Last Updated on February 15, 2026
Acosta’s Don Quixote brings joy and thrills to the Royal Opera House
The start of a new season is always thrilling and this year, the Royal Ballet seems to have been waiting in the wings for too long. We’ve already covered three of this season’s main-stage operas but Don Quixote is the opening work for The Royal Ballet winter 2023 season and proved last night to be a sublime choice. Originally created in the 19th century for Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet by Marius Petipa, it was adapted by Carlos Acosta, at the time a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, in 2013, before he left to become director of Birmingham Royal Ballet. Last summer we saw and loved the latest version, adapted by Acosta again for the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The Covent Garden show is equally splendid, an unmissable and joyous treat.
For the opening night, Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov took the roles of Kitri and Basilio in a performance that managed to fuse Latin passion and cheekiness with elegance and charm.
Acosta’s Don Quixote is a showcase for dancers with truly breathtaking moments – one-armed lifts and holds, stunning pirouettes and fabulous jettes and whipped turns from Muntagirov while Nuñez manages to flirt, charm and seduce all the time producing incredible moves. This is a ballet she has made her own, dancing with Acosta in 2013 in the same role and now with Muntagirov, who exudes boyish charm. There’s an undeniable chemistry between the pair, and Nuñez, in her forties, plays the fun-loving Innkeeper’s daughter with total conviction.
Ryoichi Hirano as Espada, the famous matador, danced beautifully and characterised his role impeccably. Paired with Mayara Magri as Mercedes, a street dancer and his somewhat jealous lover, they produced some fabulous moments of their own, with the corp of the Royal Ballet on form as matadors, townspeople, gipsies and dryads.
There are plenty of character roles in Don Quixote. Christopher Saunders reprised the title role with charm and conviction, aided and abetted by Philip Mosley as Sancho Panza, his squire. Gary Avis as Lorenzo, the innkeeper who is determined to marry his daughter for money to the nobleman Gamache (Thomas Whitehead), brought plenty of chuckles from the audience as always.
Don Quixote is a fabulous story-ballet, a comic romp with a story that is entertaining and fast-moving. Set in southern Spain, much of the staging (Tim Hatley) really does recreate those sun-kissed villages where you might stop in the square for a beer and end up relaxing there for the rest of the day. There are surreal moments with stunning and evocative lighting (from Hugh Vanstone). The opening scene in Don Quixote’s chamber, the gipsy camp with moving giant windmills and Don Quixote’s meeting with the queen of the dryads (beautifully danced by Annette Buvoli) all have an other-worldly quality. For the most part, though, the ballet takes place in the village with sliding sets that create new spaces. It’s pure entertainment and last night’s staging was brilliantly danced from start to finish. The orchestra under the baton of Valery Ovsyanikov was on form too, making easy work of Ludwig Minkus’ score and bringing just the right amount of Spanish flare to the pit.
Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov have two more dates, on the 16th and 19th of October. Other leading pairs follow throughout the run and it’s worth checking the Royal Opera House website. Natalia Osipova dances both with Marcelino Sambé (on the 4th and 7th of October) and with Reece Clarke on the 11th and 17th of November and Yasmine Naghdi will be dancing with Matthew Ball on the 11th and 14th of October. I may just have to sneak back in…
If you are looking for a night of ballet that manages to combine brilliant dance with true entertainment, then look no further. Highly recommended!
The Royal Ballet
Don Quixote
30 September – 17 November 2023
Live Cinema Relay: Tuesday 7 November
Encore Cinema Relay: Sunday 12 November
Tickets: £9 – £150
Royal Opera House
Covent Garden
Bow St
London WC2E 9DD
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