Don Quixote Performance Analysis

April 20, 2016, my oldest daughter and I attended the Moscow Ballet’s performance of Don Quixote, an everlasting favorite, at Three Rivers College. This is a classic ballet that has grown in popularity over the years, of which three acts can brilliantly convey every human emotion possible. It is a ballet with which I am vaguely familiar; I have seen it performed on television a few times and at the age of eleven I was thrilled to see a live performance. Don Quixote is chalk full of minuets, jigs, marches, and waltzes, mostly up beat and light-hearted with fun entertaining melodies as to correlate to the comedy. This particular viewing did not have an orchestra, but rather recorded sound. This aspect was suitable for the Tinnin Fine Arts Center
One minute it’s upbeat “Spanish” rhythms and the next is slow and steady romantic pieces for the lovers within the drama. By the use of such musical connotations, the overall impact of the ballet is enhanced; so I would venture to say that this is utility music. I can also see the overall ballet as ternary form due to its three major sections. The first section in act one states the thematic material of a conjunct melody yet vivacious rhythmic patterns, connecting me with the carefree and in love feeling evoked. It carried a more elated structure. The second section, on the other hand, relays the contrasting theme of a darker more ambiguous tone. Then returning to the light in the final section restating that thematic material. However during act three, I also felt it had its own quick three part form. When the unwanted finance’s entrance is accompanied with the loud chromatic music and the cuts at the end of pieces causing disjunct melody are acknowledged, a contrast to the thematic material occurs. Though it does quickly returns to the blissful and contented connotation that began this section and all is well in the end. I was unsure of whether or not that was real or if at this point in time I was just searching for something to write in my notes for my
The same tune would get caught in your ear, then it was moving you faster or slower; as well as that tune getting louder or softer at appropriate intervals coinciding with the dramas taking place. I also noticed a few woodwind and harp solos during the brighter, happier moments of the performance. The use of castanets and tambourines also caught my eyes and ears. Of course, there was tremendous use of varying the pitch and tempo as well as how loud or soft the music was. Again this is all to enhance how the emotion was conveyed to the audience. Additionally, a piece that stuck out in my head as I left (mainly because I’ve never really noticed or caught on to it until after learning this in one of our class sections) was toward the end when a solo played for a period of time and then that instrument was joined by all the other instruments—playing the same thing—in consistent pleasing