£24.99
Carlos Acosta’s first venture directing one of ballet’s 19th-century classics was eagerly anticipated, as was his own starring role in the production (as Basilio), opposite the Argentinian Royal Ballet Principal Marianela Nuñez (Kitri). Packed cinemas for the live relay, as well as sold-out houses for his performances, testified to the draw the great Cuban dancer still exerts – and the audiences were not disappointed. Still built on Petipa’s original choreography, Acosta’s clear dramatic structure and vivid stage action gave the ‘boy gets girl despite her father’ story a more convincing air than usual, with Don Quixote’s parallel obsession with Dulcinea-Kitri coherently woven into the plot. Acosta’s and Nuñez’s performances were peerless, Tim Hatley’s stage designs vivid and apposite, and this production is surely destined to be a perennial Royal Ballet favourite.
Music:Ludwig Minkus
Kitri: Marianela Nuñez
Basilio: Carlos Acosta
Don Quixote: Christopher Saunders
Sancho Panza: Philip Mosley
Espada: Ryoichi Hirano
Mercedes: Laura Morera
Gamache: Bennet Gartside
Lorenzo: Gary Avis
The Queen of the Dryads: Melissa Hamilton
Amour: Elizabeth Harrod
Dulcinea: Christina Arestis
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Martin Yates
Co-Concert Master: Sergey Levitin
Production and choreography: Carlos Acosta after Marius Petipa
Music: Ludwig Minkus arranged and orchestrated by Martin Yates
Director: Carlos Acosta
Designs: Tim Hatley
Lighting design:Hugh Vanstone
Plus: Interviews with cast and crew / Introductions to Act II and III
Picture: 16:9
Sound: DTS 2.0 / 5.1 (5.0 DTS
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Duration: 125+12 mins
Year: 2013