Cirque du Soleil's 'Amaluna' Receives Montreal Premiere, 4/19

Cirque du Soleil's latest touring show, Amaluna, will premiere in Montreal on April 19, 2012, followed by Quebec (July 25, 2012) and Toronto (September 5, 2012). Diane Paulus will direct the production.

Paulus co-created The Donkey Show, a disco adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream which ran off-Broadway from 1999 to 2005. In May 2008, Paulus was named the artistic director for the Harvard University American Repertory Theater. Paulus was nominated for the Best Director Tony Award for her revival of Hair and has received the 2009 Harvard College Women's Leadership Award and the Columbia University IAL Diamond Award. Her reworked version of the classic folk opera PORGY AND BESS opened on Broadway on January 12.

According to Cirque du Soleil, "Amaluna invites the audience to a mysterious island governed by Goddesses and guided by the cycles of the moon.

"Their queen, Prospera, directs her daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony in a rite that honours femininity, renewal, rebirth and balance which marks the passing of these insights and values from one generation to the next.

"In the wake of a storm caused by Prospera, a group of young men lands on the island, triggering an epic, emotional story of love between Prospera’s daughter and a brave young suitor. But theirs is a love that will be put to the test. The couple must face numerous demanding trials and overcome daunting setbacks before they can achieve mutual trust, faith and harmony."

For more information, visit http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/.