A dancing Don Quixote at the Liceu
The Compañía Nacional de Danza is bringing a choreographed version of Cervantes’ classic to Barcelona.
Cervantes’ classic novel has been made into films, plays, cartoon series, and, as we shall see here, into dance performances. Of the latter, the best-known is a 19th century version with music by Ludwig Minkus and choreography by Marius Petipa, which premiered at Moscow’s Bolshoi on 14 December 1869. The piece, which was considered ground-breaking at the time, focused on chapter 19 of the second volume of the novel, which deals with the love story of Basil and Quiteria. Three years ago, the Compañía Nacional de Danza (CND) revived the piece to great acclaim and updated it with new choreography by José Carlos Martínez, stage design by Raúl García Guerrero and costume design by Carmen Granell. This version of the original performance will now be at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu from 14 to 17 September.
The story of Basili and Quiteria is set in Barcelona and narrates how Don Quixote, in his usual haphazard way, ends up overcoming the obstacles to the couple’s marriage in a performance that is full of colour and rhythm and with a choreography to which Mayte Chico has added the steps of a bolero and a fandango. The Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, with Oliver Díaz conducting, will be adding the music.
Additional information is available at the following link.