The Mikhailovsky Theater hosted the world premiere of Don Quixote

Nacho Duato assures that if 150 years ago Petipa wanted to show the public exotic Spain: a bullfighter, Kitri, similar to Carmen, fans with castanets, then in the 21st century he will show the real La Mancha, which is written by Cervantes.

– My ballet is called “Hidalgo from La Mancha”. Not “Hidalgo from Seville”. And all the previous productions are more about Seville, although according to the libretto, the action in them takes place in Barcelona. My goal is to create a completely different image of the ballet about Don Quixote than the one everyone is used to,” says Mr. Duato, who, despite all the anti-Russian sanctions and the ban on everything Russian in Europe, continues to be the artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater ballet.

FROM THE DOSIER “MK”

More than a hundred years after the writing of the novel about the errant knight (the first volume was published in 1605), his heroes were registered on the stage for a long time. So, in 1743, the opera-ballet Don Quixote at the Duchess was presented at the Paris Opera, in 1835 in Moscow they staged the ballet Don Quixote of La Manche, or the Marriage of Gamache, and, finally, in 1869 Marius Petipa staged his “Don Quixote”. By the way, this was his first joint ballet with the composer Ludwig Minkus, who, after the premiere, received the position of the first composer of ballet music at the directorate of the Imperial Theaters.

And here is the new Don Quixote at Mikhailovsky – three acts, two intermissions. But without a live horse. The prologue is like a dream, like a dream, indicated by a short but expressive stroke of an exceptionally dramatic nature: a tall hidalgo in armor and with a spear with dignity follows a lady whose proud profile can hardly be seen in the subdued light. Feeling of mystery, mystery, underlined by the falling curtain. And after the curtain floats up, the town square of a small Spanish town will open – this is the very La Mancha. It was this region of Central Spain, famous as a classic of Spanish literature, that became the starting point for the directors, dictated a lot to the director and the artists who constantly collaborate with him – set designer Jafer Chalabi and costume designer Angelina Atlagich.

On the square – in the Baroque style, decoration with a perspective. Fun and intoxicating dances – love, rivalry, of course, on the basis of social inequality. No castanets, no fan abundance, the names of the heroes are like those of Cervantes – not Kitri, but Kiteria, not Basil, but Basilio.

Their parts on the first premiere evening are danced by Anzhelina Vorontsova and Nikita Chetverikov, and on the second by Viktor Lebedev and Anastasia Soboleva. The contrast cannot be overlooked: the mischievous romanticism of the second pair surpasses the technicality of the first. Lebedeva and Sobolev are good, free, accurate. In addition to high technology, they also demonstrate a mature artistry that could be seen in their previous works, in particular, in Giselle, in Romeo and Juliet.

Square dances with the participation of soloists, duets, corps de ballet, mimams, which began with graceful steps, accelerate here to an unrestrained coda, where the artists demonstrate speed and strength. Here is a wonderful ensemble of eight bullfighters, a duet of Kiteria’s friends (Yulia Lukyanenko, Ekaterina Odarenko) and Espada the bullfighter and Mercedes dancer (the magnificent Mikhail Batalov from the Bolshoi Theater and Valery Zapasnikova).

Acceleration of the general movement is given by the appearance of Sancho Panza, who flies into the general dances like a bullet, brewing a general turmoil, which is very skillfully and witty choreographically organized by Duato. And the folk character of the music of Ludwig Minkus (here both seguidilla and bolero) only emphasizes the brilliance of the dance. Sancho Panza, performed by Davide Loricchio, will surprise the audience in the second act.

During the intermission, Nastya Soboleva, with whom the make-up artist is trying to secure not even a hat, but a kind of petal decorated with small flowers, on a smooth hairstyle, says that during rehearsals Nacho urged the artists to be more restrained.

– Well, how, how can you resist? Such music and such movements, – Nastya laughs.

No, her Cytheria is certainly not the sultry Carmen at all – neither passion nor demonism. But the movements of her and her partner are filled with internal energy, and the images will sound in a new way.

Authenticity, on the one hand, and magic, on the other, in the new “Don Quixote” are manifested in everything – both in the scenery of Chalabi and in the costumes of Angelina Aglagich. When the curtain was raised in the second act, applause broke out – first of all to the artists who managed to convey the charm of the entire stage space through the play of color and light. The hills of La Mancha alternated with the plains, disappearing and appearing in a misty haze. And in the scene “Dream of Don Quixote” the magic of the forest is conveyed by a bizarre interweaving of branches that captivated literally the entire scene in the mirror and depth with a wondrous color that arose from mixing green with blue. And the packs of Cytheria/Dulcinea and the forest dryads, who stood pointe in the second act, resembled blooming flowers. The light score, composed by Brad Fields, only added to the magical effect.

Meanwhile, a surprise awaited everyone in the forest. Sancho Panza, who, with the help of two phantom creatures that Nacho Duato likes to introduce into his performances, was transformed in the blink of an eye from a knight-errant squire into Cupid in a green, iridescent suit that wraps around his body like snake skin. Little Sancho either flew around the stage in a graceful jump between the forest dryads, then ran backstage with a picturesque gesture, only to fly out again in a minute in a cascade of jumps, which was accompanied by trills of flutes and violins. In the role of Sancho Panza, Davide Loricchio showed himself to be a brilliant character dancer.

The fabulousness of the dream will awaken reality with windmills, which, as you know, the valiant hidalgo will unsuccessfully fight against. The convention of the mills, marked with three slowly rotating blades, translates the hero himself into a symbol of the defender of nobility, purity, suffering, disinterestedness, gallantry. An inexhaustible symbol in our life. In ballet, the stately Marat Shemiunov embodies him with dignity.

The third act – the wedding of Kiteria and Basilio – resembles lace in the artists’ image – white and gold suits are gracefully inscribed in the architecture of the Moorish style. And in terms of choreography, Nacho Duato’s low bow towards Marius Petipa: the modern choreographer left his beautiful classical grand pas untouched.