Don Quixote

Colorado Ballet is bringing Don Quixote to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House for a run that opens Friday, October 2, and goes through Sunday, October 11. It's a romantic comedy, and one of the most entertaining works in the classical ballet canon. The choreography is by Marius Petipa, the father of classical ballet, who spent nearly 60 years at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and produced The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and La Bayadère. This one is set in sun-drenched Spain and drawn from a few chapters of Miguel de Cervantes' novel, first published in 1605.

While Quixote and Sancho Panza tilt at windmills, the story follows the love affair between the innkeeper's daughter Kitri and the barber Basilio, whose father wants her to marry a rich man. The romance plays out among toreadors, fandango dancers, and dryads, and the choreography is infused with traditional Spanish folk dance. The music is by Ludwig Minkus, whose blazingly energetic score is performed live by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra. Minkus wrote more compositions and arrangements for ballet than Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev combined. Liam Hogan dances Basilio and Ever Larson dances Kitri. The production is presented in memory of Frank and Roselyn Hopkins.

There are plenty of ways to catch it. The run opens Friday, October 2, at 7:30 PM. Saturday, October 3, has a 2 PM matinee and a 7:30 PM show; Sunday, October 4, is at 2 PM. Friday, October 9, is at 7:30 PM. Saturday, October 10, has a 2 PM audio-described performance and a 7:30 PM show; Sunday, October 11, is at 2 PM. There's also a sensory-friendly performance on October 8. The run time is 2 hours and 15 minutes, including two intermissions, and it's recommended for ages 7 and older.

Tickets start at $40, and single tickets went on sale July 1. Subscriptions start at $30 per ticket, which is a 25% savings.