Capitole de Toulouse, 22/12/2022
Minkus : Don Quixote
Artists of the Ballet de l'Opéra national du Capitole
Orchestre national du Capitole
Fayçal Karoui
Don Quixote is not, perhaps, a title that immediately comes to mind for a ballet suited to this time of year, but it's certainly a festive piece, and what more could you want for Christmas? On the other hand, it's a ballet that usually requires quite significant numbers, and the Capitole company is a small one. However, its director, Kader Belarbi, ten years and counting on the job, is now well-practiced in adapting these Russian classics to his company's capacities, and has done the same with Don Quixote, in a production which premiered in 2017. The choreography is classical, and it is based on the traditional Petipa/Gorsky versions, but only just enough so that the moments everyone knows still appear familiar. Otherwise, there's quite a bit of reworking here and there.
There were two main things that were altered; Gamache is done away with, and some of his role given to Don Quixote, Espada is done away with, and Basilio takes his place. I had no problem with either of these in principle, but conflating Gamache with the Don means that Lorenzo the innkeeper was trying to marry his daughter off to him, and it was hard to imagine Lorenzo actually believing Quixote has any money. Making Basilio an up-and-coming toreador rather than a barber, however, works perfectly well. We see rather more of 'Dulcinea' in this version, and she's presented as a White Lady, which I thought was a nice touch, and one that would resonate quite strongly locally. On the other hand, Sancho Panza was even more cretinous than usual, with singularly grotesque make-up (to the point that I could not tell you who the dancer was), and the only time I found him remotely funny was during the final curtain calls.
The lovers were danced tonight by Natalia de Froberville and Ramiro Gómez Samón, both very neat performances, with a good deal of charm. However, they also typified what I felt was true of the whole production, it felt as if they were staying well within their limits, and were playing it safe. There were only a few moments where I felt the dancers (and not just the principals) were really engaging with their roles. The Act 2 pas de deux for Kitri and Basilio (I'd like to know where that music came from, it didn't sound much like Minkus to me) had a ripe sensuality to it that was missing from their other interactions, while Marlen Fuerte Castro fairly smouldered as the lead gypsy girl, and then again in the last act Fandango, along with her partner (I think) Minoru Kaneko. On the whole, however, this was an attractive production, well conceived to let a small company look like a large one, nicely danced in the main, but just a bit tame.
[Next : 13th January]
