0:00:13 > 0:00:15- Hello, ladies...- And gentlemen.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Welcome to the Royal Opera House,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20to this, a special performance of Don Quixote by the Royal Ballet.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23- I am Carlos Acosta. - And I'm Marianela Nunez.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And we are both very happy to be dancing for you tonight.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Especially as this is Carlos's new production of Don Quixote.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32- He's been making us work very hard. - That's right.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34But before curtain up, we have some time
0:00:34 > 0:00:37to show you some of the preparations that's gone into
0:00:37 > 0:00:41producing my version of this wonderful classical ballet.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42And we really hope you enjoy it.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Don Quixote is based on the famous 17th-century novel
0:00:51 > 0:00:53by Miguel de Cervantes.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And it's about the adventures of knight-in-waiting Don Quixote
0:00:56 > 0:00:59and his sidekick Sancho Panza.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02It was turned into a ballet a century later,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05but the first popular version was created in 1869
0:01:05 > 0:01:10for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, with music by Ludwig Minkus
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and choreography by Marius Petipa.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16It was legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova
0:01:16 > 0:01:20who first brought Don Quixote to the West in the 1920s.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Since then, the world's greatest dancers
0:01:22 > 0:01:26have been inspired to create new versions of Petipa's choreography,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29including Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30THEY CHEER
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Now it's the turn of our own Carlos Acosta
0:01:34 > 0:01:38to tackle Don Quixote and infuse it with his Latin spirit.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46It's very special to him and it's him, really. It's his blood.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52More bounce, bounce.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55I have danced this everywhere
0:01:55 > 0:01:58and with everybody. I've danced with Paris Opera,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01with the Kirov, with the National Ballet of Cuba.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02On and on and on.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05And so I tried to study all the previous productions,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and then, with a critical eye, or where critically, I saw
0:02:08 > 0:02:12that the moment is required more of a boost, and what is lacking
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and what is kind of old and dated.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Everybody, it's power.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19I like sounds.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24More like a cacophony of sounds and rhythms and noise.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Back in the time, everything was silent.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31And I wanted to break that.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36In act one, we have this solo which is iconic. It's a great solo.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40And we're going to be playing castanets while we're dancing.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Which is very hard, actually!
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I think Carlos was really, really keen to find
0:02:56 > 0:02:59a new way of telling the story and to free it up visually.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04It's still dance, it's still classical
0:03:04 > 0:03:09and it's still traditional in many ways, but we chose to find...
0:03:09 > 0:03:12To inject it with colour and also look at pantomime
0:03:12 > 0:03:14and find the fun in the dance.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22We are trying to exchange ideas
0:03:22 > 0:03:26and I sort of tried to convey what it was that I was aiming for
0:03:26 > 0:03:32and tried to break with this stigma and rigidity of classicism.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39I see it as a sort of heightened reality.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42A lot of it comes from Carlos's character
0:03:42 > 0:03:44which is that that's great fun
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and he wanted it to be a fun and lively production.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54The dancers have been fantastic.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57And they are so up for the things that we're throwing at them.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Yes, they're moving furniture,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01picking up chairs, dancing on tables.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02THEY CHEER
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Carlos wanted very much that the male dancers
0:04:05 > 0:04:07looked incredibly strong.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09He wanted the toreadors to really look...
0:04:09 > 0:04:12have an arrogant, strong look.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19It's very Spanish, it's red-blooded kind of, you know...
0:04:19 > 0:04:23And you've got matadors and that energy had to come into...
0:04:25 > 0:04:27And that's what transcends.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29You know? And, of course, it's very important
0:04:29 > 0:04:32that they deliver that essence of what they're dancing.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35ALL: Hey!
0:04:37 > 0:04:41The main challenge for me now is telling everybody what to do
0:04:41 > 0:04:45and taking care of my body, you know, because I also have to dance.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Are you OK, Carlos?
