Luca Zaia (Conegliano, 27 March 1968) is an Italian Venetist politician and member of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord.
Since April 2010 Zaia has been President of Veneto. Prior to that, he was Minister of Agriculture in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet from May 2008 to April 2010 and Vice President of Veneto from May 2005 to May 2008.
Luca Zaia joined Liga Veneta–Lega Nord in the early 1990s, after having met Gian Paolo Gobbo, and was first elected to public office in 1993, when he became municipal councillor of Godega di Sant'Urbano. Two years later, in 1995, he successfully ran for provincial councillor and, after the election, was appointed provincial minister of Agricolture.
In the 1998 provincial election Zaia was elected President of the Province of Treviso with 60.0% of the vote in the second round, after arriving ahead in the first round with 41.4% and refusing to accept the support of any other party other than his own. At the time, he was the youngest provincial president of Italy. In 2002 he was re-elected by a landslide 68.9% of the vote in the second round and continue to govern the province with the sole support of his party.
Zaia was a Cirque du Soleil stage production based at The Venetian Macao on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The 90-minute show opened in August 2008, bringing together 75 high-calibre artists from around the world. Zaia was Cirque du Soleil's first resident show in Asia and is directed by Neilson Vignola and Gilles Maheu. The custom-built theater housing the performance was capable of seating 1,800 spectators at a time.
Zaia presented a young girl's dream of journeying into space, discovering worlds populated by a panoply of otherworldly creatures. The title, Zaia, came from a Greek name meaning "life".
Due to multiple factors including very low audience turnouts, the show closed on 19 February 2012. Despite its closing, Venetian Macao resort owner Las Vegas Sands Corp. claimed, "Using Las Vegas as a benchmark, Zaia’s 3 1/2-year run should be deemed successful and provide strong support for the argument that the future of entertainment in Macau is on the right track."
Zaia opened in 2008 and had a rough start due to low audience numbers. With the addition of new Chinese-style elements such as a lion dance performance and a flying dragon, increased ticket sales were reported. Despite the improved box office sales, the show was still recording losses in 2011, Sands China president Edward Tracy revealed on 18 November 2011. The Venetian Macau show remained "the only business sector that doesn’t make a profit," he added. Criticism from Sands China chairman Sheldon Adelson led to rumours that the 10-year contract of Zaia would be terminated earlier. But Edward Tracy rejected this possibility. "We are prepared to take a loss to provide that kind of entertainment," he stressed. On 7 February 2012, Sands China and Cirque du Soleil announced that Zaia would close on 19 February 2012.
Zaia is a common Assyrian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Cirque du Soleil (pronounced: [siʁk dy sɔ.lɛj], "Circus of the Sun") is a Canadian entertainment company. It is the largest theatrical producer in the world. Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix.
Initially named Les Échassiers ([lez‿e.ʃa.sje], "The Waders"), they toured Quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe. Their initial financial hardship was relieved in 1983 by a government grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's voyage to Canada.Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil was a success in 1984, and after securing a second year of funding, Laliberté hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to re-create it as a "proper circus". Its theatrical, character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals helped define Cirque du Soleil as the contemporary circus ("nouveau cirque") that it remains today.
The feeling of hatred i feel about the one i love,
This feeling of hatred which is hurting me,
This feeling i like only you arouse it in me,
Thanks for what i feel for you...Paradoxical love!
Thanks for hurting me,
Thanks to making me survive.
My skull's fracturing above you,
It spurs waves of love in which i was drown,
I open my spirit's doors.
You met me when i was wrong,
I'm sorry for my wrong-doings,
I lost you because of my errors of youth,