It can be enjoyed until March 2 with all tickets sold out
The National Dance Company (CND) premiered this Thursday, February 27, at the Teatro Real, the first of the five performances of one of the most popular ballets in classical dance, a ‘Don Quixote’ with a marked Spanish accent, a proposal received with applause throughout the two and a half hours of the performance.
Under the artistic direction of Muriel Romero, the ballet is based on an episode from the second volume of ‘Don Quixote’ by Cervantes (chapter XXI, ‘Where the weddings of Camacho and other pleasant events continue’) and premiered on December 26, 1869, at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, with the original by Marius Petipa.
The colorful costumes and joyful staging of the new version of the CND, full of capes and fans, not forgetting the classic tutus, have captivated the audience of the Madrid coliseum this Thursday, who have sold out tickets for all performances from February 27 to March 2 in the capital.
Among the attendees at the premiere were the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun; the general director of INAEM, Paz Santa Cecilia; the Ambassador of France in Spain, Kareen Rispal; the deputy director of Music and Dance INAEM, Ana Belén Faus; the president of the Board of Protectors of the Teatro Real, Fernando Ruiz; the CEO of CoverWallet, Iñaki Berenguer; the CEO of Telefónica, Sergio Oslé; and the rector of the University of Navarra, María Iraburu Elizalde.
‘Don Quixote’ focuses on the loves of Basilio and Quiteria (an empowered woman who decides her future since the lovers must overcome the opposition of the bride’s father to culminate their love story), while the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho take a back seat, although they gain more prominence in the second act, where the famous battle with the windmills could not be missing, a prelude to the third act that culminates with the wedding of the lovers, a ceremony that even had invitations handed out by the dancers among the audience during the second intermission.
The cast led by the highly applauded Yanier Gómez Noda and Giada Rossi has led the crowded and spectacular staging of color, joy, and expressive force, with up to 55 dancers who have left behind the universe of supernatural or ethereal creatures from the classic ballets of the 19th century, as in another of the public’s favorite classic performances, ‘Swan Lake’, to offer a more earthly show that gives prominence to the common people.
Another hallmark of this ‘Don Quixote’ is its choreography, created for the CND by José Carlos Martínez when he was at the helm of the company (from 2011 to 2019, now he is the current director of the Paris Opera Ballet), with great technical difficulty and complex variations, which gives greater prominence to Spanish dance.
As Martínez himself highlighted in the presentation press conference, this ballet — inspired by the versions of Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorski — is characterized by its «Spanish seal», as reflected in the costumes of the dancers, dressed as bullfighters, as well as in the royal capes used in the performance, «pure magic,» as he asserted. Noteworthy, among others, is the choreography of the Bolero and the Fandango, work of Mayte Chico, a dancer from the Antonio Gades Ballet.
100 FUNCTIONS IN SPAIN
‘Don Quixote’ was the first classic repertoire piece that the CND brought to the stage on December 16, 2015, at the Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid) and will reach 100 performances in Spain with the representation that will take place this Friday, February 28.
Meanwhile, the music of Ludwig Minkus will be performed by the Resident Orchestra of the Teatro Real under the direction of Manuel Coves, with Elna Matamoros as assistant to the choreographer and staging. The artistic team is completed by Raúl García Guerrero (scenography), Carmen Granell (costumes), Lou Valérie Dubuis (characterization, makeup, and wigs), and Nicolás Fischtel (lighting), among others.