Cirque du Soleil Corteo Review (Melbourne 2025)

Score

Summary: Cirque du Soleil Corteo is spectacular from start to finish!

5

Spectacular

The demigods of Cirque du Soleil return to Australia in the whimsical and extraordinary journey into life and death as we follow Mauro, the Dreamer Clown. As we join Mauro, we discover that Mauro has “died” where the audience witnesses a jubilant funeral procession (corteo in Italian) with angels serving as guides for our spirit who also narrates the story. Joining Mauro is an assortment of otherworldly people that that Cirque du Soleil does best. With its ingenious double-sided stage at John Cain Arena, it places audiences face-to-face that adds to the wonder of Corteo as it’s like looking through the veil and life and death itself, particularly with playful absurdity, breathtaking acrobatics that merges perfectly with the narrative, live music and amazing special effects.

Cirque du Soleil Corteo opens with a shimmering vision of acrobats swinging from massive crystal chandeliers, before tumbling into a sequence of playful, memory‑laden vignettes as beds become trampolines for airborne pillow fights, a little person clowness called Valentina drifting above the crowd on helium balloons to the hypnotic spin of the Cyr wheel, it’s a pure visual overload. Performers vault between high bars in the finale “Tournik,” scale freestanding ladders with impossible balance and launch each other skyward on the teeterboard in feats that blur the line between circus and theatre… It’s astonishing in actual fact. The result is a production that feels both intimate and grand, a blend of acrobatic mastery, visual poetry, and wry humour that makes Corteo one of Cirque du Soleil’s most human and heartfelt creations. Visually, Corteo is a feast of late‑19th and early‑20th‑century European‑inspired costumes, intricate staging, and inventive apparatus.

Between these spectacles, the clowns weave in moments of absurdity, a hilariously doomed Romeo and Juliet with “Gregory” and “Valentina” plus a mischievous golf ball gag, it kept the tone very unpredictable and more importantly, very unique. Each act is stitched together with a score that drifts between different languages from Italian lullabies, French chansons and Spanish rhythms that create a sense of timeless celebration. As mentioned, the central staging supports both sides of the arena as the performers clever showcase their prowess to everyone that does create this shared carnival ground atmosphere.

Final Thoughts?

Corteo dances with the audience suspended between laughter and awe, a place where the impossible feels effortless and the ordinary is transformed into pure immersive theatre. It’s a production that doesn’t just showcase acrobatic brilliance but is beautifully narrated that draws you from the start as we follow the Dreamer Clown Mauro on his spiritual journey of angels and otherworldly companions of the Dreamer Clown. All in all, it’s a beautiful performance that leaves you amazing and craving for more, long after Cirque du Soleil Corteo has ended.