The Circus Krone was forced into a compulsory Corona break for a year and eleven months.

No show in their own venue in Munich, no tour through Germany, no income from renting out the Krone building to music bands or comedy shows.

Shortly before the end of the year, the winter program in the Krone building should finally start again, which has traditionally started on December 25th for 100 years with a festive premiere and many prominent guests.

But even though all the artists were engaged and the program was printed, Krone director Martin Lacey and his wife Jana Lacey-Krone canceled this appointment at short notice.

Because the authorities had suddenly only allowed a capacity utilization of 20 percent due to the corona risk – too little for Krone to even begin to cover the costs incurred.

Last weekend, Germany's largest circus company, which also describes itself as the world leader, made up for the unusual premiere.

This time the authorities had approved a capacity utilization of 75 percent and thus the admission of 2050 spectators.

According to a company spokesman, this can be calculated.

However, out of caution, Krone decided not to have the usual big party after the show.

Even the Munich chic crowd, for whom visiting the winter premiere was a must, made themselves scarce.

The photographers could only take pictures of three or four B-celebrities.

But the program of the show "New Memories", which can be seen until April 3, was of A quality.

The audience experienced a highlight right at the beginning with the unique predatory act by director Martin Lacey, who has already twice won a Golden Clown with it at the circus festival in Monte Carlo.

"It was a very difficult time for us and also for you," he let the audience know before letting his three lion men with impressive manes, his five white and eight brown lionesses and a tiger into the ring.

The big question was whether the predators had forgotten everything or at least a lot of what their animal trainer had taught them in years of training after a break of almost two years.

In fact, the animals had had no break in the ring at all.

Because lions don't know a lockdown.

At least they didn't know anyone at Krone, since Lacey not only trained with his big cats every day, he also performed with them twice every weekend on Saturday and Sunday in front of visitors at a show training session in the Krone building.

In this respect, the lions could not have forgotten anything.

At the premiere, they cuddled with their teacher as usual and hissed dangerously at him in front of practiced mock attacks.

When Lacey finally lay down on his favorite lion and cuddled with him, everyone could see and feel

Lacey's public training hours provided income for the circus company during the Corona break, as did the public tours of the Wessling stud farm, where Krone normally housed his retired animals and where director Jana Lacey-Krone together with horse whisperer Hans Ludwig Suppmeier during the pandemic trained their horses.

Finally, the two were allowed to show their elegant dressage sequences in the classic style again in the ring on the Lipizzaner stallion Majestoso and the Andalusian Legendario.

With high school courses and tours, the two not only enchanted horse lovers.

Horses and beasts of prey, which have always been a Krone specialty, also play an important part in this new winter programme.

High up on the rope

But the classic motto of a traditional family circus like Krone is not just "animals", but also "people and sensations".

And the performance of the Moroccan troupe Mustafa Danguir is actually sensational.

Actually, these artists had wanted to win a clown in Monte Carlo in January with their act on the double death wheel or with their high-wire act.

But because this world's most important circus festival was canceled this year due to Corona, Mustafa Danguier and his daring troupe concentrated on the Krone show.

On the tightrope, they delivered breathtaking acrobatics, from jumping over two partners to the seven-person pyramid.

On and in the quadruple Ferris wheel they set standards in terms of dynamics and action.

“People” – in the Krone programme, that means, for example, the ventriloquist Willer Nicolodi from Italy, who lets his fantasy mouse Joselito and later also the audience speak in a strange voice.

Or Mister Lorenz, the Italian joker with a Clark Gable beard, who bridged the changeover breaks in an original way.

The seven artists of the Ukrainian Circus Theater Bingo, who present ground and aerial acrobatics with enormous drive, are also remembered as special people.

So everything is fine again at Germany's largest circus?

Judging by the quality of the program, the answer is yes.

If you look at the economy, things don't look so good for Krone.

The company also had high expenses during the Corona break, including for animal care, but hardly any income.

There is a big hole in the balance sheet, which the circus will probably only have closed after two or three years – provided there is no further lockdown.

After all, Krone is doing better than many other circus companies in Germany and Europe.