You may know the story of Don Q from Miguel de Cervantes’ famous novel Don Quixote de La Mancha, of which the ballet is only based on about two chapters.
The ballet Don Quixote is colorful and vibrant with energy, spirit, and romance, courtesy of Spanish bull-fighters, gypsies, and the love story of the main characters Kitri and Basilio. In addition, there’s the endearing but slightly delusional Don Q who is searching for his ideal, the lady Dulcinea, and is accompanied by his hapless, hilarious sidekick Sancho Panza.
The ballet first premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia on December 26, 1869. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa with music by Ludwig Minkus. They both revised the ballet in 1871 and added a 5th act to the original 4. All modern productions of Don Q however are derived from the version staged by choreographer and Marius Petipa’s contemporary, Alexander Gorsky, for the Bolshoi Theatre in 1900.
Even though Petipa is credited with the original production, the ballet in some form or another, has been alive for over 250 years, with the first version of the ballet being recorded in 1740.
Minkus’ score for Don Q is considered his first great success as a composer. A year after the ballet premiered, he was appointed the official composer of ballet music to the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg.
The tale begins with Don Quixote and Sancho setting out to search for Dulcinea and stumbling into a plaza where he spies Kitri thinking perhaps he has found his ideal.
After their encounter with the gypsies, the two adventurers emerge into a field of windmills which Don Q mistake for giants threatening his love Dulcinea. Naturally, he rushes to her defense and “battles” the giants.
He then falls asleep and what follows is the well-known “dream scene” in the ballet, which is featured in this video and will open Act I of his year’s Spring Concert. It is an ethereal, soft section in which Don Q dreams of gracefully dancing dryads, led by his Dulcinea who looks like Kitri as well as Cupid.
