Artist:
Cirque Du Soleil - "Corteo"
Genre: Broadway
Background: Corteo is inspired
by the death and funeral of a clown, and
draws on a clown figure from a past long
before the existence of circus--a time when
clowns were not the stereotypes we know
now, but far more complex characters. Daniele
says the show is "situated at a strange
level between heaven and earth, where the
gods and humans can interact through the
medium of circus."
The show's environment takes its inspiration
from many architectural sources, especially
Chartres cathedral and its labyrinth,
which for Daniele Finzi Pasca symbolizes
the journey of life. "The labyrinth
is a great voyage: To find yourself you
have to lose yourself," he explains.
For Corteo Jean Rabasse and director
Daniele Finzi Pasca decided to divide
the rotating stage in two, with half the
audience facing the other half, so they
would be able to see the performance but
also have the performers' point of view
of the audience beyond.
To create the costumes for Corteo, Dominique
Lemieux wanted to accentuate the natural
beauty of the artists. "The show's
theatrical approach distinguishes it from
all previous Cirque du Soleil shows,"
she explains. "We are closer to traditional
circus, in which the humanity of the artists
is revealed. That translated into costumes
that resemble regular street clothes."
"My basic concept for the show is
that the audience is entering a theater
where the same circus has been playing
for 200 years," explains Jean. "I
love this idea because it allows me to
mix up all kinds of styles from the baroque
to the modern. But the last thing we wanted
to do was recreate a kitschy old-fashioned
circus, because we must have the modernity
and youth of Cirque du Soleil's acrobatics
and high technology, which really doesn't
exist anywhere else."
Philippe sees Corteo as a show full of
contrasts and musical moods, from solo
guitar to an imposing orchestral presence.
"It's very beautiful at the end,"
he says, "but along the way it's
funny too. There are surprises and laughter
around every corner. There are medieval
influences with ancient instruments and
traces of the 1930s but it's all very
current music."
In a first for Cirque du Soleil, the
music will depend on a great deal of Improvisation.
There are several "duels" between
a virtuoso violinist and an expert accordionist
which will be completely different for
every performance. "We're taking
artists and acrobats and putting them
in a show that is more theater than circus,"
explains Maria. "The music reflects
that theatrical aspect of the show. The
style is a kind of modern/medieval, with
African, Asian and Latin American rhythms.
It's new and simple at the same time."
The Makeup: Nathalie Gagné took
an entirely different approach to create
the urban/romantic characters in Corteo.
"I had to delve into the emotions
of the artists, to find their true nature,"
she explains. "We haven't created
fictional characters as we did for all
previous shows. For Corteo the characters
emerged from the artists' own faces, thanks
to the makeup."
This methodology corresponds to the humanist
approach taken by the show's director,
Daniele Finzi Pasca, especially when it
involves the clowns. "According to
Daniele, most children are afraid of clowns,"
says Nathalie. "But children will
want to hug the clowns in Corteo."
