Three debuts in Don Quixote

Scene from the ballet Don Quixote

The ballet Don Quixote to music by Ludwig Minkus was first staged by Marius Petipa in 1869 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In 1871 for the ballet company in St Petersburg he staged a new version of the ballet. In 1900 the young choreographer Alexander Gorsky turned to Minkus’ ballet, and this premiere took place at the Bolshoi Theatre, followed by a performance on 20 January 1902 at the Mariinsky Theatre with Mathilde Kschessinska in the lead role. Gorsky retained the libretto, scene plan and part of Petipa’s choreographic text. Having examined the ballet with a “fresh eye” and in the manner of a director, he made its characters live in accordance with the dramatic plot: principal and secondary characters alike were woven together into one dramatic canvas, and the dances were born from the plot.

There will be three debuts in the ballet Don Quixote on 16 January: the role of Kitri will be performed by the American Mariinsky Theatre soloist Keenan Kampa, partnered by Andrei Yermakov who will be performing the virtuoso role of Basilio for the first time, while the comic role of the aristocratic Gamache will be danced by Ruben Bobovnikov.