Unfortunately, the biographical facts about the composer Ludwig Minkus seem relatively scarce. He was presumably born in Vienna in 1826, whereas the exact date of his death remains unknown. Although it is assumed that he died in Vienna in 1917, 1907 is also referred to as a possible year of his death in some other sources. According to some information, the composer was Czech by birth, although others claim he was Polish. He received his musical education in Vienna. Minkus served as conductor of the Serf Orchestra of Prince Nikolai Yusupov (1853-1855), violinist in the orchestra of the Imperial Moscow Bolshoi Theatre, ballet music inspector of the Moscow Theatres (1862-1872), and composer of ballet music at the Direction of the Imperial Russian Theatres in St. Petersburg (1872-1855). He composed music for 16 ballets. In 1890, he moved back to his native Vienna.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the elaborations of the famous "quixotic" theme for ballet productions closely followed one another. Minkus's ballet Don Quixote, staged by Petipa and choreographed by Gorsky, was not only well received after its premiere at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre in 1899 but has also continued to remain in its different versions a part of the ballet repertoires for many years.
The ballet, based on the story of Don Quixote as written by Miguel de Cervantes, revolves around the romance between Kitri and Basilio. The story's motive power is Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza. Besides them, its Spanish atmosphere is spiced up by Mercedes, Espada, Marquis Gamache, Kitri's and Basilio's friends, toreadors, gypsies, and many others.
The title character is not merely a comic figure but also an incurable romantic, epitomizing the persistent search for the ideal. As a »cohesive thread« of the performance, Dulcinea is unreachable and eternal at the same time.
Don Quixote ranks among the most demanding ballets. Its success is based on its spectacular technique and dance dynamics. One of Minkus's main merits is a superb marking of his ballet's main characters by their distinctive musical motifs. Especially absorbing are Don Quixote's tone, which is pompous and elegiac, and the comic polka, characterizing Sancho. The love story between Kitri and Basilio is nicely conjured up by their final grand pas de deux.
The newest version of this ballet masterpiece will be created for our company by our guest principal dancer, Denis Matvienko. We will thus experience his vision of the popular classical ballet piece, which will detach itself from the elements that he finds obstructing the modern settings of the classical ballet choreographies.