Corteo
26 Jun 2018

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Lucas Saporiti

I was dreaming of my funeral. My friends, we were all there. I was lying in the middle of the stage.
It was great.

And it is great. Corteo is extravagantly spectacular with circus acts appearing, dazzling the audience, then blending back into the storyline. That the storyline is more thematic than a coherent plot is of no matter, the individual elements are extraordinary and the overall effect is far more moving, emotionally coherent, than one would expect.

The clown Mauro, Mauro Mozzani, looks back on his life as he lies dreaming of his funeral. Four women - past loves? - writhe on gigantic chandeliers that ascend and descend and glitter with strings of ancient jewels. Their gowns float away to reveal saucy can can costumes. It is stunning. The eye cannot choose where to look, there are three chandeliers and we are witnessing an evocation of the circus tradition of three rings. Corteo shows us the past, salutes it lovingly, and then speed-floats into a future where anything is possible from a circus.

Attempting to maintain my critical faculties in the face of induced rapture, I struggle to catalogue references in the rich mise-en-scene. But of course we are in Mauro's dream and the mish-mash of Fellini, French Baroque, Pierrot, Elizabethan theatre, robots, etc, etc, is a fever dream that should make no sense but creates a vibrant world we have graciously been invited to share. The fourth wall shatters on occasion, but just as often the curtain rolls up and down to reveal a new world. The second act opens with a coup de theatre that is so gorgeously done that it inspires tears of wonder.

The acts themselves are given just enough time to shine, build to a climax, and take a bow. Of note, in no particular order:

An Acrobatic Ladder routine, Slava Pereviazko, that goes from unbelievable but comical to heartstopping.

A Cyr Wheel routine that spins into a psychedelic frenzy of motion, but never detracting from the breathtaking special effect of the artist's physiques.

A Hula-Hoop routine, Sante D'Amours Fortunato, that begins spellbinding but quickly becomes impossible to believe.

There is also a Suspended Pole performance that transcends the genre; acrobatics on beds, a trapeze, a teeter totter, and horizontal bars; a ringmaster, Sean Lomax, who whistles a symphony; a Straps Duo routine with another awe-inspiring physique but alas trapped in a family-friendly resolutely heterosexual paradigm broken only by the occasional appearance of a drag angel ; the funniest sound gag I have ever heard in a Cirque show involving the power chord from The Phantom of the Opera and a plummeting chandelier; and Alexander Yudintsev blending juggling and acrobatics to a sumptuous bolero.

But the entire show is stolen by the sassy Valentina Paylevanya both with her Helium Dance where she interacts directly with the audience, and her interactions with the male little person and the giant clown Victorino Lujan.

As we filed into the massive arena that is the Tribute Communities Centre, it was impossible not to notice a young boy of just pre-teen age. He danced on the spot, frenetic with excitement, dressed immaculately to impress (capped with a fedora), and radiating energy. At intermission we crossed paths again. He was in the sterile confines of the men's room, standing in front of a sink - the counter was just below eye level - and utterly absorbed in his own mysterious world. He spread his arms wide and then shouted "Abracadabra," clapped his hands together under the faucet, and then took a satisfied bow for having made the water flow.

And that is the true magic of Corteo, of Cirque du Soleil in general: he was inspired, transported, and convinced that anything is possible, magic exists. I wish I could of seen his face as Corteo unleashed its climactic moment, as Mauro's dream ends in the most transcendent and powerful way.

Extraneous notes: I have seen Corteo before but the original version under le grand chapiteau. It remains one of my all time favourite Cirque shows (and I have seen a majority of them), partly because it was so dark and because of a routine featuring Paylevanya that commented directly on the traditions of the sideshow, the acceptance and eroticization of the other, and transcending death through art. That sounds like a lot to pack into a circus act, but the original Corteo achieved it.

But of course, that is looking back through a lens of nostalgia and my own personal concerns and obsessions. While this Corteo may be lighter (that particular act has been replaced with an inconsequential clown routine the Teatro Intimo) and more razzle dazzle, it is no less powerful, it is just different. And the exciting news is that Cirque du Soleil has solved the problem of presenting their particular brand of circus magic in an arena setting. The Tributes Communities Centre is not a welcoming environment for theatrical circus magic (it smells of Pizza Pizza grease instead of popcorn), but Corteo makes it work. Where Arena, Quidam, Toruk, and Michael Jackson: The Immortal Tour, all delivered on spectacle, the circus and the intimacy was lost, the sense of sheer wonder at what these artists are able to accomplish and create. Corteo restores it.

While the spectacle and extravagance remain - there appear to be at least 40 performers on stage and an untold number of technicians making the mind-boggling technology function flawlessly - there is space given to extraneous elements, figments of Mauro's mind, that could easily have been cut in the interests of expense and expedience, but that fill the stage with a surreal reality that can't be underestimated. And we see the sweat, the muscles moving under the skin, the sly smiles at an impossibly difficult feat accomplished. It was more than worthwhile to travel to Oshawa (another non-hospitable environment) to experience Corteo.

To be reminded that anything is possible and that magic exists.