Compagnia Finzi Pasca to conjure surreal circus ‘La Verità’ April 21 at Eisenhower
Compagnia Finzi Pasca will return to the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State with “La Verità,” a poetic and acrobatic journey into surrealism, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
The contemporary circus show merges dreamlike ideas with breathtaking visuals in a theatrical spectacle and ode to fantasy as envisioned by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí.
Purchase tickets, which are $42 for an adult, $19 for a University Park student, and $32 for a person 18 and younger. A grant from the University Park Allocation Committee makes Penn State student prices possible.
“La Verità,” written and directed by company co-founder Daniele Finzi Pasca, was inspired by the discovery of a large canvas Dalí painted in 1944. The piece was restored and offered by European art collectors to Finzi Pasca, who decided to use it in “La Verità.”
“The truth is all that we have dreamt, all that we have experienced, all that we have created—all that forms a part of our memory,” company co-founder Julie Hamlin Finzi said.
Originally created for the ballet “Mad Tristan” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the backdrop is a stunning focal point for this production by the creator of Cirque Éloize’s “Rain,” Cirque du Soleil’s “Corteo” and his own company’s “Donka: A Letter to Chekhov.” The touring production coming to Penn State uses a certified replica of the backdrop.
The artwork was “exactly an element that can help us tell the story that we had in mind,” Finzi Pasca told TheStar.com in 2012.
“La Verità,” which features music by Maria Bonzanigo, includes a versatile cast of 12 performers who play instruments, sing, juggle, contort, clown and dance the can-can.
“Finzi Pasca has created an ambitious, visually ravishing work of performance,” wrote a Montreal Gazette reviewer. “‘La Verità’ touches the sublime.”
Compagnia Finzi Pasca was founded in 2011 as a way to develop artistic projects that adhere to the “theater of the caress” concept, a philosophy and means of artistic expression in which the performer helps the spectator access nostalgia and memory.
In addition to productions for Cirque Éloize and Cirque de Soleil, Finzi Pasca has lent his vision to the English National Opera, the closing ceremony to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the opening ceremony to the Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Watch a preview of the company’s presentation of “La Verità.”
Audio description, which is especially helpful to patrons with sight loss, is available for this performance at no extra charge to ticket holders.
Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring “La Verità” Tour Manager Andrea Caruso Saturnino, is offered in Eisenhower one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity, so seating is available on a first-arrival basis.
Days Inn Penn State sponsors the performance. John L. Brown Jr. and Marlynn Steele Sidehamer Endowment provides support.
Additional support is provided by Cornercard, Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola, OSI, RSI, La Place des Arts, Maison de la Culture de Nevers et de la Nièvre, Scène Nationale de Bayonne-Sud Aquitain, Città di Lugano, Cantone Ticino, Pro Helvetia, Caffè Chicco d’Oro, Fidinam and Ernst Göhner Stiftung.
Find more information about the performance.