Mauro the Clown has a dream that he has passed away, but his spirit lingers, bringing with it memories of a life well-spent making audiences laugh.
This is the premise behind Cirque du Soleil’s production Corteo, an action-packed circus full of juggling and acrobatics to provoke the senses.
The Italian word Corteo means a solemn procession. It is generally used in reference to funerals.
In this case, the production team has taken the sadness and grief out of the event and added joy and passion.
“In Corteo, you will see a story about a clown who is dreaming about his own funeral, but in a carnival atmosphere, where his friends from all over the world will come and show all the amazing skills that they have,” said show publicist Maxwell Batista.
Corteo premiered in 2005 under a big top. A decade later, the company decided to take the show on the road.
Moving the show from city to city takes a great deal of organization and manpower.
“It’s 110 people traveling together,” Batista said. “Setting up everything that you see here in one day only. And on Sunday, when the last guest is leaving, there’s only four hours to put everything inside 21 trucks and move to the next place.”
Cirque du Soleil was founded in Quebec during the early 1980s by Gilles Ste-Croix.
The small company chose to reinvent the traditional circus, adding drama, lighting and music to create dazzling shows.
More than four decades later, the circus has become the largest theatrical producer in the world, with heart-stopping shows like Mystère, Alegria and O.
The cast of Corteo includes 51 acrobats, musicians, singers and actors from across the globe.
“They arrive here early in the morning, work out, warm up, do their own makeup and get ready for the show,” Batista said. “They make it look easy, but, actually, it’s a lifetime of training that is needed to do what they do every night.”
Corteo will be dazzling audiences at Prospera Place in Kelowna from Oct. 17 to 21. Tickets range from $48 to $115 and are available at Select Your Tickets.