvis, and one based on Disney.