Opéra National de Bordeaux

Since its creation at the Bolshoi in 1865, Don Quixote has found an unshakeable place in the ballet repertoire all over the world, one of the most beloved choreographies by the great Marius Petipa. Following Marius Petipa, Alexander Gorsky, and Rudolf Nureyev, José Carlos Martínez—a former étoile dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet who spent a decade leading the Spanish National Dance Company before being named Dance Director at the Paris Opera in 2022—adds his own touch to this masterpiece based on the Cervantes classic. The ballet's intrigue follows the love story between Kitri, an innkeeper's daughter, and barber Basilio, who cross paths with our legendary wandering knight. The exceptional dancers—including Marc-Emmanuel Zanoli as Don Quixote, Diane Le Floc'h as Kitri, and Riku Ota as Basilio—perform with the utmost grace in folklore-inspired costumes by Carmen Granell, adding a flamboyant touch to the virtuosity of their roles.

For the launch of its DVD collection, Alpha is joining forces with Christophe Roussets Les Talens Lyriques in Rameaus opera-ballet Les Indes galantes, his most famous work, here performed in its 1750 Toulouse version. Particularly rich both on the musical level and in atmosphere, scrutinizing love in far-off lands (Turkey, Peru, Persia and America), it responds to the infatuation with exoticism that tinged all the arts of the century. Rameaus dance music is always quite suggestive, evocative of a movement or a pictorial atmosphere. As for the staging, Laura Scozzi brings her contemporary vision to these countries and travels. Filmed at the Bordeaux National Opera, this production marked the Rameau celebrations in 2014 and was unanimously hailed by the international press