The Cirque du Soleil show Vive nos divas, premiered on Wednesday at the Cogeco amphitheater in Trois-Rivières, pays a dazzling tribute to the height of the “great” ladies of Quebec song.
An animation on the cul-de-sac piece of the Boulay sisters began the evening which covers 90 years of music history in Quebec. This first number, where the stage is illuminated in red, set the tone for the whimsical and daring production.
The public reacted from the first notes of the classic If I were a man by Diane Tell which opened the show honorably, while about thirty artists, all dressed in red, took the stage.
This piece marked the beginning of the journey of Phoenix, a young queen interpreted alternately by Anais Gonzalez and Colette Lemay, who was on a long pilgrimage, accompanied by her people.
A conquered audience
Trampo-wallists were warmly applauded by the spectators during the play Le debut d’un temps nouveau by the late singer Renée Claude, who died of COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic.
If the dancers stormed the boards during the powerful interpretation of I want everything by Ariane Moffatt, an acrobat suspended by the hair impressed the audience by flying majestically over the stage. In a rhythmic sequence, Tous les cris les S.O.S. by Marie-Denise Pelletier made people in the room want to accompany the artists by clapping their hands.
The atmosphere became dark and bright on the tunes of the success Entre l'ombre et la lumière by Marie Carmen, which conquered the public. What about the languorous number of an acrobat and her aerial fabric which dazzled during the song C'est zero by Julie Masse.
Quebec diva Celine Dion is of course highlighted in this production, with her hits I’m Alive and J’iraioù tu iras which created an electrifying vitality.
Following fabulous numbers of unicycles and fire dances, Ginette Reno's Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin was the highlight of the evening, with spectacular stage effects.
Twenty-one Great Hits
A total of 21 songs are performed during the show, which pays tribute to some twenty queens of Quebec song. Even if some are no longer in this world, such as Alys Robi, La Bolduc or Renée Martel, the production brings their classics back to life. It makes it possible to reconnect with other icons, such as Marjo, Diane Dufresne or Pauline Julien, whom the public sees more rarely on stage.
Lydia Bouchard's staging is a love letter to all these divas. The voices and the music, whose musical direction is provided by Jean-Phi Goncalves, marry gracefully with the acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil.
After two years of absence, the show “Vive nos divas” is the sixth installment in the Cirque du Soleil Tribute series. No less than 20 performances of this journey full of rhythms and emotions are presented from July 20 to August 20, 2022.
