LA VERITA Set for Arts Centre Melbourne in January 2016

From the creative minds behind Cirque du Soleil's Corteo and Cirque Éloize's Rain comes La Verità - a dreamlike, acrobatic poem and surrealist circus extravaganza brought to life on Arts Centre Melbourne's State Theatre stage from 21 - 23 January 2016. The latest creation by internationally renowned writer and director Daniele Finzi Pasca, La Verità is a visually breathtaking circus work inspired by a backdrop created by surrealist painter Salvador Dali.

Ideas and images collide in a decadent Vaudeville channelling of Dali's vision, as thirteen acrobats play instruments, sing, juggle, contort, clown and can-can amongst unfurling flowers, distorting shadows, ladders suspended in empty space, impossible balances, dismantled corpses, blindfolds, feathers and sequins. A kaleidoscope of colourful moments unfolds deep reds, yellow flowers, the blue of the Virgin Mary's cloak and the colour white.

Daniele Finzi Pasca was inspired by a backdrop, or scrim, originally created by Dali for the 1944 ballet Mad Tristan, performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. It lay hidden in storage for decades, only being rediscovered in the Met's prop room in 2009. One year later a European art collector brought it to Finzi Pasca's attention. A copy of the art work will be used in the performance.

"I asked many connoisseurs of Dali... are Dali's landscapes set in the night time or daytime?' Finzi Pasca said.

"The answer: neither. Dali's images belong to another dimension, that of the dreams. The language of acrobatics, of physical theatre may easily conquer that territory."

Combining circus, clowning, acrobatics, theatre, dance and music - along with humour and heart - Compagnia Finzi Pasca let their imagination run wild in a thrilling experience that would have Dali's illustrious moustache twitching with delight. The work is as much a visual feast as a physical spectacle, with intricate costumes, stage design and lighting, and awesome circus acts embed in a theatrical narrative.

Daniele Finzi Pasca's work has ranged from the closing ceremony of the Torino 2006 20th Winter Olympic Games and a production with the English National Opera, to Cirque du Soleil performances. Compagnia Finzi Pasca is the circus company of Daniele Finzi Pasca and Julie Hamelin, co-founder of world famous Cirque Éloize in Canada. They have been creating works together for more than a decade, including Rain with Cirque Éloize, which was performed to critical acclaim in Melbourne in 2006. Based in Switzerland, they now create large-scale, visually oriented, physical theatre and circus shows.

"Sheer beauty and offbeat humour" Le Journal de Montréal

©Salvador Dalí, Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí

Photographer: Andrea Lopez

Arts Centre Melbourne presents Compagnia Finzi Pasca's
La Verità
21 - 23 January, 2016

7.30pm. Additional 2pm show on 23 January
Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre
Bookings: artscentremelbourne.com.au or 1300 182 183

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