Don Quixote - Ballet Tickets | Schedule for 2024/2025 Events

Don Quixote - Ballet

Don Quixote is a popular classical ballet based on the equally famous novel, Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. The first ballet was choreographed by Marius Petipa and performed in Moscow in 1869.

Three years later, Marius Petipa and Ludwig Minkus (music composer for the ballet) created an elaborate version of Don Quixote and presented it at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre of St. Petersburg.

Many choreographers have created different versions over the years. However, a majority of the modern adaptations have their roots in the 1900s version developed by Alexander Gorsky of the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow.

Don Quixote ballet is well-known and much in demand even in contemporary times.

Don Quixote Ballet’s Journey

Don Quixote is a Russian ballet. Anna Pavlova's company took the abridged version to other countries in 1902. However, the full-length work wasn’t performed until many years afterward. Ballet Rambert, a British ballet company, was the first to revive the full-length Russian version of Don Quixote and performed it in the West in 1962.

George Balanchine, famous for his neo-classical choreography, created his version of Don Quixote ballet in 1965.

He performed the lead role, with Suzanne Farrell as Dulcinea and Francisco Moncion as Merlin. The music was provided by Nicolas Nabokov, a Russian-born composer.

Rudolf Nureyev performed his version of the ballet in 1966. Later in 1973, he filmed it with the Australian Ballet. Then in 1980, Mikhail Baryshnikov came up with his version of Don Quixote for the American Ballet Theatre.

The same version has been staged by many other ballet companies and is among the most performed shows around the world.

Versions and Revivals

The earliest version of Don Quixote ballet dates back to 1740. Franz Hilverding, an Austrian dancer and choreographer, created the ballet based on two chapters of the novel. His version has served as an inspiration to some modern choreographers like Jean Georges Noverre.

The father of Russian Ballet, Charles Didelot, performed a two-act version of Don Quixote in 1808 at the Imperial Ballet. Mary Tagiloni’s brother, Paul Taglioni, also created his version and presented it at the Berlin Court Opera Ballet in 1839.

Alexander Gorsky presented a blended version in 1902. It was termed a mutation of Marius Petipa's version. Don Quixote ballet survived the 1917 revolution and went through more adaptations and changes in the subsequent decades.