Tonight is SF Ballet's opening of Don Quixote at the War Memorial Opera House, and for once: I'm not going to spend intermission typing half-formed observations into my phone while checking the time, and posing for photos. I am going to sit in my seat and watch a ballet.
What I can tell you is it will be glamorous, and I will probably love it. Because it's the San Francisco Ballet. (This isn't even a sponsored story I swear – I just tend to love SF Ballet that much.)
I've also learned that there's bullfighters, knights, driads, and longing under the Spanish sun; at least that's how the tagline goes. And that the ballet Don Quixote barely features the character Don Quixote. Cervantes published his novel in two parts, 1605 and 1615, one of the earliest European novels, and its hero is a delusional minor nobleman who tilts at windmills and dreams of an idealized woman named Dulcinea. In the ballet, he's essentially a side character.
The real story is a romantic comedy between Kitri, the innkeeper's spirited daughter, and Basilio, her charming but broke barber boyfriend. Kitri's father wants her to marry Gamache, a wealthy fool in purple velvet. There's a fake suicide, a puppet show, live horses, and a dream sequence with wood nymphs. It's one of the rare comedies in the classical repertory.
The choreography dates to 1869, when Marius Petipa created the original for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. SF Ballet's version was restaged in 2003 by Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov, and the sets and costumes you'll see tonight were designed by Martin Pakledinaz, a Tony winner who died shortly after the production premiered in 2012. While the story technically takes place in the larger cities of Sevilla, Barcelona, he said he drew on 17th-century Spanish artists rather than try to recreate any real village.
The moment everyone apparently watches for is the "Kitri jump" in Act I, an explosive leap where the dancer's back leg and arms nearly meet behind her head. The Act III pas de deux between the two lovers is considered one of the most technically punishing sequences in classical ballet. I plan to understand none of it and feel every second.
Tonight stars Sasha De Sola as Kitri and Francesco Gabriele Frola as Basilio. De Sola has been with this company for 20 years, and she last danced this role in 2022 – a year also known for me as my first experience with SF Ballet.
I always like how principal cast rotates through different characters at SF Ballet. If you can't make it tonight, the Saturday matinee pairing with Nikisha Fogo and Joshua Jack Price would also interest me.
One more thing: every evening performance features live flamenco in the Opera House lobby by Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco. On opening night it happens after the show. Every night after that, it's 30 minutes before curtain.
I will likely update this story with some reactions later tonight or tomorrow.
If you can't make it
- It's also opening night for our sponsor go say hi to them! The Superfair returns at Fort Mason. They gave us 40 percent off all ticket types with the code BOLD40. It runs now through Sunday, and I actually do plan to catch this one this weekend. Our longtime freelancer T Von D will be out there for the opening while I soak up the ballet.
Saul Sugarman
Saul Sugarman is editor-in-chief and owner of The Bold Italic.
The Bold Italic is a not-for-profit media organization, and we publish first-person perspectives about San Francisco and the Bay Area. We operate under a fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3).
All photos are "courtesy of" SF Ballet; I found them on their listing for Don Quixote.
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I'm also writing about Hunky Jesus
He is risen. And he’s been doing crunches.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s annual Easter in the Park returns to Dolores Park on Sunday, April 5, with the Hunky Jesus contest, Foxy Mary, bonnets, drag, live performances, and all the joyful blasphemy you can handle.
Kids’ Easter kicks off at 10 a.m. Main stage goes noon to 4 p.m. with Sister Roma, Peaches Christ, and Honey Mahogany hosting. Performances from Flamy Grant, Per Sia, Papi Churro, Grace Towers, and more. The Hunky Jesus contest starts at 3 p.m. Free, as always.
Oh, and literally yesterday, there’s now a feature-length documentary called “Hunky Jesus” making the festival rounds. It premiered at BFI Flare in London March 18. Keep an eye out for SF screenings this spring.North end of Dolores Park, near the tennis courts. Bring a blanket. Bring sunscreen. Bring your most sacrilegious Easter bonnet.
And those freaking Bay Bridge lights
Listen I love these lights, I just also think there's more going on. These are my thoughts on the topic. The lights have been on, it seems, but they officially return Friday, March 20th.
