Legendary magician to cast a spell over Baltic audiences

Dec 01, 2004
By Julia Balandina

RIGA - Magic has clearly moved on a bit since the good old days when rabbits were yanked out of hats by their ears to gasps of amazement from the audience. And nothing will have prepared Baltic audiences for the glitz and spectacle of legendary American magician David Copperfield, who will be performing in the Baltic capitals this December.

"An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion" is the pearly-toothed conjurer's latest tour, in which he aims to take people's dreams (and maybe a few nightmares) and turn them into reality through his state of the art wizardry.

"For magic to be relevant," explains Copperfield, "it has to evolve so it keeps up with, or even surpasses, the best film and theater. I want to base my work on what people really dream about. Most of us don't dream of pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But what affects people is realizing personal dreams, dreams almost everyone shares, that they thought were impossible."

David Copperfield was born in New Jerse in 1956, and began his career in magic at the young age of 12, performing under the name "The Boy Davino." Not long after, he became the youngest person to be admitted to SAM, the Society of American Magicians. At the age of 16 he began teaching magic at New York University.

Copperfield struck gold in college when he was cast in a musical called "The Magic Man," for which he used the stage name David Copperfield for the first time. He sang, danced, and created all the magic that made up the show, which went on to become the longest running show in Chicago.

In 1993 he got engaged to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer, but sadly the magic couldn't last, and they broke up six years later. Copperfield also owns the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, the largest of its kind in the world. He has performed seven times for American presidents and in 1995, was given a star and inducted into the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.

It's worth mentioning some of the highlights of the upcoming show, just to give you a taste of the awesome entertainment David will be serving up. In the so-called reunion part, a member of the audience who longs to be reunited with a loved one supposedly gets to realize their dream. While standing on a crane arm with Copperfield, suspended over the heads of the audience, the person then vanishes impossibly, only to reappear moments later in the freely selected location of their dreams.

The lottery episode was inspired by Copperfield's grandfather's unfulfilled dream of getting rich quick. Here the entire audience is involved as Copperfield shares his secret technique for predicting the winning numbers of a lottery draw. And in man vs. steel, Copperfield will float right through solid steel. But regardless of whether or not the show is the triumph of illusion over reality, one thing is for sure. After Copperfield's Baltic outing, his bank account will receive an almighty magical boost.

David Copperfield, Siemens Arena, Vilnius

Dec. 11 -12.

Show times: 4:30 p.m., 8 p.m.

Tickets from 100 litas (29 euros) to 400 litas Skonto Olympic Hall, Riga

Dec. 13 - 14. Showtimes: Dec. 13 - 5:30 p.m.,

9 p.m. Dec 14 - 4 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Tickets from10 lats (14.50 euros) to 100 lats

Saku Suurhall Arena, Tallinn. Dec 15 - 16.

All tickets sold out.

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