SARMOTI'S FINAL SPELL?

The Las Vegas Sun provides a timeline of the the Saturday evening charity performance by Siegfried and Roy as well as a series of celebrity photos from the red carpet before the event. They were also the first to confirm that the tiger used in the performance was indeed Montecore (pictured above), the same cat involved in the near fatal mauling of Roy in October of 2003. According to the piece:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the spirit of Siegfried & Roy has arrived," a voice intones, followed by a piano and orchestra arrangement. Horn is onstage, caped in a black hood, white shirt and mask. He opens a silver lid atop a box, and flames pour out. He closes it, reopens, and Siegfried emerges, to applause.

A stage platform is rolled out, and at the left is a caged white tiger. Siegfried drapes the cage with white cloth, then moves to the middle of the set and is also concealed in white. Roy pulls a rope to display a tiger in his place and Siegfried inhabiting the first cage. Roy's voice is heard over the speakers, he is talking of dreams. The tiger is led from its cage by Siegfried and lays near both performers, who pull off their masks.

The tiger is uncaged and off the leash. The crowd stands and cheers. Roy is still moving unaided. Siegfried waves, and the curtain closes.

About eight minutes in length, more than a year in the making, more than five years since Roy's life-threatening injuries. The spirit of Siegfried & Roy has left the building, the voice says. And there is your moment in Vegas history.

Siegfried and Roy's performance will air March 6 in a one-hour special on ABC's "20/20." According to Norm's column for the Las Vega Review Journal, 20/20 has been working n the special episode for more than six months, reporting both on the effect of the tiger attack on Roy and his recovery. "Five ABC cameras shot the German illusionists' one-night-only return to the stage Saturday at Bellagio during the Keep Memory Alive "Power of Love" fundraiser for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. ABC's exclusivity agreement prohibited photography coverage other than at the red carpet." The ABC listing offers the following preview of the 20/20 special: "Some of you have wondered, and now you'll have your answers. "20/20" will visit Vegas duo Siegfried & Roy as they prepare to return to the stage. With any luck, we'll discover why, after being mauled by a tiger, you'd go back into the ring."

In his column posted the day before the show, Robin Leach quoted from a personal note penned by Siegfried & Roy: 

“There is magic here tonight. Any time a group comes together to make our city a better place, there is magic. We are happy to be a part of this evening, this effort and this great cause. “For one last time we say “SARMOTI” (Siegfried & Roy Masters of the Impossible)”.