Music and Cats / Book of Abstracts - Catalog - Page 15
Abstracts
Panel 2: Ethics and Spectacle
12:25 – 12:40
“Magic, Music and
Big Cats”
Spectacle and the Use of Music in the Magic
Shows of Performing Duo Siegfried & Roy
Roxane Lindlacher / Paris Lodron University Salzburg
The
German-American
magicians
Siegfried
Fischbacher and Roy Horn, known as the duo
“Siegfried & Roy,” built their international career
on a winning formula: they combined magic tricks,
illusions and the use of big cats in their shows,
achieving
an
unprecedented
dimension
of
spectacular magic shows. The use of music can be
seen as an effective means of making this big
cat-magic fusion even more spectacular. It is an
integral part of the performance, coordinated with
the individual acts and part of the overall work of
art.
My paper will focus on the connection between
music and the illusions involving the cats. I want
to examine what music is used here, how it
interacts with the use of the big cats and what role
the cats themselves play in the musical and/or
sonic design of the shows—for example through
the growling and roaring of the cats. Are there
differences
or
similarities
between
the
participation of big cats in magic shows and
other forms of illusion shows? How do the
show formats of “Siegfried & Roy” fit into the
long
tradition
of
using
music
in
(animal-involving) circus shows? Under the
paradigm of the post-modern spectacle, an
assessment of the sociological potential of the
shows will be made.
Individual performances by the magician duo,
from the beginning of their career to their
mega-shows in Las Vegas, serve as sources for
analyzing the musical staging of the big cat
illusions; background information on the use
of music and the genesis of the acts is provided
by articles from the press, interviews with the
artists and documentary films. In this way, I
will strive for an initial scientific examination
of the magician duo, in which cats and music
will be the primary focus of my observations.
13
AI
