HK Cultural Centre, Grand Theatre March 20-24

World-class ballet is not something we see enough of in Hong Kong, and so it was no surprise to see the Mariinsky Ballet’s Don Quixote sell out well in advance of its five-night run at the Cultural Centre. Better known by its former Soviet name, the Kirov Ballet, the St Petersburg company has been around for 270 years and is rightly counted among the top five ballets in the world (along with compatriots the Bolshoi, Paris, Royal and New York City ballets).

Such a pedigree was clearly not lost on the Hong Kong audience, and a desire to pay homage to this venerable troupe was tangible from the outset with the crowd delivering bursts of rapturous applause and spirited cries of ‘bravo’ at every opportunity.

To say such enthusiasm was rewarded with a faultless performance would be stretching the truth somewhat, but the Mariinsky served up a show of such quality and verve that even the most pernickety of ballet sticklers would have been hard pushed to leave unimpressed.

Don Quixote, based on an episode from Miguel De Cervantes’ classic novel, tells the tale of star-crossed lovers Basilio (Vladimir Shklyarov) and Kitri (Alina Somova) as they attempt – with a little help from the titular Lord of La Mancha – to elope and free themselves from the disapproval of Kitri’s father. The staging here tended towards the lavish, with beautifully painted backdrops that elicited gasps of approval at every set change, as well as wonderfully detailed costumes for every member of the cast. There was even a real horse for Don Quixote (Vladimir Ponomarev) to ride onto the stage, although it has to be said the animal’s ballet skills were mediocre at best.

The same could not be said for the leads, who showed exactly why they both won prizes at the prestigious Vaganova-Prix International Competition in St Petersburg in 2002 with performances of astounding grace, agility and poise. But while Shklyarov and Somova’s pas de deux and solos in the final act were the crowning glory of the production, Don Quixote was a life-affirming joy to behold from beginning to end. The first two acts were awash with vibrant routines in which the entire cast created one colourful tableaux of movement after another. These were punctuated by moments of visual comedy (mostly involving Don Quixote’s hapless manservant, Sancho Panza, played here with gusto by Stanislav Burov) and show-stopping set pieces, in particular a segment in which Espada (Karen Ioanissian) moves around a succession of precariously balanced upturned knives en pointe, demonstrating incredible lightness of touch and control.

One of the most impressive things about these scenes, however, was the attention to detail displayed by every member of the cast; even the smallest of gestures performed by dancers peripheral to the main action was delivered with an enthusiasm and an élan that betrayed the meticulousness and countless hours of rehearsal that went into this production.

Which is not to say Don Quixote was without its faults; we counted at least three slips during solos that would no doubt have embarrassed and frustrated their perpetrators, especially amid such high-class company. But it was testament to the overall quality and joie de vivre of the show that such errors were quickly erased from the mind and replaced with moments of genuine wonder and awe. There were no such slips, however, from Shklyarov and Somova, who brought the house down with a sensational tour de force in the final act, and left the audience in little doubt that they had just witnessed something truly worthy of such an illustrious institution.

Paul Kay