We sometimes travel in Poland and to other European countries to see opera and ballet performances, but we don't forget about what's happening here in Szczecin!
Classical ballet at the Castle Opera in Szczecin? This open-ended question haunted me until the opening of "Don Quixote,"* which premiered in Szczecin in 2023 and is still in the repertoire.
Is this demanding ballet classic capable of being handled by the Szczecin company?
The answer fully came to me after the first act.
The ballet company (and soloists), composed of dancers from many countries (mostly Japanese), captivated us with their skills and excellent performances of both solo and ensemble parts.
The audience's enthusiastic response after each performance of the main parts during the performance, and the (really long) ovation at the end, confirmed that this was a very good performance by the entire Castle Opera ballet company.
Special congratulations, in my opinion, are due to the creators of the performance:
Jerzy Wołosiuk – musical direction, Anna Chop – choreography and libretto, Małgorzata Szabłowska – set design (additional applause!), Katarzyna Rott – costumes.
Our performance was led by conductor Agnieszka Nagórka.
"Don Quixote" is a ballet in three acts, based on episodes from the famous novel Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.
"Don Quixote" by Ludwig Minkus is a classic, lively comic ballet in 3-4 acts, which premiered in 1869 in Moscow. The choreography was created by Marius Petipa.
Minkus's music, full of Spanish rhythms, focuses on the adventures of Kitri and Basil, in which the knight-errant and Sancho Panza become entangled.
Here I quote an excerpt from the Opera na Zamku program:
(…) An original take on Cervantes' masterpiece, featuring Don Quixote pursuing his dreams and a dance journey as hot as Spain, full of verve, fantasy, and humor. The hilarious adventures of the knight-errant and his companions inspire a performance of dance with virtuosity in leaps, lifts, and pirouettes. On stage, we will see a stunning set design and a wealth of costumes inspired by Gaudí and Picasso. (…)
Photos from the Opera at the Castle gallery, photographer Piotr Gamdzyk.
PS
During the intermission, we greeted Jacek Nieżychowski – the legendary creator of opera and operetta in Szczecin and a tireless promoter of culture, not just locally.
