Don Q DVD

[thewinelake]

I did ask on another thread, but probably the wrong place!

What DVD should I buy for the "definitive" Don Q?

[jmhopton]

For me any version with Osipova/Ivan Vasiliev if one is available. I find their early performances in this ballet definitive (though of course not everyone agrees!). I don't know if an official dvd was ever made of the Bolshoi cinema broadcast they made about 2011 but if not there are loads of clips on YouTube for you to see what you think of their performances  and there may be a full length version there. I think there was a dvd made a while ago with Nina Anashiavilli, another brilliant Kitri, and it may be possible to get this second hand if it's not still available new.

[WoodlandGladeFairy]

I don't know if it is the "definitive" (as that is always subjective) but my all time favourite performance of Don Quixote is American Ballet Theatre's recording from 1983 with the wonderful Cynthia Harvey and Mikhail Baryshnikov, it just captures the spirit of the ballet so well and always brings a big smile to my fave everytime I watch it and you can get it on DVD as well - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Don-Quixote-American-Ballet-Theatre/dp/B00005AR0N/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1521135786&sr=8-8&keywords=american+ballet+theatre 

 

 

[capybara]

I agree about the Harvey Baryshnikov ABT  recording. I also very much like the Novikova/Sarafanov one from the Mariinsky.

[Don Q Fan]

I love them all - I would! - but my definitive version is the ones from the Bolshoi with Osipova and Vasiliev the version before the current one but not sure that is on DVD anywhere.  

I love the Dutch National Ballet version by Ratmansky and also Carlos Acosta's both of which are on DVD.

What I would like to see is Anna Tikhomirova with Artem Ovcharenko in DonQ I bet they'd be fabulous.

[serenade]

My vote goes to the Baryshnikov/Harvey version too...the whole performance is actually on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ok6qIt-Stc&t=1687s).  It's absolutely fantastic.

 

The only Osipova version on DVD is the one with Sarafanov I think.  There's no full length version I know of with Vasiliev anywhere (which is tragic)...if there was one I would definitely recommend it as they were just absolutely thrilling dancing it together and I always feel lucky I managed to see them dance it. 

 

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[thewinelake]

Had a look at Osipova on YouTube - astonishing! I presume the video's not speeded up, right?

[Ivy Lin]

I am fond of the Mariinsky video with Olesya Novikova and Leonid Sarafanov.

[Nicola H]

On 3/15/2018 at 17:47, WoodlandGladeFairy said:

I don't know if it is the "definitive" (as that is always subjective) but my all time favourite performance of Don Quixote is American Ballet Theatre's recording from 1983 with the wonderful Cynthia Harvey and Mikhail Baryshnikov, it just captures the spirit of the ballet so well and always brings a big smile to my fave everytime I watch it and you can get it on DVD as well - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Don-Quixote-American-Ballet-Theatre/dp/B00005AR0N/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1521135786&sr=8-8&keywords=american+ballet+theatre 

 

 

I know  of a couple of 'big names' who think that is  the definitive version ,   i think @sophie_rebecca will agree  on the big names in question  ...

[jmb]

An advantage of coming rather late to a thread is that you can see what everyone else has said, or not. And maybe I flipped through rather quickly, but nobody seems to have mentioned the version Nureyev made with the Australian Ballet in 1970 (I think). Definitive version? I don’t know, but it is close to my heart as it played a central role in turning me on to ballet. I've described elsewhere the horror that La Bayadere's orientalist excesses inspired in me as a naive audience member. My elderly mother, however, had desperately wanted to see the production, but her health would not allow it. To make up, I bought her two DVDs. One was a Kirov production of Swan Lake. This was not a success. My mother decided that the prince was both sulky and stupid ... anybody could see the Odette and Odile were different people, and as for Odette, well, why didn't she DO something. The second was the Nuteyev Australian Ballet Don Quixote. From the moment Lucette Aldous came thrusting through the crowd and leapt into the square in Act 1, Mum was captivated. So was I. Lucette Aldous may not be as technically proficient as many ballerinas since, but her elan and the verve and joi de vivre of the corps de ballet was wonderful. And one more thing. In productions I have seen since, Don Quixote is often a confused and bumbling figure. Robert Helpman's Don Quixote may have been confused, he may have been beset by demons, but he was utterly and completely dignified. So keep your eye out for the DVD: the film has been restored  and the costumes are marvelous. All this and Nureyev as well.