Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

Here at NW Kids, we really love Cirque du Soleil. When we are lucky enough to have a production come to Portland, my kids and I always make an evening of it. In 2017 we saw Curios (Cabinet of Curiosities) and last year my then 11-year-old daughter dubbed Crystal as her favorite live performance of any sort that she had seen. When we found out that Corteo was coming to town for a limited engage/ment, we couldn’t wait. We have tickets for the Thursday evening performance, but are also going to Moda Center on Wednesday afternoon to watch rehearsals and get a sneak peak of the costumes and a behind the scenes look at their process. Here is a bit more about the show:

“Corteo, which means “cortege” in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth. The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality.”

The Show:

• Corteo first premiered in Montreal in 2005 and has visited more than 60 cities in 19 different countries as a Big Top show before transforming in an arena show in 2016.
• Corteo celebrated its 3,500th performance in 2015 in Bogotá, Colomba.
• More than 8 million people have been enthralled by the world of Corteo.
• In the remount process, from the Big tent to the arena, new acts have been added to the Corteo show with a small adaptation to the original story line.
• Cast and Crew:
  • The cast is an international one, representing more than 15 nationalities. Performers are from Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, united Kingdom, ukraine, united States, uzbekistan and more.
  • Although you will generally hear French and English spoken on-site, many other languages are spoken: Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and more.

Corteo will be at Moda Center from March 14-17th with one show on Thursday evening and two shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets start at $59/each and vary largely upon seating choices and optional add-ons. Here is a direct link to the ticket page.