Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Corteo’ offers life-affirming theme, energy
On paper, Cirque du Soleil’s “Corteo,” with multiple shows at the BMO Harris Bradley Center through April 1, is about death, as an Italian clown named Mauro (Mauro Mozzani) revisits his life and witnesses his own fanciful funeral.
But, really, “Corteo” is about life, and living to the fullest, manifested through imaginative whimsy, sweeping theatrics and one jaw-dropping display after another.
The production — imagine Fellini with acrobats, with a significantly lighter touch — is also, on paper, an arena spectacle.
In reality, it feels far more intimate. In a Cirque first, the stage spans across the floor of the arena, with the audience seated on both sides, and restricted to a few sections directly facing the stage, offering optimal views of the action that unfolds.
And what incredible action it was Thursday, whether it was a boisterous “bouncing beds” routine, with acrobats leaping from trampolines and balancing on thin bed rails; or Stephanie Ortega’s graceful suspended pole act, where she defied gravity hoisting herself up with a shoulder blade, her hips, her calf.
Sante D’Amours Fortunato was equally effortless spinning up to eight hula-hoops at once, at times standing on one leg, and even balancing her body with one arm.
By contrast, the teeterboard act seemed shaky, with four acrobats, taking turns jumping on a see-saw to catapult their somersaulting partners into the sky. But even with a few uneasy landings, the gravity of the performers’ expressions suggested these superhumans were pushing themselves to the limit, resulting in the night’s most suspenseful performance.
There were a dozen major acts across two hours, but even the scenes and interludes that didn’t require such remarkable finesse were winning.
Credit the creative staging and charming sight gags, including runaway shoes with no owners, a cheeky human golf ball, and a performer (Valentina Paylevanyan) tethered to four giant balloons that bounced into the crowd.
Only one comic moment floundered: a madcap performance of “Romeo & Juliet” with eight actors squeezing into a tiny stage that recalled Cirque’s headache-inducing “Banana Shpeel,” a rare flop for the troupe.
“Corteo’s” finest moments married stunning skills with emotional potency. With dizzying whistling, Sean Lomax led a riff off Mozart with performers creating a symphony running the rims of Tibetan bowls and water-filled crystal glasses.
The penultimate act had Botakoz Bayatanova and Oleksandr Kunytskyi performing a breathless and beautiful aerial act, supporting each other with astounding strength and agility as they swung from straps over the stage.
And Slava Pereviazko walked and tumbled and balanced himself with a wobbly ladder, his act culminating with a white rose, balanced on the tip of his nose, that he caught in his teeth and presented to a suspended angel.
Then the spectacle abruptly ended, much like life itself. It was a reminder to make the most of the time we have. Seeing “Corteo” is a good way to do just that. Tickets for “Corteo” are available at the Bradley Center box office and ticketmaster.com.