Stars: American Ballet Theatre, Cynthia Harvey, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Richard Shafer

Summary: A Mikhail Baryshnikov production of 'Don Quixote' performed by artists from the American Ballet Company and the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra. Musical score by Ludwig Minkus.

Mikhail Baryshnikov choreographed this story based on Cervantes' 1605 novel of Kitri's Wedding Ballet. Performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, with Paul Connelly conducting.

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Baryshnikov, Harvey and Don Quixoteis a combination which could hardly fail to be a crowd-pleaser, but in an era when armchair ballet audiences have a huge selection of sure-fire winners to choose from it's worth reflecting on just whythis production is so good. This is the 1983 Quixotefrom the New York Metropolitan Opera House, full-length and, indeed, full of merit. The staging is traditional and over-designed in the best possible way, with Brian Large's video direction capturing the whole apparatus with consummate skill (this is one of the few canned ballets which won't have you fretting over there being too many or not enough close-ups, tracking shots, wide-angle panoramas and so on--they're all there, and they're all uncannily where they should be) and with the cast seemingly having an enormous amount of fun, particularly Baryshnikov himself, whose twinkly eyed Basil is totally engaging. The most intriguing performance, however, falls to Richard Schafer as Quixote. Rather than allow the character to degenerate into buffoonery, Schafer depicts the elderly knight as mysterious and, indeed, almost mystical in his delusions; here, Quixote is not so much a clown but a seer, bearing a strange dignity which contrasts poignantly with the rumbustiousness around him--an elegant twist within an already very pleasing interpretation. --Roger Thomas

Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Web Link
Year:	1983
Release Date:	April 9, 2001
Runtime:	85 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	0630 19399 2
Label:	N V C Arts
Keywords:	Music, Don, American, Ballet, Theatre, Dance, Quixote, Works, Stage, Classical, Performing, Arts
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts