Cirque du Soleil arena show delivers on lofty expectations
Just saying the name Cirque du Soleil results in shortness of breath, an increased heart rate, a sense of exhilaration, the anticipation of greatness.
Originally composed of 20 Montreal street performers in 1984, Cirque du Soleil reinvented circus arts and became a world leader in artistic entertainment.
After thoroughly enjoying performances in Vancouver and Florida, I could hardly wait to experience the opening night of Corteo (pronounced core-TAYoh) at Prospera Place in Kelowna on Wednesday. A total of eight shows will be presented through Sunday. Tickets are available at Select Your Tickets or the Prospera Place box office.
Although Corteo is promoted on its current North American tour as Cirque du Soleil’s latest arena show, it actually premiered in Montreal under the Big Top in April 2005. Since then, one of the best-loved productions has amazed eight million people in 64 cities in 19 countries on four continents.
As soon as 2,000 fans entered Prospera’s arena on Wednesday, it became abundantly clear that Cirque had done it again, reimagined how an audience would experience the circus.
Director Daniele Finzi Pasca has brought everyone into an intimate setting never seen before in Cirque du Soleil arena shows: a circular stage with seating in both the front and back. Or is it in the front and front?
The set curtains, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, and the central curtains, which were hand-painted, give a grand feel to the stage.
On both sides — or, in this case, four sides — are huge decorative wood carvings to, in effect, frame the stage a la 1800s.
Corteo, which means cortege in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown who is literally lying on his death bed in the opening scene. Yet, in typical Cirque mind-warping style, he isn’t at death’s door but perhaps dreaming of his own funeral in which friends from circuses around the world perform to celebrate his life. Except he can not only watch but participate in the surreal funeral, which occurs “in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.”
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that angels drift down from the heavens (or side stage) and even participate in a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity, all in the most outrageous costumes. (Loved the human golf ball.)
As in other Cirque shows, Pasca has meticulously arranged the proceedings as a series of skits sandwiched between various events in a Cirque Olympics.
Those who have watched TV shows like America’s Got Talent will have seen competitors balancing on and climbing a free-standing ladder in the middle of the stage, for instance. Or jugglers. Or trapeze artists. Or pole dancers. Or a performer spinning around inside a two-metre metal hoop.
Cirque not only takes it to another level, but does it in the unique Cirque style. It’s not just (adult-looking) children playing in two beds, but two beds which double as trampolines. Inside three chandeliers are large hoops (three-ring circus) where men and women skilfully perform a seemingly endless variety of acrobatic manoeuvres (including hanging by their toes).
Cirque fans have seen similar routines, such as the two long drapes hanging from a cable with a lithe young woman wrapping the ends around her hands, arms, legs and body while careening above the stage. But it never fails to thrill.
With a show like this, a reviewer has to be careful not to spoil all the surprises. Suffice to say, there are a lot.
Although there is the required amount of acting, Cirque must attract some of the best physical specimens who aren’t reticent about displaying their prowess, whether it is on rings, drapes, hoops or ladders. Like the imagined or dreamt funeral participants, the cast of Corteo includes 51 acrobats, musicians, singers and actors from around the world.
Corteo lives up to its advance billing as one of the best. Now, when is the next Cirque show coming to the Okanagan? I’m hoping it’s sooner rather than later.