Gilles Ste-Croix threw himself into the project with a single-minded drive and determination that was repeatedly put to the test. First, there was a delicate three-year courtship in which all of the partners, the Beatles, the widows, Cirque du Soleil, Apple Corp. Inc., and MGM MIRAGE had different, sometimes conflicting, interests to protect and promote as they worked toward finding enough common ground for a unanimous agreement.

At various times it seemed the deal would never come together, and even when the contracts were at last signed, sealed and delivered, the project hit obstacles that threatened to stop it in its tracks. But underneath it all was the conviction on all sides that LOVE had to happen - which gave it just enough momentum to overcome the obstructions.

Sadly, George Harrison did not live to see the realization of his dream. However, as Cirque du Soleil President Daniel Lamarre put it recently, "George and his wife Olivia were the starting point of this project and we are so touched she has decided to pursue it."

The tender, haunting version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a studio demo, the very first recording of the song - now augmented by a beautifully lush, melancholy accompaniment for strings, written for LOVE by George Martin.

It has been reported that the basement-to-roof refit of the former Siegfried & Roy theatre cost well over $100 million. The man who got to spend most of that money is the acclaimed French designer Jean Rabasse.

Rabasse makes no distinction between the interior of the theatre and the set design of LOVE. In his view, the two are so intertwined that it's impossible to say where the building ends and the décor begins. The core concept of his design grew from the idea of surrounding the Beatles in a "bubble." To pull that off, Rabasse gutted the classical 1,500-seat theatre and replaced it with 2,013 seats surrounding the stage in a 360-degree configuration.

One vital objective of Jean Rabasse's design was to situate the audience in the intimacy of the experience by putting them as close to the performers as possible. "I set myself the goal of giving the audience the opportunity to connect with the performance at a childlike, emotional level through simple stage techniques and transcendent music," he says. In a sense, he was also recreating the atmosphere and sensations of a circus big top. While this theatre is packed with technology, most of the nuts and bolts are hidden, so as not to come between the audience and their enjoyment of the show. The greatest design challenge Rabasse faced was to allow for seamless transitions between rapidly changing scenes packed with complex moving platforms, screens and set elements. For example, the show opens in the sky and dissolves to the rooftops of London for the Beatles' final concert atop their building in Savile Row, and from there it travels back in time to the gritty ruins of wartime Liverpool.