Schedule
HostsWays to Give
HomePlaylistSchedule
HostsEventsOn DemandOur StoryOur TeamWays to Give Become a Sponsor
How to ListenVisit Help CenterContact Us

Find Us on Social Media:

Logo image

Find Us on Social Media:

Download Our Mobile App:

google play icon

About

HomePlaylistSchedule
HostsOn DemandOur StoryOur Team

Community

EventsWays to Give Become a SponsorPressDiversity StatementCareersAnnual EEO ReportDigital Accessibility

Help

Visit Help CenterContact UsHow to Listen

©2025 Classical California

Sweepstakes RulesFCC ComplianceLocal Public FilesCPB ComplianceAnnual EEO ReportPrivacy PolicyCode of Integrity

articles / Theater

Cirque du Soleil’s Dramatic ‘Amaluna’

TheaterPop CultureThe State of the Arts

Cirque du Soleil’s Amaluna has opened in San Francisco, near Oracle Park; it’s a show directed by Diane Paulus – who is the Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard, and in 2013 won a Tony award for the Broadway revival of Pippin.

Cirque du Soleil’s Dramatic ‘Amaluna’
00:00

There’s more information about the show, which runs through January 12th at the Cirque du Soleil website.

One of the things Paulus brought into the production was more of a dramatic narrative than past Cirque du Soleil performances have had. “Coming from a background of theater and opera,” she says, “what I wanted to bring to Cirque was a level of story and emotion to the project. It is Cirque, and it is acrobatics, and the thrills and chills are what a lot of people come out for. But I think what makes Amaluna different is there’s a storyline hidden in the show.” It was meant to be an homage to women, and so there are more female performers to male than usual. Characters are based on Greek godesses (Demeter, Persephone) and storylines borrowed from Mozart’s Magic Flute and Shakespeare’s The Tempest (with the young Miranda, but also a Queen Prospera instead of Prospero).

As she’s been adding drama to the acrobatics, Diane Paulus says, she’s had to get used to a different kind of rehearsal. “The artists in Amaluna are the top athletes in their field. So it almost feels like working in the Olympics here. As a director of theater, I had to really respect their craft and their training. What was really different for me is they can’t do all the tricks repeatedly. You’re not in a rehearsal saying ‘Can you do that again?'”

 

 

TheaterPop CultureThe State of the Arts
Written by:
Jeffrey Freymann
Jeffrey Freymann
Published on 12.17.2019
Loading...

MORE LIKE THIS

‘Still Standing’ Turns a Historic House into Stages

‘Still Standing’ Turns a Historic House into Stages

Joe Goode Performance Group presents "Still Standing" at the historic Haas-Lilienthal House. The performance features intimate dances, music, and stories of resilience and reinvention.

03/06/2020
Berkeley Rep’s Next Artistic Director

Berkeley Rep’s Next Artistic Director

Johanna Pfaelzer, former head of New York Stage and Film, is set to become the new Artistic Director of Berkeley Rep from the 2019-20 season, succeeding Tony Taccone.

03/06/2020
‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane’ at TheatreWorks

‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane’ at TheatreWorks

Mona Golabek stars in 'The Pianist of Willesden Lane', a one-woman show about her mother's experience in the Kindertransport during the Holocaust, opening at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.

03/06/2020
‘Top Girls’ at A.C.T.

‘Top Girls’ at A.C.T.

Explore the relevance of Caryl Churchill's 1982 play, Top Girls, in today's world. The play, featuring historical and fictional women, echoes contemporary women's experiences.

10/01/2019
A ‘Little Mermaid’ of Love and Pain…

A ‘Little Mermaid’ of Love and Pain…

San Francisco Ballet revives John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid, a poignant retelling of Andersen's tale, reflecting his own unrequited love. Features theremin by Carolina Eyck.

06/03/2019
Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Volta’ in San Francisco

Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Volta’ in San Francisco

Cirque du Soleil's show Volta, featuring BMX bikes and a story of individuality, is now in San Francisco. Acrobat Bradley Henderson, a local, shares his journey to the big top.

03/27/2019