Jutras takes note of changes in ‘Le Reve’

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, April 28, 2005 | 8:38 a.m.

Composer Benoit Jutras has spent months writing hours of music for Wynn Las Vegas' "Le Reve."

Don't expect to hear much of it.

"Most of that music is completely scrapped," Jutras said. "I rewrote tons of new music in the last three weeks, even the last week, before the show opens."

That might sound like a high-wire act, every bit as risky as the routines performed by Cirque du Soleil's renowned acrobatic team.

But for Jutras, the theater company's music director and principal composer, it is a tested process, one he has used successfully for two other Las Vegas productions, Treasure Island's "Mystere" and Bellagio's "O."

"Usually when (former Cirque director) Franco (Dragone) and I see the show, we realize there's no music that fits here -- because of the act that came before -- or there, because of the act that will follow," Jutras said. "So that means I'm writing up until the end.

"It can be intense, but at the same time I do like this intensity."

"Le Reve" opens May 6 in the Wynn Theater, a domed theater-in-the-round, with 14 rows and 2,087 seats. Performances run nightly Thursdays through Mondays.

Although show details remain guarded, Jutras said fans can expect an experience quite different from Las Vegas' other Cirque offerings.

"This show is more about theater and dance than acrobatics," Jutras, 42, said. "Musically, the show is a lot more orchestral and, I would say, more profound."

Jutras described the score as a blend of "two extremes."

"More than in any other Cirque du Soleil show, I'm able to go fully into a more classical world," he said. "Yet at the same time, we also go into a more pop world, with a male singer who has a voice that's kind of a mix between Radiohead's Thom Yorke and (U2's) Bono."

The show will also feature a female vocalist, who will handle classical pieces, and a five-piece band with two keyboardists, a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer.

Jutras said Dragone briefly considered using recorded music for "Le Reve," but opted for live music.

"Originally they thought of having only tapes, but we decided it was nice to have a live band with real live energy," Jutras said. "It's much nicer. I am so sad when I go see shows and hear tapes."

The French-Canadaian Jutras, a Montreal native, helped bring the Cirque du Soleil experience to Las Vegas in 1994, conducting "Mystere" -- the Strip's first permanent Cirque production -- during its first two years.

He co-wrote music for that show, then went on to serve as the primary composer for "O" and several other Cirque ventures, including Walt Disney World-housed "La Nouba" and the touring production "Quidam."

It has been an unforeseen career path for a keyboardist who played in a progressive-rock band in high school and who dreamed of being the next Genesis or Yes.

He even practiced in a most unusual setting.

"My parents worked in this place for the hearing-impaired, and I had a studio for my rock band there," Jutras said. "We were blasting, playing so loud, and there would be people 10 feet from us not hearing a thing. It was crazy."

Jutras turned to classical music, studying at the prestigious Le Conservatoire de Musique de Montreal before signing with Cirque du Soleil.

Jutras, who has lived in Southern Nevada for four months as he revs up for "Le Reve," said he doesn't approach music for Las Vegas audiences differently.

"Some say that people come here mainly for gambling, and their concentration level is lower because they really want to just have fun and go back to the casino," Jutras said. "But I think that what touches people in New York, if it's done well, will touch people in Vegas."

And hopefully, it will continue to touch visitors from around the world, Jutras added.

"If I meet strangers at a restaurant in London, and we talk about Vegas, one of the first things they say is, 'I want to see one of the (Cirque) shows," he said. "It's a funny feeling that somehow, I'm a big part of Vegas now."