'Corteo' delivers on visual splendor

By: PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 1:22 PM PST ∞

Every traveling Cirque du Soleil show has its unique flavor, and "Corteo" ---- in residence through mid-February at the Del Mar Fairgrounds ---- is the most atmospheric and scenically beautiful of all the Cirque shows that have come before it.

While "Corteo" doesn't boast as many spectacular circus acts as "Varekai," which visited San Diego in 2004, its design is lavish and its music hypnotic. Its storyline is a bit easier to follow than most Cirque shows, and, despite its somber plot, it's packed with clowns and more comic bits than usual for children to enjoy.

Created two years ago in Montreal and now making its San Diego County debut, "Corteo" is the Italian word for "cortege." It's the story of a dying clown who dreams about his own funeral and looks back on his life (in an early 20th-century style Italian circus) in a series of non-chronological flashbacks.

Jean Rabasse's set is a major star of the show, a diamond shaped stage that the 61-member cast enters from either end with the audience seated on both sides of the stage, facing each other. The set has revolving turntables and stark, ethereal lighting designed by Martin Labrecque. Combined with Philppe Leduc's haunting musical score and Dominique Lemieux's elegant costumes, the overall effect is of ruined opulence ---- ornate, dreamy and other-worldly.

One of the most visually stunning acts is the very first ---- "Chandeliers," where four women aerialists perform a straps-style act on three huge, swinging, illuminated old-world chandeliers.

Also dazzling is "Paradise," a flawless high-flying act performed by a team of eight over nets, and "Helium Dance," where tiny clowness Valentyna Paylevanyan floats over the audience suspended from a quartet of giant helium balloons, her path guided by the willing hands of audience members as she squeals with delight.

Also enjoyable is acrobat Uzeyev Novruzov balancing on a pair of teetering ladders and tightwire walker Anastasia Bykovhaya climbing an elevated wire. There's also a trampoline-style act where acrobats do flying cartwheels and flips on a pair of oversized beds. The show's finale, "Tournik," has eight men performing synchronized flips on a square quartet of horizontal bars. It's well rehearsed, but not as big a finish as audiences may expect.

"Corteo" has more musical and comical bits than most Cirque shows, including a longish musical scene involving Tibetan bowls and a costumed ringmaster (Robert Stemmons) impressively whistling snatches of Chopin and Mozart. While its story is more coherent than most (thanks to the use of mostly English narration) it's still on the strange side, with images of floating angels, a deluge of rubber chickens and the clown riding off to heaven on his flying bicycle.

Where "Corteo" shines best is its sinuous music ---- Leduc's Italian- and Spanish-inflected score is ear-pleasing and lush, and singers Paul Bisson and Marie-Michelle Faber are talented vocalists ---- and its visual splendor. The two hour, 30-minute show offers a never-ending vista of sights and sounds that continuously entertain, even if the show's circus acts are on the less-thrilling side.

"Corteo"

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 4 and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays; through Feb. 17

Where: Grand chapiteau tent at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar

Tickets: $50-$85, general; $35-$59.50, children ages 2 to 12; $45-$76.50, students and seniors; parking is $9

Info: (800) 678-5440

Web: www.cirquedusoleil.com

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