San Diego Opera: Massenet's Don Quixote
In the magical world of Don Quixote’s Spain, the eccentric knight pursues his impossible dream of capturing the heart of Dulcinea, his idealized woman, who sends him on a quest to recover her stolen necklace. With his loyal sidekick Sancho, he tilts at giant windmills, confronts bandits, and is nearly killed, but achieves his goal. However, when he returns with the prize, he is mocked, scorned and rejected. In one of the most emotional scenes in opera, the delirious Quixote dies believing he hears Dulcinea’s voice calling to him from a distant star.
Pulsating with Spanish rhythms, dances and color, Don Quixote welcomes the return of the brilliant Ferruccio Furlanetto, who has conquered opera houses from New York to Moscow, Vienna to Paris and Madrid to Budapest. The great Italian bass is reunited with Eduardo Chama as Sancho Panza, a role he has sung to acclaim in Madrid, Palermo and Buenos Aires. Singing the seductive Dulcinea for the first time is the beautiful Anke Vondung, praised here as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, coming fresh from performances at Dresden Opera, Palermo, Munich and Hamburg. Karen Keltner, a specialist in French repertoire, conducts the opera once more and Keturah Stickann directs this emotional and moving production.