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Carlos has a million challenges.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51More than any of us have.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54It's very interesting watching the other dancers react
0:04:54 > 0:04:56because he is full of life.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59He's full of energy and he loves everything he's doing.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01You get drawn in.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03The heart of the ballet is Don Quixote.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08I think he's a hero at the end of the day.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Slightly dreaming of the past,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13that, "I was a great warrior
0:05:13 > 0:05:16"or someone going off on a quest to save the world."
0:05:16 > 0:05:18And, "My next journey."
0:05:18 > 0:05:23I mean, he doesn't find his woman, but he helps others find love.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26And helps others appreciate their love.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28And then moves on to the next quest.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Definitely he is in heart of this ballet,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36but of course what everybody came to see
0:05:36 > 0:05:40is the technical display of the main characters,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Kitri and Basilio.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53Dancing with Carlos is always an amazing experience.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57You know, as a person and as a dancer, he's got this big heart.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00He's very generous on the stage. This is what I love.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02It's not just about him.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06And, at the same time, you know,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08I see him dance and I want to dance more.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11It's just we feed off each other.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16I think Marianela was born to play this role.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19I mean, she can jump higher than anybody.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22She can turn, you know, more than anybody,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24but also her positions are wonderful.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26She had the right spirit.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34They are Latino.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37You know, that makes very interesting chemistry.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46- We did it, we did it!- To the dress!
0:06:59 > 0:07:03APPLAUSE
0:14:59 > 0:15:03APPLAUSE
0:20:13 > 0:20:16APPLAUSE
0:20:22 > 0:20:24APPLAUSE
0:22:07 > 0:22:10APPLAUSE
0:24:34 > 0:24:37ALL: Oh!
0:24:37 > 0:24:39ALL: Oh!
0:24:39 > 0:24:41THEY CHEER
0:25:12 > 0:25:14THEY CHEER
0:25:14 > 0:25:16APPLAUSE
0:30:37 > 0:30:40APPLAUSE
0:32:20 > 0:32:23APPLAUSE
0:33:34 > 0:33:36APPLAUSE
0:33:36 > 0:33:37HE SHOUTS
0:33:37 > 0:33:42THEY SHOUT
0:33:52 > 0:33:54CROWD FALLS SILENT
0:34:00 > 0:34:01ALL: Hey!
0:35:28 > 0:35:30ALL: Hey!
0:35:30 > 0:35:32APPLAUSE
0:39:22 > 0:39:24APPLAUSE
0:41:14 > 0:41:20TUNELESS TRUMPETING
0:44:09 > 0:44:12APPLAUSE
0:47:00 > 0:47:02ALL: Hey!
0:47:02 > 0:47:04APPLAUSE
0:52:44 > 0:52:47APPLAUSE
0:53:37 > 0:53:41APPLAUSE
0:54:47 > 0:54:50APPLAUSE
0:55:46 > 0:55:49APPLAUSE
0:58:39 > 0:58:43CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:58:46 > 0:58:49Act two begins with Kitri and Basilio
0:58:49 > 0:58:52arriving somewhere out in the woods, the forest.
0:58:52 > 0:58:56They don't realise that they've stumbled onto the gypsy camp.
0:58:56 > 0:59:00The gypsies think they've come to steal their stuff.
0:59:00 > 0:59:03They explain they're just in love, they want to run away
0:59:03 > 0:59:06and get married and they're like, "OK, fine, join us."
0:59:08 > 0:59:13This version of Don Q, as we call it, has music by Ludwig Minkus,
0:59:13 > 0:59:15who was an Austrian composer.
0:59:17 > 0:59:20I have written an extra piece of music,
0:59:20 > 0:59:22although I have based it on Minkus's melodies.
0:59:28 > 0:59:29In the second act,
0:59:29 > 0:59:33I sort of wanted to bring live elements
0:59:33 > 0:59:38to the stage, music elements, other than the orchestra.
0:59:40 > 0:59:42In the past, you would have had actors or ballet dancers
0:59:42 > 0:59:46walking around with an empty guitar with no strings pretending to strum.
