DON QUIXOTE
A Whirlwind of Comedic Charm and Romance
An audience favorite, Don Quixote is a romantic comedy bursting with dazzling dancing and spirited Spanish flair. This beloved and vibrant classic is a joy to watch from start to finish.
Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 7pm
Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 2pm
Copeland Hall
Tickets: $30 - $70
SYNOPSIS
Premiere: December 26, 1869 at the Ballet of the Imperial Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, Russia.
Prologue | Don Quixote’s study
Don Quixote is reading stories of knight errantry in his study; he resolves to become a knight himself. He dreams of his imagined lady, Dulcinea, but is interrupted by villager Sancho Panza, making his escape after stealing bread and chicken from several angry market women. Don Quixote enlists him as his squire, prepares his armor, and sets out on his adventures.
Act I | A marketplace in Barcelona
Kitri, the daughter of the innkeeper Lorenzo, is in love with Basilio, a poor barber, but her father insists on her marriage to Gamache, a rich man, whose proposal she rejects. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza appear and are offered food and wine in Lorenzo’s inn. Don Quixote imagines that Kitri is his beloved Dulcinea. Kitri and Basilio run away to escape Lorenzo and Gamache.
Act II
Scene 1 – A camp of gypsies among the windmills outside the village
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza find themselves surrounded by gypsies, who set up a marionette theatre. Don Quixote is delighted with the entertainment, but, mistaking one of the marionettes for his Dulcinea and the others for soldiers attacking her, he rises to assault them. As Don Quixote catches sight of a windmill that he imagines to be a giant, he tries to attack, but falls unconscious.
Scene 2 – The enchanted Garden of Dulcinea
Don Quixote dreams that he is in a beautiful garden, presided over by the Queen of the Dryads and Amour. Among them is Dulcinea and Don Quixote kneels before his beloved. At this moment everything vanishes.
Scene 3 – The Tavern
Gamache and Lorenzo find Kitri and Basilio at a local tavern and Lorenzo forces Kitri to accept the attention of Gamache. In response, Basilio fakes his suicide. Kitri begs Don Quixote to persuade Lorenzo to marry her to Basilio: the young man’s final death wish. Don Quixote is now sympathetic to the young lovers’ situation. Lorenzo gives his consent, blesses the lovers, and instantly Basilio comes back to life.
Act III
The village celebrates the marriage of Kitri and Basilio. Don Quixote congratulates the couple, bids them farewell, and resumes his everlasting adventures.
Length: 2 hours 40 minutes including two intermissions