Scraps of Mind

The Ballet – Don Quixote

Ok Culture Vultures. I’ve regaled you with my Opera evolution over the past year. So now I think it’s time to turn the spotlight on The Ballet (you have to say it with capital letters at the beginning).

I’ve been a subscriber to the Australian Ballet season for several years; usually signing up for 3-5 ballets a year. And I don’t quite know why I’ve never written about it before now, but better late than never — so here goes.

Together with my Ballet Buddies, Yvonne and Sandra, I settled into my Dress Circle seat at the State Theatre to enjoy the first production of the Australian Ballet Company’s 2007 Season; Don Quixote. And what a lot there was to enjoy!

As many of you probably know, Don Quixote (aka The Man of la Mancha) is the story of an aging knight who’s a couple of rivets short of a suit of armour. He and Sancho Panza, his trusty ‘squire’, roam the countryside searching for quests to perform and generally getting in everone’s way. He sees Kitri, an inn-keeper’s daughter, in the market place and decides that she’s his dream girl, Dulcinea. Kitri is in love with Basilio, a poor barber, but her father Lorenzo wants her to marry Gamache, a rich nobleman.

Kitri and Basilio run off together with Lorenzo and Gamache in hot pursuit. Don Q decides his lady love needs rescuing so he and his trusty sidekick chase after them. The chase goes on around the countryside and ends up at a windmill, where the lovers and pursuers have fallen in with a gypsy troupe. When Don Q turns up, the lovers try to set him to attack Lorenzo and Gamache but he’s distracted by the windmill, thinking it’s a monster. He goes three rounds with the windmill and the windmill wins. The lovers escape during the melee and the chase is on again. Don Q is half unconcious and has a delirious dream about Dulcinea. Then he gets his act together and resumes his quest.

He catches up with the other four at a tavern. Basilio pretends to stab himself in jealous dispair to trick Don Q into forcing Lorenzo to bless the lovers. It works and once Lorenzo has been forced to give his blessing, Basilio does a Lazarus and bounces back to life. Don Q isn’t quite sure what happened but he thinks that he’s righted a wrong so he’s happy. And off he rides into the sunset in search of more quests.

This production was originally choreographed by Rudolph Nureyev in 1970 and is a whirlwind of colour and acrobatic energy. The sets were magnificent; the costumes vibrant; the music enchanting and the dancing superlative. The two principals Kitri and Basilio (danced byMadeleine Eastoe and Matthew Lawrence) danced their very demanding roles brilliantly (Yvonne insisted that I mention that Basilio got ‘good air’) and there were many other cameo solos that were a joy to watch scattered throughout the performance. Not forgetting some great character roles, particularly Gamache, portrayed as an aging foppish dandy, complete with opulent feathered hat, pink heeled silver shoes and a parasol.

A great kick off to the 2007 Season. Bring it on.