{"product_id":"minkus-don-quixote-4","title":"Minkus: Don Quixote","description":"\u003ca class=\"links\" href=\"album.jsp?album_id=1187717\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlso available on Blu-ray\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  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; this production is surely destined to be a perennial Royal Ballet favorite.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Ludwig Minkus\u003cbr\u003e  DON QUIXOTE\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Kitri – Marianela Nuñez\u003cbr\u003e  Basilio – Carlos Acosta\u003cbr\u003e  Don Quixote – Christopher Saunders\u003cbr\u003e  Sancho Panza – Philip Mosley\u003cbr\u003e  Lorenzo – Gary Avis\u003cbr\u003e  Gamache – Bennet Gartside\u003cbr\u003e  Espada – Ryoichi Hirano\u003cbr\u003e  Mercedes – Laura Morera\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Royal Ballet\u003cbr\u003e  Royal Opera House Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e  Martin Yates, conductor \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Carlos Acosta, director and choreographer (after Marius Petipa)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, October 2013\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Bonus:\u003cbr\u003e  - Introduction to Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote\u003cbr\u003e  - Cast gallery \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Picture format: NTSC 16:9\u003cbr\u003e  Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 \/ DTS 5.1\u003cbr\u003e  Region code: 0 (worldwide)\u003cbr\u003e  Running time: 125 mins\u003cbr\u003e  No. of DVDs: 1\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e R E V I E W:   \u003ctitle\u003e3812370.az_MINKUS_Don_Quixote.html\u003c\/title\u003e  \u003cmeta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eMINKUS \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eDon Quixote \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EXTRAS12\"\u003e\u0026amp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Martin Yates, cond; Marianela Nuñez (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eKitri\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Carlos Acosta (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eBasilio\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Christopher Saunders (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eDon Quixote\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Philip Mosley (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eSancho Panza\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Ryoichi Hirano (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eEspada); \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eLaura Morera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eMercedes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Bennet Gartside (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eGamache\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Gary Avis (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eLorenzo); \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eChristina Arestis (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eDulcinea\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Royal Op House O \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e OPUS ARTE 7143 (Blu-ray: 137.00) Live: London 10\/2013 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EXTRAS12\"\u003e\u0026amp;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Interviews: Cast and Crew; Introductions to acts II and III \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLudwig Minkus’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eDon Quixote \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehas held a place in the repertoire since its premiere at the Bolshoi Theater in 1869. The music is charming and well orchestrated, but persistently a little bland. There are plenty of melodies, but none of them are particularly distinctive. This is certainly not Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev. The poor boy meets rich girl love story interwoven with the fantastic adventures of Don Quixote has attracted the biggest names in ballet over the years, with Marius Petipa’s original classical production being followed by Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and George Balanchine. Now, it is Carlos Acosta’s turn. His choreography is based on Petipa, but he has modernized it with his trademark physicality, and some new unclassical sounds (clapping, vocal exclamations) from the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ecorps de ballet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e on stage. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUltimately, the success of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eDon Quixote \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edepends on the two principals. Acosta and Marianela Nuñez are the ideal pair to light a fire in this production. Acosta’s charisma is well known, and Nuñez matches him step for step with her amazing leaps and twirls, and the two have remarkable stage chemistry. They really do sizzle as much as that is possible in a classical ballet. The best is saved for last with their exquisite and joyful final \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003epas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. In fact, the whole supporting cast and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ecorps de ballet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e seem to have been inspired by Acosta. Everyone appears to be having a grand good time, and this is clearly projected to the audience. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe sets are magnificent and the colorful costumes are dazzling on Blu-ray. Martin Yates’s arrangement and orchestration of the Minkus score matches the bright visuals, and his conducting is surprisingly dynamic. The music comes to life as I have never heard it do before, especially in the excellent surround sound. I have not seen any of the older versions of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eDon Quixote\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, but it is hard to imagine any of them matching this one, musically or technically. If you are a ballet fan, don’t hesitate to enjoy this sumptuous visual feast. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Arthur Lintgen \u003c\/span\u003e    \u003ci\u003eReviewing DVD version \u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Opus Arte","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":49606145376536,"sku":"809478011330","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2545764_d6f262d1-c8fc-46ff-96f0-b0a3d4e21943.jpg?v=1777684861","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/minkus-don-quixote-4","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}