Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

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Cirque du Soleil

In A Happy Death, Albert Camus contemplated the unlikely possibility of the title. In its 2005 production, Corteo, Cirque du Soleil explore a similar riddle: What sort of funeral befits a famous fool? The show mixes intimacy and a delicate sense of gravitas with Cirque’s trademark spectacle and comedy. At the start, an Italian clown is ushered in on a bier in the solemn procession referenced in the show’s title. Soon enough, though, we realize that he is still very much this side of the boneyard, dreaming absurd, grandiose, and poignant dreams of his last engagement. Surreal, acrobatic imagery includes aerial dance beneath whirling chandeliers, trampoline acts, and enigmatic, snowy angels, intermingled with mortal pratfalls, including a twisted take on Romeo and Juliet. Catapults, comedy, and the music of the spheres collide in a work where a clown reaches toward heaven—and we see what, if anything, reaches back. —Byron Woods