The production of [Corteo](https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/corteo), said to be the most enchanting arena production from the Cirque group, will see a central stage with each half of the audience facing the other.

A first in Royal Albert Hall history, the venue will be divided from the organ, in a straight line, to the door 6 entrance giving the audience a unique perspective of the show.

It is also the heaviest show that Cirque du Soleil has brought to the Royal Albert Hall, suspending a massive 67 tonnes from the grid (equal to the weight of 11 elephants hanging from the ceiling). Over the past few years Cirque du Soleil has worked jointly with the Hall to install new anchor points to allow heavier shows to visit the historic venue.

Corteo, which means cortege in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show is said to bring together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.

The clown’s dreamlike imagination pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness.

The set curtains, which were inspired by the Eiffel Tower, and the central curtains, which were hand painted, give a grandiose feel to the stage.

Duncan Fisher, president - touring shows, for the Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, said: “We are thrilled to finally bring Corteo to the Royal Albert Hall. The extraordinary work that has gone into splitting the Royal Albert Hall in two halves will allow our audiences to experience one of our best loved productions as it was originally imagined. We cannot wait to present Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall as it has never been seen before.”

It is the 29th year that the Royal Albert Hall has welcomed Cirque du Soleil. Its director of programming Matt Todd added: “This is the first time that we have been able to reconfigure the Hall like this, dramatically and uniquely changing the whole perspective within the auditorium. It is wonderful for the Hall to be used in this way and will without doubt be one of Cirque du Soleil’s most extraordinary performances.

Tickets are not yet on general release yet but I have managed to secure 16 side stall seats for this matinee performance directly with Cirque du Soleil. Much better than the circle seats we had allocated for the show this year.

Sorry if you are working but you can always take an afternoon off and join us as it is a Friday matinee.

Please be aware that this is ofcourse not a free event. We do not use the payment system set up in Meetup but the costs are included below. We will contact people who RSVP in due course for payment into the usual account.

The cost is £81 full price but seniors (over 60) will pay £5 less (£76). This rate is a 25% reduction on the full face value.

I have 16 seats reserved but we will need at least 10 to confirm and pay. The deadline to RSVP is 5th August.

As usual the plus one applies to those who signed up with that option. However in the event appropriate numbers are not reached organisers reserve the right to offer extra spots to any member and if necessary non Encore members.

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Cirque Du Soleil - Corteo

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