The following is sponsored by Odysseo by Cavalia.
Odysseo: Larger than Life
The horse has marked human history and progress more than any other animal. Horses have taken us to the ends of the earth enabling us to build bridges between cultures and expand civilization. It is the beauty and harmony of this ancient relationship, this meeting of two worlds, those of horse and man, that inspired the creators of Odysseo. As friends, partners, and inseparable performers on stage, 65 horses and 48 artists lead the viewer on a great journey in yet another world – a world of dreams where together they discover some of the planet’s most unforgettable landscapes.
Odysseo marries the equestrian arts, stage arts and high-tech theatrical effects at never-before-seen levels. A veritable revolution in life performance, Odysseo comprises a list of superlatives: the world’s largest touring production and traveling big top, the biggest stage, the most beautiful visual effects, and the largest number of horses at liberty.
The creators of this ode to the horse made the decision to indulge their wildest artistic ambitions. Their gamble paid off: Odysseo pushes the limits of live entertainment by creating a larger-than-life show that sends hearts racing, but it is also a feast for the eyes that succeeds in delivering the spectacular with soul.
Scenography and Visual effects
To give life to this extraordinary equestrian adventure, a 17,500 square foot stage was created with a hill that rises three-stories tall. Some of the 10,000 tons of rock, earth, and sand are trucked in and then sculpted to create the vast space of freedom where humans and horses come to play in complicity.
Above the stage hangs an imposing technical grid capable of supporting 80 tons of equipment including a full-sized merry-go-round far beyond anything attempted to date on any touring show and comparable to the best-equipped theaters of Las Vegas, London, or New York.
Odysseo is a show unlike any other on the planet. It is a unique theatrical production and a grandiose multi-dimensional spectacle. Audiences are taken to a live Hollywood-style movie set, where the moving interactions between human and horse are at the heart of the action. On an enormous stage, layers of mesmerizing décor are combined with live music, gravity-defying acrobatics and aerial stunts. Add the staggering effects created by state-of-the-art scenery and you have a sumptuous feast for the eyes. To make this experience even more astounding, the production transports spectators across the world’s most beautiful landscapes with powerful high-definition computer graphic images. These breathtaking backdrops are projected onto an immense 8,400 square foot cyclorama, which is three times the size of the largest cinema screens, with projectors as powerful as those illuminating the grandest movie theaters. But whereas a cinema has only one projector, Odysseo uses 18 simultaneously. This live multi-dimensional journey is a veritable revolution in live entertainment.