Thursday evening saw the world premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s brand new creation, Echo. For the occasion, the famous marquee of the company, installed in the Old Port, was sold out. For this 20e work, awaited for three years, the famous circus, whose fame is well established, plunges us into a universe that is both sensitive and futuristic, where humans and animals mingle.
Animals in costumes, articulated giant, luminous bird, tightrope walkers above the fire… The show Echo shows us, without a doubt, all the colors. From the start, the dream and the imagination are invited on stage. In music worthy of an epic film, we meet these creatures, half-human, half-animal, all dressed in white. We also discover the main heroine, Future, and her faithful companion, an all-blue wolf. Both then hold the spectators by the hand to guide him through this adventure where living beings unite, help each other and unite to build a better world.
In the middle of the stage, a huge cube acts as a backdrop, but also as a receptacle for several projections. It moves, transforms the space and also sometimes becomes a play area for circus performers. In addition to props and classic apparatus from the circus world, this new creation also makes extensive use of technology. Whether it is to distract the public with a new kind of bird or to create the illusion of movement in the central cube, it is used wisely, without abuse. It makes it possible to accentuate certain effects and show new realities, while further affirming the futuristic side of this new world, without forgetting humanity. Through wonder, colors, sounds and sights, Echo challenges our relationship with nature, showing how we can sometimes forget it too easily.
A winning recipe
As always, Cirque du Soleil puts forward exceptional artists. Coming from all over the world, they obviously dazzle us with their mastery and the technicality of their art. From elastic straps to the triple rocker, including contortion, the diabolo, the soft thread, the banquine or even the capillary suspension, Echo offers an anthology of numbers that are both classic circus acts, but also aims for originality.
The numbers follow one another, linked by dance, a little humor thanks to the two clowns with hidden talents and moments of interaction with the public. Still in the circus tradition, each number is tied up in a crescendo to make the public react, even sometimes shout, in the last moments. Funny, sweet, surprising and sometimes unexpected, the acts are good to see and awe-inspiring, even if they don’t reinvent the genre. Despite this, we dive like children into this sparkling and whimsical universe that does not seek to make you think, but to make you feel, feel, and dream, for a moment.
To fortify the whole, the seven musicians, including Pascale Brigitte Boilard, are also transformed into fantastic creatures and take part in certain scenes. Lyrical and very enveloping, the songs sometimes act as simple soundscapes, but most of the time, they heighten the suspense due to the technical difficulty of a number, gently wrap the beautiful aerialists held back by their simple hair, for example, and are often synonymous with epic flight, worthy of 7e art. We let ourselves be carried away by these sometimes minimalist melodies, sometimes similar to church choirs or soul songs. And chills take over the rest.
High-level artists, original and fair scenography, music as a solid and necessary basis for the narrative and artistic framework, this is what explains the success ofEcho. As usual, Cirque du Soleil is reaching new heights in general public and family entertainment and will, I am sure, dazzle the rest of the world.