New Cirque du Soleil show slated to premiere in Montreal in 2023

Cirque du Soleil is renewing a long tradition by presenting the world premiere of its new show Echo in Montreal, starting next April. It promises a show with artistic and technological creations.

This will be the group’s 20th show and is set to explore the balance of people, animals and the planet they share. The story frame will be based on the female protagonist Future, an active young girl.

As creative director Chantal Tremblay describes, she represents a new generation that has a different view of the world. The character will show the impact of human activity on the Earth.

“We see this evolution, which will then bring humans to animals… All together, we will be able to rebuild the world we want to live in,” Tremblay explained during the announcement. program in French.

The public will rediscover high-flying acrobatics, but with the naked eye, Echo will stand out from the entertainment company’s previous creations.

“Through our landscapes, colors and sounds, we are in a different place. We are more modern. Colors are included differently. (There will be) a lot of voices,” Tremblay said in an interview.

The centerpiece of this production will be a giant cube, as tall as a two-story building. It was a big challenge for the team, as such a structure has never been installed in the Cirque du Soleil reserve.

“It was a landscape that we would have in a theater. Technically, we pushed each other, but that’s the difference we wanted to make. The cube will also play some role; Chantal Tremblay said.

“It will live through the show. It moves, it pops up on its own. And we show great scenes from Jerome Delapierre,” she said.

The creative process of Echo started before the pandemic. When the health crisis hit, there were still nearly two months of preparation, but Tremblay said the past year has allowed the team to review the development of the program.

The production team, which has about 40 artists, was originally named Under the same sky. Mukhtar director Omar Sharif Mukhtar explained that the change to Echo is needed to better reflect the show’s plot and message.

The impact of the pandemic was one of the inspirations for the director, who lives in Las Vegas. “The way people think is different now. We see life and we interact with others in a different way,” Mukhtar said via videoconference on Tuesday.

The message he wishes to send to the public through his program is the need for people to work together to create a world of empathy.

‘Historic record’ for ticket sales in pre-screening

Echo will begin April 20, 2023 at the Old Port of Montreal for a series of performances through August 20, before going on an international tour. Tickets go on sale October 17.

Cirque du Soleil signed a ten-year agreement with the Old Port to present new shows or classics. The first year of this partnership ended with KOOZA, took place last summer.

According to Stéphane Lefebvre, the show, which had been running for several years, broke a “historic record” for attendance in Montreal. A total of 270,000 tickets were sold. The record sale reassured the group that the Quebecers were interested, even after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is an important relationship between Cirque du Soleil and the people of Montreal. Coming out of the pandemic, I got the impression that people wanted to come together and see the performances again,” said Stéphane Lefebvre, president and CEO of Cirque du Soleil Group.

“We have had great success with restarting our shows in different markets around the world. But certainly the experience we had in Montreal, last summer, was all the more important and emotional,” he told The Canadian Press.

Cirque’s headquarters remains in the capital, Quebec, as are its creative studios.

This article was made possible with financial support from Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News. It was first published in French by The Canadian Press on October 11, 2022.

& copy 2022 Canadian Press