Cirque du Soleil transports Meridian Centre with Corteo
CIRQUE du SOLEIL: CORTEO, written and directed by Danielle Finzi Pasca. Starring Mauro Mozzani, Sean Lomax and Inna Teslenko. At the Meridian Centre until July 15. **** (out of five)
Rarely has the term ‘often imitated, never duplicated’ applied more than when describing Cirque du Soleil.
Even if you’ve never seen one of the Montreal company’s groundbreaking shows, you’ve likely seen the copycats. At casinos. In theatres. Some even have ‘cirque’ in their name, like the Russian production Cirque Niagara in Niagara Falls 12 years ago. But until you see the real thing, with your own eyes, you’re seeing a facsimile.
Now that the real deal has finally arrived in Niagara, you will immediately see the difference.
Corteo, one of Cirque du Soleil’s most popular touring productions, opened Wednesday night at St. Catharines’ Meridian Centre and instantly transformed the place. The company long ago shattered the definition of what a ‘circus’ is — the shows are as emotional as they are thrilling, with an abundance of quiet moments to allow the sweet, simple story to breathe. And as always, no animals.
As people file into the arena, the central stage is divided by a large curtain. A few performers roam the floor, mingling with the audience. There’s no loud music, no abrasive announcers. Even before it begins, Corteo transports you to a different time. It feels odd even looking at your cellphone.
That mood continues as the show starts not with a bang, but a funeral. As he lies in his death bed, the ‘Dreamer Clown,’ played by Italy’s Mauro Mozzani, imagines his funeral as a carnival-like celebration, watched over by angels who swoop in and out of the action. It begins on an elegant note, with a trio of women performing aerial acrobatics on three large chandeliers, before moving onto a series of eye-popping set pieces. A segment with trampoline beds showcases the company’s brand of choreographed chaos — 20 different things going on at once.
While lacking the spectacle of Cirque’s Las Vegas shows, Corteo’s more intimate production allows individual performers to shine. Especially impressive is Canada’s Sante D’Amours Fortunato, who at one point uses her entire body to twirl seven hula hoops, and the Ukraine’s Slava Pereviazko, balancing on a ladder at centre stage trying to present a flower to an angel.
A crowd favourite was Valentina Paylevanyan as the ‘Little Clowness,’ floating above the audience with four helium balloons.
As she descends, audience members help push her back up. It’s a delightful, dreamlike image plucked from childhood memories of “The Wizard of Oz” and “Alice in Wonderland.”
The show’s finale is suitably edge-ofthe-seat, with Botakoz Bayatanova and Oleksandr Kunytskyi flashing finesse and strength with aerial straps, and a slew of gymnasts flying across horizontal bars, missing each other by inches.
The company’s first-ever visit to Niagara wraps up Sunday.