Cirque du Soleil all shook up over Elvis deal
Having tackled the Beatles, Cirque du Soleil is now planning a series of shows inspired by the king of rock and roll.
On Thursday, the Montreal-basedacrobatic performancetroupeunveiled plans forthe Elvis Presley Projects, a collaboration with CKX Inc., which owns the rights toPresley's name, likeness and music publishing.
The venture will include more than 10 Elvis-themed touring and permanent productions around the world, with curtains set toraise on new shows from 2008 through 2021.
Elvis shows to join 13 current Cirque productions
When the Beatles-inspired Love opens in June, the award-winning Cirque will be presenting 13 shows simultaneously worldwide, five of them basedin Las Vegas.
"This arrangement will allow fans around the globe, who have only seen Elvis Presley in movies or listened to his music, to truly experience what it was like to see Elvis perform," CKX chair and CEO Robert Sillerman said in a statement.
Cirque founder Guy Laliberté added that the joint venture "clearly demonstrates our intention to pursue the diversification of our artistic content through different live productions."
Officials said that the shows would include both original recordings and new performances of Presley songs.
Fororiginal musicto be used,however,the producers will first have to strike a separate deal with RCA Records, which owns the master recordingsof the rock legend'ssongs.
CKX, which also owns the rights to Muhammad Ali's name, image and likeness,bought the controlling interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises from the singer's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 2004.
It also owns therights to the blockbuster TV singing competitions Pop Idol and American Idol, which have spawnedmore than 100 local adaptations around the world.
Cirque's global expansion
The internationally renowned Cirque du Soleil, which was honoured with Canada's National Arts Centre Performing Arts Award in 2000, is continuing to expand its reachdespitemixed results with permanent venues.
After opening a slate of hit shows in Las Vegas casinos, the company announced in March it was withdrawing from a new casino-hotel venture in Montreal.
A plan to build Cirque-themed hotels around the world is apparently on hold. However, Cirque officials did break ground at Tokyo's Disneyland complex in April for the Cirque's first permanent venue in Asia.