This was a very jolly evening, featuring an episode in the life of Don Quixote when he champions the cause of two young lovers whose future seems less than assured because the girl's father prefers her to marry an upper class twit. Needless to say, it all works out in the end but the interim provides a vehicle for lots of duets and crowd scenes. The choreography is by Carlos Acosta, updating that of Marius Petipa. One hesitation I had was simply that there was too much going on at any one time to know where to focus. For example, at one point the lead couple were dancing but Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were acting to the edge of the stage. Which was to be the object of one's attention?
Another hesitation was that I found the dancing excellent but not electrifying. The production featured a number of pairings - unannounced at the time of booking - and this night featured Akane Takada and Alexander Campbell. Somehow they did not transmit the wow for me.
Anyway, overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and one to which one could easily take a guest, knowing that it would basically be a hit.
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