Jerry took us out Sunday for a night on the … tent. Cirque du Soleil is in town and Jerry suggested, spur of the moment, that we get tickets and head over. The show is “Corteo,” one we haven’t seen — and we’ve seen most, from all but one of the shows in Las Vegas to many of the road/tent shows.
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| BOUNCING BEDS. MY FAVORITE ACT. UNRESTRAINED JOY. |
We had spotted the tent on one of our rides back from IKEA, so we knew that although it was across the river, it was walkable (perhaps 2 km). However, given that it was still hovering around 31C (88F) when we headed out, we decided to take a cab and then stroll back in the cool after the show.
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| A TRAPEZE ACT WITH NO TRAPEZE. JUST ARMS. PHENOMENAL. |
The tent was set up on an undeveloped parcel of land. I didn’t know
what the neighborhood was called. And, once we got in the cab, I
realized I also didn’t know how to say tent. Also, the word for circus —
circo — had slipped my mind. But we had another great cab
driver. He had no idea what Cirque du Soleil was. When he asked if I
meant “Circo del Sol,” I said without thinking “no.” That had to be
something else. After all, we never translated it to Circus of the Sun
when we lived in the United States. Fortunately, Jerry and I knew
exactly where it was, so simply directed the driver. We (the driver and
I) had a great conversation. I’m amazed at how much more I can
understand now, seemingly by osmosis. Once we neared the tent, we
straightened out the confusion. I explained that we don’t translate the
name into English and that I didn’t know the word for “the house that
the circus is in” (that’s what I said in Spanish). I now do, thanks to
the driver. In this case, the word for tent is “carpa.”
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| AFTER THE SHOW. LOOKING BACK AT THE CARPAS. |
We figured Cirque du Soleil would be a great show to see.
Our language skills would not be put to the test. The only talking they ever do in their non-Vegas shows is some random word here and there. Most
of what you hear is nonsense language. Even the songs are written in no known language. But, just to keep us on our
toes, this show had narration. Of course in Spanish. There was an actual story
we were supposed to follow. “A clown pictures his own funeral taking
place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by angels.” I managed to
keep up with most of it and would pass info along to Jerry — unsolicited
— as I thought necessary. But it wasn’t necessary for the enjoyment of
the acts. There were several inside jokes written just for the
Sevillano audience. I did catch a joke about the two football teams. At one point, one of the clowns made an absolutely hilarious
comment that had the entire audience roaring with laughter. I have no clue what he said…
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| CROSSING THE RIVER ON THE WALK HOME. BRIDGE IN BACKGROUND IS THE ONE WE CROSSED IN JULY AFTER THE TRIANA FAIR. |
Nothing worse than missing out on the nuance of a joke in another language….always like a good joke.
sophie…^5: Maybe not so bad when you miss the joke entirely! (What nuance?)
I went to see Cirque De Soleil a few years ago with my Mother. I remember not being to bothered about seeing it and I wasn't excited. But I absolutely loved it.
Mitch,
I saw that same show last year, in Arizona. I loved it. I have been to about 4 different ones now over the years. And your right, of all the ones I have been to, it wasn't' necessary to understand the language to follow the show, until Corteo. I would think it is much more romantic to see that show in Spain however.
P.S. One another note, I want to thank you for inspiring me to start my blog. You may not have known it, but I have been reading yours for sometime, way before I started mine. I am happy to say, that as of today, I have hit 50,000 page views. I don't know if I would have bother to do it and found my voice, if I wasn't busy reading yours.
Thanks
Scott
http://www.travelwithscott.com
it looks and sounds grand:) I hope today has been a good one Mr. B 🙂
I have never been to a Cirque show. Ticket prices are always a little too rich for my blood, but when I win the lottery I will!
It sounds (and looks) magical, Mitch.
Love the night shots of the tent. Very magical.
This is for Nubian,
James Cameron just exec. produced a 3D film of Cirque, coming out soon!
So, you will be able to view it at a theater near you soon, I don't know about the dates, but they previewed it last month at a convention here in Europe.
This isn't exactly news, the "untitled" work is listed at IMDB, and I found out about it, because the company almost hired me for the event.
Thanks Mitchell, you guys are having fun down there!
Hello Mitch:
Although we have toyed with the idea of going to see 'Cirque du Soleil' we have not yet managed to get there. The performance that you saw looks absolutely wonderful, such skill, and has now made us feel that we really must get to see them in action on the very next occasion when they are in town.
Mind of Mine:
I'm definitely sold on their shows. I can sometimes get bored with the jugglers and acrobats (even though they're pretty amazing), but there's always something new and clever (and unbelievably difficult to do) to hold my interest.
Scott:
My favorite Cirque du Soleil shows have been "O" and "Ka," but I have enjoyed most. Congrats on the milestone. That's a lot of visitors! And thanks so much for the kind words. I had no idea.
David:
Yes, a very pleasant day. But I wish I had one of those trampoline beds!
Nubian:
The prices are out of control, unfortunately. But, Jerry and I have never had a budget we didn't ignore. Definitely watch for that 3D film mentioned below by Theaterdog; then you don't have to worry about someone 6'9" sitting in front of you and limiting your view the entire show (I didn't know they even HAD people that tall in Spain)!
Judith:
It is!
Bob:
Thanks. That was taken with my smart phone and I hoped it was good enough to give that magical feeling.
Theaterdog:
Thanks for sharing the info about the 3D version. I would love to see that, too.
J&L:
I mentioned earlier that I do find some of the acts less exciting. But I have never been disappointed with a production and definitely recommend it. "Ka," which runs at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is high drama and very exciting. "O," at Bellagio is beautiful. This recent road show, "Corteo," is great fun and worth seeing.