Our time on this earth is fleeting, a life well lived, friendships made, and lovers kissed, all passing through one’s thoughts during our final moments. Joyful memories to guide us into the afterlife, with fond farewells from those who knew us.
Cortéo, an Italian word meaning procession, premiered in 2005.
Written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, with set design by Jean Rabasse and exquisite lighting by Martin Labrecque it has been seen by over twelve million people across thirty countries.
This is the story of Mauro the Dreamer Clown, imagining his own funeral while lying on a gilded bed, a bittersweet way to start a show, but the delightfulness of his story and those who embellish it ensures that audiences remain enraptured.
Cortéo is not your big thrill circus that Cirque Du Soleil is most well-known for. Instead it draws its inspiration from elements of commedia dell’arte, with splashes of contemporary opera and traditional Italian circus mixed together for good measure. But herein lies the overall beauty of it.
When entering the arena, it is difficult not to be instantly taken with the charming hand painted curtain hanging in front of the stage. Translucent yet not detracting from the scene upon it, it allows the audience to see through to the other side of the arena, ensuring that no matter where you are seated the view is fantastic.
Ornate chandeliers hang from the ceiling and on each of the four corners live musicians provide the score for the evening, a violinist and saxophonist at times elevating the production to the next level along with the male and female vocalists whose voices soar.
And so, Mauro (played with such grace by Stéphane Gentilini) takes us through his life.
One of the first opening scenes featuring a quartet of female aerial artists swinging from giant ornate chandeliers. the four lovers over his lifetime, coming together to celebrate Mauro. Feminine energy in a united bond of love for a man that they had each shared time with.
The carefree memories of childhood, with acrobats using trampoline style beds (each weighing 600 pounds) brings a multitude of smiles from the audience as the cast members tumble over each other as the beds are circled, puffy white pillows flying off left, right and centre until the ring master demands that they go to sleep.
Cyr wheels remind one that life is indeed cyclic, one generation following the next, time never stopping in its endless march around the clock face, before a stunning suspended pole routine demonstrates just how remarkable the human body is and how movement can convey emotion just as powerfully as words.
Throughout the show, angels, sometimes just one, at other times several, float above the scenes being played out below.
Their celestial presence elevated by the golden semi-circle hoop that houses the wire, that smallest attention to detail evoking imagery of halos and the heaven that Mauro the Dreamer Clown will soon be ascending to.
There is of course comedy as well. A Scottish golf scene may seem out of place to some. However, is a hole in one not a metaphor for many of the things that we strive for in life? To succeed in a goal that has been set, to give it our absolute best shot, no matter what?
One of the most endearing acts of the evening is performed by one of only seven of the original cast members from the 2005 production. The Clowness (played by Anita Szentes), who strapped inside a harness attached to giant helium balloons floats out above the attendees, Mauro instructing them to be ready with two hands to gently push her feet to allow her to float across them all.
At times, the stage is almost chaotic, as multiple cast members dance, skip and somersault their way across it. Yet each specific act is still given room to breathe, small humorous or whimsical portions carefully placed throughout as palette cleansers while the tireless technical and support crew set up for the next breathtaking act.
Shoes that march on their own, rubber chickens hurled from above by a giggling angel, and tiny mechanical spotlights that zoom about all part of the ebullience evoked by the creative team.
A small intermission is followed by the second half which begins with friendly rivalry in the town square being settled with a spectacular teeterboard act.
Cortéo is a great example of the more traditional circus acts. The kind that would have toured rural Italy. Such as a musical number featuring crystal glasses being played with fingers dipped in water, while other clowns played Tibetan bowls while seated on the outer rim of the circular stage which rotates to ensure that everyone present obtains the perfect view.
An incredible ladder act and hand balancing on canes by an acrobat who looked like he had stepped straight from a renaissance painting were flawless demonstrations of how magnificently powerful the human body can be.
Slowly Mauro the Dreamer Clown’s journey was coming to an end. He speaks of his grandfather reciting an analogy of how riding a bike is a lot like how one should move through life.
Too fast and you miss the little moments. Too slow and you might fall. But a steady speed and you will reach your destination with all the riches life has to offer, through friendships made and experiences lived.
Culminating in an aerial act featuring a duo in blue who held all in the palm of their hands and multiple aerialists performing an exemplary choreographed static trapeze act and we see Mauro ride past in the sky, his final part of the journey guided by four heavenly angels in decadent vestments and wings worthy of their ethereal status.
Cortéo is more than just a circus act. It is a celebration of life, and the wonderment that constantly surrounds us, if one just opens their heart and embraces it.
Sarah Kidd
Tickets available from Ticketmaster
Photography by Leonie Moreland
