''Kurios'' is a

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

touring production which premiered on April 24, 2014 in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, Canada under the full title of ''Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities''. Created and directed by Michel Laprise, it looks at a late 19th-century world inventor who invents a machine that defies the laws of time, space, and dimension. As he reinvents everything around him with steampunk elements, he is joined by characters from another dimension who interact with him.

Acts

Acts currently in the show include: * Chaos synchro * Russian cradle * Aerial bicycle * Contortion * Balancing on chairs * Rola bola * Acro net * Aerial straps * Yo-yo * Banquine Retired acts and acts in rotation include: * Handbalancing * Aerial cart * Chinese pole

Music

The score, composed by Raphaël Beau in collaboration with Guy Dubuc and Marc Lessard (known as Bob and Bill), fuses jazz with

electro swing Electro swing, or swing house, is an electronic dance music genre that combines the influence of vintage or modern swing and jazz mixed with house and hip hop. Successful examples of the genre create a modern and dance-floor focused sound tha ...

. The soundtrack was released on December 9, 2014. A CD launch, "Kurios about Music", took place at the December 10, 2014 show, which included an off-stage performance by the ''Kurios'' band and an after-show party.

Track titles

# "11h11" ''(Opening)'' # "Steampunk Telegram" ''(Aerial Bike)'' # "Bella Donna Twist" ''(Chaos Synchro 1900)'' # "Gravity Levitas" ''(Russian Cradle)'' # "Monde inversé" ''(Upside Down World)'' # "Hypnotique" ''(Contortion)'' # "Departure" ''(Theater of hands/Transition into Rola Bola)'' # "Fearsome Flight" ''(Rola Bola)'' # "Clouds" ''(Acro Net)'' # "Créature de siam" ''(Aerial Straps Duo)'' # "Wat U No Wen" ''(Banquine)'' # "You Must be Joking" ''(Finale)''

Vocalists

* Eirini Tornesaki - from April 24, 2014 to March 19, 2017 * Sophie Guay - from March 19, 2017 to ''present''

Critical reception

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' praised the show and critic Richard Ouzounian, saying "Kurios is Cirque du Soleil's strongest act in years." '' The Gazette'' also declared ''Kurios'' a success, saying it was "...a classic. It runs like clockwork and could tick on forever." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' described it as a "kinetic, whimsical and astounding new production". On the show's debut in San Francisco, the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' called ''Kurios'' "the best Cirque du Soleil show in a long time". The ''

San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...

'' wrote, "For its 30th anniversary, Cirque du Soleil has concocted a dark and mysterious world that eschews the brightly colored eye candy for which the French Canadian juggernaut has become famous." Chris Jones of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' wrote: "Well, the Cirque has come roaring back with a dazzling, hyper-detailed, potent, quixotic and generally fantastic show that reveals this extraordinary artistic company's singular capacity for exploration and metamorphosis. It is not to be missed on any account. Even the music, sung by the Greek vocalist Eirini Tornesaki, is beguiling."

References

External links

* * {{Cirque_du_Soleil Cirque du Soleil touring shows