As New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) Maestro William Boughton drew the first airy strains of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” from the symphony, a flick of his fingers catching in the light, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye that he hadn’t seen before when running through the piece.
At center stage, another maestro had appeared, scanning the stage for possible boxes and crates on which to balance before a swelling, giggling audience. Already there had been a contortionist, pretzeling herself high above the stage, a great wheel in which a figure spun and balanced wildly. Perhaps, Boughton and the symphony had thought, that was enough excitement for the evening. But there he stood, arms outstretched, feet sure, as he began a series of balances that had the audience — if not also the musicians — at the edge of its seats.
In a dazzling dovetail of classical and contemporary, formal and flamboyant, local and not, the NHSO and New York-based Cirque Mechanics closed out this year’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas Saturday night doing what the symphony perhaps do best: Having a ton of fun with music, and bringing it back to the public. Held as a free event on the New Haven Green, the performance drew over 12,000, a crowd stretching from the stage all the way back to Chapel Street.
After a week that has been both tough for the city and stellar for Arts & Ideas, packed with world premieres and new nods to New Haven itself, Cirque Mechanics — neither bang nor whimper, but stunning in its clean execution and show-stopping moves — brought the Festival’s themes of place and belonging full circle. There’s a sudden, distinct thrill in being presented with something gorgeous and whimsical, and the members of the troupe play right into that feeling, delighting in their own quirkiness as they take the stage by storm.
Which is where the NHSO, led by a conductor who has rendered so sacred and necessary the accessibility of music, made the evening kind of perfect. While the members of Cirque Mechanics don’t need music to do their thing — which included Saturday a lot of climbing, spinning, hanging in the air, juggling, and some hot moves with a fedora that might be fun to try at home — the pieces that the symphony played (all classics, many from the uber-magical Fantasia) carried not just the acrobats, but the audience. Near the stage, faces of all ages lit up at the recognition of a song that, in another life, had Mickey Mouse gallivanting about in long sorcery robes. Kids danced on the sides of the green, performing handstands that rivaled those on stage. In a grand finale, Boughton made it onto a rotating platform with the entire Cirque Mechanics family, conducting wildly as they twirled and somersaulted around him.
His smile, stretching across his face, flashed once before the audience. This is how music, he seemed to say, ought to be performed all the time.
Next year’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas begins on June 10, 2017.
