To create the musical score for OVO, Berna Ceppas combined the sounds of bossa nova and samba with funk and electro music. And, as you might expect from a Brazilian – there is a lot of percussion in the score.
Berna Ceppas sampled actual insect sounds to combine with the music directly from the keyboard. He also assigned instruments and individual themes to specific characters.
The 8-piece band includes a bandleader/bass and double bass player, a keyboard player, drummer, percussionist, guitarist, accordionist, violinist and a wind instruments player, plus one singer.
In almost all of Cirque du Soleil shows, the music is performed live. And, unlike musicals, the music needs to adapt to what is going on stage and not the other way around. To do so, the band leader, the musicians, the singers and the sound staff are in constant communication via headsets and microphones.