There are two kinds of circus in Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion. The title is a mixture of “Dragon” and “Lion”, and the show is presented as an East-meets-West extravaganza. In practice, it means the Canadian troupe has brought in the Chinese circus.
The Cirque du Soleil numbers seek to persuade us that Circus is Art, surrounding the acrobatics with elaborate costumes and vague uplifting sentiments By contrast, the Chinese are blindingly pragmatic. They just come on and get cracking, whipping through dozens of astounding feats. Guess which is more fun.Cirque du Soleil, founded 21 years ago, prides itself on reinventing the circus. In a series of international hits, founder Guy Lalibert?as built his circus acts into themed shows. In Dralion, four leading characters represent Fire, Air, Earth and Water.

These elements are carefully multicultural; Fran?s Barbeau dresses Water in Indian silks, Earth in African grass skirt.These figures never quite become characters They’re too non-specific. They just come on and waft about, throwing in a few jumps and turns. Singers descend on wires, but Violaine Corradi’s rock-operatic music is warbling bombast. Symbolism is coyly underlined, and the waffling gesticulation keeps us waiting for the circus thrills.Air (Colette Morrow) does a silk trapeze, an aerial duet. But there’s something about being an artist which needs to make sense out of chaos – like moulding clay.” Darkness into Light: The Music of James MacMillan: Barbican; St Giles, Cripplegate; and Guildhall School Music Hall (0845 120 7550; .uk) 14 to 16 January. I’m fascinated by what other artists do, by the wider world beyond my particular art form and by its potential to impact on music and to shape thoughts.”MacMillan describes his music as having a potential for drama “I take my music to extremes and let it do battle. We live in an age of continual daily contradictions, so it makes sense that music should deal with conflict.

And the physical experience of music moved him, he adds: “the shock of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring or the experience of Debussy’s La Mer seeping up through the soles of my feet. But Palestrina, Victoria and Bach remain the most important composers of the past for me.”His manner may be earnest, his demeanour rather formal and his left-leaning, liberationist roots in the Roman Catholic faith a little daunting, but in his youth MacMillan did gigs, playing penny-whistle and keyboards in crowd-pleasing Scottish and Irish folk bands, as well as singing ballads. He’s steeped in traditional Scottish culture and also enjoys rock music for its exuberance and directness, even if he finds it tame compared to the world of contemporary classical music he now inhabits.Early milestones such as the music-theatre piece Busqueda, incorporating poems by the Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina, or Tuireadh, for clarinet and strings, commemorating the Piper Alpha oil-rig disaster, reflect the intensity of his response to contemporary events. But would he agree that he is gradually adopting a more universalist outlook? “I can detect a deeper reflection, stemming perhaps from a keener interest in reading philosophy, theology, poetry and a host of writers. Piano and trumpet lessons sparked an interest in music and, at the age of 12, after hearing Alexander Gibson conduct Scottish Opera in Wagner’s G?rd?erung, he was in no doubt: he wanted to compose.”There were tunes in my head that had to come out,” he recalls.