DON QUIXOTE
Thiago Bordin, Marius Petipa / Ludwig Minkus

DON QUIXOTE

Thiago Bordin, Marius Petipa / Ludwig Minkus

Available for on-demand streaming from May 20, 2025 to January 20, 2026

On https://www.nationalopera.gr/GNOTV

Ticket: 10€

The Ballet of the Greek National Opera opens the 2024/25 season with the revival of a majestic production of the classical ballet Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus, featuring choreography by Thiago Bordin -inspired by that of Marius Petipa-, along with sets designed by George Souglides, and costumes created by Mary Katrantzou. Starting on the 5th of December 2024, for ten performances in the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, conducted by Stathis Soulis and with a world-class ballet cast in the leading roles.

Don Quixote, one of the most important and popular works in the classical ballet repertoire, is based on episodes drawn from the renowned novel of the same title written by Miguel de Cervantes. It is also one of the most demanding ballets in the repertoire and is considered a major challenge for classical ballet dancers due to its high level of technical difficulty - the manner in which it is performed reveals the standing of a ballet company as a whole.

Guided by the singular music of Minkus, the choreography tells a story imbued with the lofty ideals of knighthood and chivalry and never fails to touch audiences thanks to its skillful mix of comedy and romance. Austrian composer Ludwig Minkus composed music for a number of ballets, some of which were choreographed by Marius Petipa. At a young age, Petipa travelled to Spain, where he was particularly taken by the country's traditional dances. With Don Quixote, Petipa seeks to capture the impressions and colours of Spain, beautifully expressing its dance traditions through his choreography. The results of this Minkus - Petipa partnership immediately met with massive success, leading to Don Quixote being firmly established as a timeless masterpiece of the world ballet repertoire.

The production of Don Quixote, which was first presented in the Stavros Niarchos Hall in November 2022 and scored tremendous success, carries the signatures of choreographer Thiago Bordin, who revived Petipa's classical choreography, set designer George Souglides, fashion designer Mary Katrantzou, lighting designer Christos Tziogkas and animator Eirini Vianelli. Stathis Soulis will conduct the GNO Orchestra.

After a successful career as a Principal Dancer with the Hamburg Ballet, where the renowned John Neumeier created roles specifically for him, and with Nederlands Dans Theater, dancer and choreographer Thiago Bordin established himself as an important choreographer of the younger generation and has been known for his great affinity for classical ballet. George Souglides, in addition to his work with the GNO, has designed sets for productions at prestigious festivals, including those of Salzburg, Bregenz, and Epidaurus, and has also collaborated with major opera houses in Chicago, Rome, Lisbon, and Valencia, the Royal Opera House, and the Scottish Ballet. Internationally renowned Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou has designed costumes for the New York City Ballet and the Opéra national de Paris, and her creations have been exhibited at such major institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Dallas Contemporary.

Kitri: Madison Young
Basilio: Victor Caixeta
Mercedes: Eleana Andreoudi
Espada: Vangelis Bikos
Don Quixote: Thanassis Solomos
Sancho Panza: Hector Bollano
Dulcinea: Mania Karavassili
Gamache: Antonis Koruti
Flower Girls: Elena Kekkou / Ariadni Filippaki / Anna Frangou
Boris: Igor Siadzko / Yannis Gantsios / Stefano Pietragalla
Carmencita: Popi Sakellaropoulou / Anna Frangou / Magda Kou kou-Ferra
Queen of the Dryads: Olga Markari
Cupid: Areti Noti

With a 10-euro ticket, viewers can enjoy this production from the comfort of their homes at tv.nationalopera.gr/en, at any time they choose, on their computer, ipad, TV or mobile phones. The ticket offers the possibility to access the performance for an unlimited number of times over the course of a 30-day period starting from the first streaming.

The funding body of the project is the Ministry of Culture, within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan "Greece 2.0" with funding from the European Union - NextGeneration EU.

Lead Donor of the Greek National Opera and Founding Donor of the GNO TV

Stavros Niarchos Foundation