0:59:46 > 0:59:48And we've done away with that.
0:59:48 > 0:59:52Having the music live up on the stage is obviously, you know, again
0:59:52 > 0:59:55part of the way we're going to make this very naturalistic and realistic.
1:00:01 > 1:00:04I wanted to break with the stereotypes of the gypsy
1:00:04 > 1:00:07with their whip and, you know, all this kind of thing.
1:00:07 > 1:00:09I wanted to break a little bit with that
1:00:09 > 1:00:12and then add a little bit more contemporary movements.
1:00:16 > 1:00:19He wanted the gypsies to be very earthy and, in fact,
1:00:19 > 1:00:22male and female gypsies are very strong.
1:05:19 > 1:05:22APPLAUSE
1:08:27 > 1:08:31THEY SHOUT AND JEER
1:09:51 > 1:09:54APPLAUSE
1:09:58 > 1:10:01THEY JEER
1:13:18 > 1:13:21APPLAUSE
1:14:21 > 1:14:23THEY JEER
1:14:23 > 1:14:26BAND PLAYS
1:15:42 > 1:15:44THEY CHEER
1:24:33 > 1:24:35APPLAUSE
1:26:27 > 1:26:29APPLAUSE
1:27:40 > 1:27:43APPLAUSE
1:29:43 > 1:29:46CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:33:22 > 1:33:25CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:33:36 > 1:33:40By act three, all the characters and dancers end up in the tavern
1:33:40 > 1:33:43for a beer and a little bit of dancing
1:33:43 > 1:33:46and a bit more raucous feel to it.
1:33:50 > 1:33:52I think I like the tavern
1:33:52 > 1:33:55because I tried to lift the role of Espada and Mercedes
1:33:55 > 1:34:01almost to the point of principal roles, Basilio and Kitri.
1:34:04 > 1:34:07And also when Basilio and Kitri arrive into the tavern
1:34:07 > 1:34:09and they do this dance on the table
1:34:09 > 1:34:13and then Kitri's doing this dance on the bar and then Mercedes joins her,
1:34:13 > 1:34:16I think that moment is really, really great.
1:34:16 > 1:34:20And, again, it breaks with the whole classicism feel.
1:34:24 > 1:34:28I wanted the tavern to be underground and dark and mysterious
1:34:28 > 1:34:30and not lit by natural daylight,
1:34:30 > 1:34:34but lit with candlelight and much darker.
1:34:35 > 1:34:38I hope we'll manage to make it, you know, plenty bright enough
1:34:38 > 1:34:41to see what's going on, and see what we want you to see,
1:34:41 > 1:34:43but feel really atmospheric.
1:34:43 > 1:34:45It's got shadowy corners
1:34:45 > 1:34:48and people are doing all sorts of things
1:34:48 > 1:34:51in the corners you probably don't even want to think about,
1:34:51 > 1:34:53but it's a really interesting scene.
1:39:19 > 1:39:22CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:41:02 > 1:41:05THEY CHEER
1:42:32 > 1:42:34ALL: Hey!
1:42:36 > 1:42:38ALL: Hey!
1:42:50 > 1:42:52ALL: Hey!
1:42:54 > 1:42:56ALL: Hey!
1:44:30 > 1:44:33APPLAUSE
1:46:56 > 1:46:59LAUGHTER
1:47:06 > 1:47:08APPLAUSE
1:48:29 > 1:48:31LAUGHTER
1:48:32 > 1:48:34APPLAUSE
1:50:35 > 1:50:37APPLAUSE
1:53:08 > 1:53:10APPLAUSE
1:55:24 > 1:55:26THEY CHEER
1:59:16 > 1:59:19CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:00:52 > 2:00:55APPLAUSE
2:02:10 > 2:02:14CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:04:01 > 2:04:03CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:05:58 > 2:06:05CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:09:25 > 2:09:30BELL TOLLS
2:10:39 > 2:10:45CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:13:32 > 2:13:35CHEERING AND APPLAUSE