Don Quixote
Saturday Matinee March 21,2026 2 PM
San Francisco Opera House
A delightful Old (and brilliantly revived) SF Ballet Performance
This remarkable ballet has been “on the boards “at the SF Opera House (in my memory) for over fifty years and more. I saw it, as an usher, in SF in the 1950’s. It is a masterpiece! First presented by San Francisco Ballet in 2003 with staging by Helgi Tómasson and then-principal dancer Yuri Possokhov, Don Quixote has been revived by San Francisco Ballet now in March 2026. The ballet is pure fun combining legend, folk dance, and masterpiece staging. It demands a huge cast, several styles of dance theater, (classical ballet, folk dance, mime) and superb acting by the major characters
This production, Inspired by Cervantes’ famous (and very long) novel, Don Quixote (first choreographed in 1869 by Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus) takes a few short episodes from the three chapters in the second half of the book to craft a charming story that has become known for its sassy heroine, Spanish setting, and an entance of a real donkey (and a horse!) onstage. As with SF Ballet’s earlier version, (created by Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson and Choreographer in Residence Yuri Possokhov) it now features beautiful sets and costumes by Martin Pakledinaz.
For this Saturday matinee’ the cast was particularly brilliant featuring the extraordinary ballerina Nikisha Fogo as Kitri partnered by Joshua Jack Price (who was promoted to ‘first soloist” in 2025). Price partnered Fogo with extraordinary skill, stealing the spotlight, so to speak, with his wonderful jumping and turning skills, and his dramatic ability to project character and action.
Audiences are encouraged to ‘study’ the plot which takes one from Act 1 (A square in Barcelona) to Act II (The Spanish Countryside) and on through Act II/2 Don Quixote’s dream. The ballet proceeds to narrate and perform extraordinary episodes including a (pretend) suicide, which finally wins consent to the marriage. Until the ‘wedding’ in Act III, the lovers move to and through various taverns. We are also treated to the unique dances (toreos and dagger dances) of Mercedes and Espada.
The afternoon’s performance was a wonder of skill, joy and a delightful celebration of the programming, performing and presenting abilities we have been so delighted to know with the SF Ballet. (The recent announcement that it will NOT perform in Washington, DC added to the audience’s pride and joy with the SF Ballet.)