The newest yet-to-be-titled show, directed by Vincent Paterson, will feature the famous Elvis catalog of songs, re-orchestrated and sung by a group of live female vocalists and a live band. Cirque has access to the old master tapes and has been able to isolate Elvis' voice. "The only male voice you'll hear in the show," says Nadal, "will be that of Elvis."
Current plans call for a mostly biographical structure, involving appearances by characters based on Col. Tom Parker and Priscilla Presley and divided into the various sections of the King's life. This is a fully approved affair by the Elvis camp, so don't expect much of the man's famous dark side. "This is a tribute to Elvis' life," Nadal says, "so we're not going to go there. We're focused on his contributions to the entertainment world." according to Brian Quinn on the FECC Forum.
An earlier news story dated 3 September (also from Brian Quinn) indicated that the title of the show may be "Viva Elvis". Elvis Unlimited recently reported that Cique du Soleil Inc. had registered the domain names: VivaElvis.Com and VivaElvisLasVegas.Com
An amendation to the main posting is that the young boy who will portray Elvis at 11 years old, Connor Blackley, will sing in the show due to there being no Elvis recordings from this period.
This is true & another amendment: Leo Days, an ETA from my area of the country, will play the adult Elvis. No singing part but he was chosen to play this lead & told us the entire show is awesome.
More information on the forthcoming Cirque 'Viva Elvis' show: The latest information on the Cirque 'Viva Elvis' show. Meantime, secrets are spilling out from the new 1,800-seat Aria theater at CityCenter, where the Cirque Elvis show will be presented. Vincent Patterson will direct the show, which will feature a live band and female vocalists accompanying the songs and music of Elvis.
Zowie Bowie’s big band conductor, trumpet player David Perrico, will be one of Cirque Elvis’ musical directors. Elvis’ Memphis and Nashville master tapes have been re-digitized by Cirque’s recording engineers to isolate him so the only male voice in the show will be his!
Cirque’s resident Las Vegas Senior VP Jerry Nadal said: “Elvis will be a biographical structure, with appearances by characters based on his wife, Priscilla Presley, and his manager, Col. Tom Parker. The story is divided into various sections of Presley’s life, and all has the approval of everybody connected to the late King. This is a tribute to Elvis’ life, so we’re focused on his contributions to the entertainment world and not the dark side.”
Priscilla and CityCenter chief Bobby Baldwin have already seen a run-through and given a huge thumbs-up approval. The entire CityCenter cast moved from Montreal to live here and is now in the final months of rehearsals before the opening.
Cirque expanded its powerbase in Las Vegas by veering from its solely circus-themed shows when it premiered The Beatles Love at The Mirage. Then it went one step farther by building an entire show around one performer, Mindfreak star Criss Angel. It continues the expansion from full circus themes with the upcoming tribute, although there will still be the famed acrobatics, I’m told, to heighten the Elvis entertainment experience.
I wish this were going to be up and running in October when I will be in Vegas! I hope they put out a CD as well; the Beatles "Love" cd is absolutely fantastic. Newly orchestrated and all the songs run in a continuous segue blending perfectly. And parts of one song get used in another. It's a pretty amazing listen and it does a great deal to crystallize the cumulative effect of that band. Now, in my opinion, Elvis was far more important than the Beatles and had a much much longer career with more highlights, so if they assembled an album like this for Elvis it could really be astonishing. (The highlight of the Beatles "Love" cd, for me, is a simple string arrangement placed over George Harrison's acoustic demo version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Tasteful is the keyword here. I feel the 2008 version of Elvis' "The First Noel" was done similarly well, and absolutely stunningly. I hope we get a brilliant cd collection out of this)
KingKreole, There will be an album from the show. It has already been recorded. It is remixed similar to the Beatles 'Love' album. Insiders who have heard the tracks are knocked out by them. Expect a January 2010 release to coincide with the opening of the show.
Thanks for the news Brian! And if it was recorded and remastered and treated with the same brilliance as the Beatles "Love" disc, this could end up being my favorite Elvis CD of all time!
Thanks for th info Brian. Like KK i am really looking forward to the cd.
This CD could possibly be a top 10er with the right promotion. At least it wont be a tired old compilation. New & fresh is what is needed and this could do it.