Alegria

It's OK to read the other reviews. I more or less agree -- depending on the review. What I don't think is emphasized enough, though, is just how special the title tune, "Alegria" is. Francesca's style and this great sentimental tune have a great synergy. You may love eggnog and you may like a nice oily aromatic nutmeg. Put the two together and you now can add that item to your list of something that's just too good. It's not an exact analogy, though. Francesa's voice is not the nutmeg or the eggnog; neither is the tune. Yes, synergy is all I'm getting at. But my "nutmeg and eggnog" makes that somewhat dry notion of synergy more palpable. And THAT is what Alegria is like: palpable. The first exposure to this song and you will find it quite beautiful. So much so that I thought it was Bel Canto singing style. Maybe, but probably not. But like someone who is truly a good person as well as a person you love, you love this song more when you see how repeated exposure can still bring such delight. Of course anything can be overdone. So there are a couple of other good tunes and plenty of atmospheric sounds on the CD. But when you do go back to Alegria again, you will again find it such a special song. It is like there is a profundity to be found in its sentimentality. I can't say I know of any other song like that. Songs are substantive in fun (like the Unicorn, or Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream Album) or substantive in joy or substantive in sadness (plenty of those!), but I don't believe I have ever come to believe in profundity in a song because it was dripping with sentimentality. Incidentally, the CD has excellent sound quality. So why not 5 stars? I guess I feel I've been doing "star inflation" -- especially on music. Or maybe it was the super Egmont overture by Beethoven I recently listened to. Talk about profundity! (Yeppers, I've reviewed several Egmont recordings; have a look.) Anyway, the title tune is so very special: it is a beguiling mix of profundity, sentimentality and Francesca's unusual voice. It's an almost addictive synergy (like nutmeg and eggnog).

The music and singing are top quality as always. The only problems I found with the product were it languished in the nearby FedEx office since 9 a.m. Tuesday morning when it was supposed to be delivered by the following day. It was released to a USPS facility after 48 hours and when it was delivered, the case was cracked and the hinges were broken. Luckily, I had unused CD covers which I placed the CD in to protect it. I believe that when a package is placed in the hands of a FedEx representative, it should STAY in FedEx's hands, not given over to USPS (where I believe the damage to the case occurred). I would still recommend this product to anyone who loves the music which accompanies the acrobatic artistry of Cirque du Soleil.

Almost twenty years after release, and after wearing through many copies, I still love listening to this soundtrack."...beautiful roaring scream of joy and sorrow, so extreme...come la rabbia di amar (like raging love)...come un assalto di gioia (like an assault of joy)..." Whew!The title track ranks right next to Beethoven's 9th as an anthem to lift the spirits, making us laugh through tears.Agree with all the technical aspects of the album already discussed in detail by other reviewers. Meanwhile, if you can get your hands on a decent copy, it's guaranteed to become one of your treasures.

This is an awesome CD. Vocalist Francesca Gagnon is haunting & powerful - I love every single song. I'm a huge Cirque fan & have seen most of their shows on DVD. While the individual shows are great, not all of the accompanying CDs are. This is probably the best of the Cirque CDs in terms of consistency & composition, with Dralion a close second. Highly recommend.

loved the show and now have a recording of it.

Beautiful music

Excellent

This is one of the better Cirque titles. Typically, Cirque de Soleil will produce excellent quality music, and I have not been disappointed yet. But for some reason, this disc stays in my CD player. I find the vocals on Alegria to be captivating, and maybe that's why I have been listening to it time and again.