In such a context it has always been difficult to find dancers who would have pleased Nureyev. For several seasons now at La Scala, “Don Quixote” has been performed without guest artists, featuring only the house’s étoiles and principal dancers, who in recent years have regained the technical skills lost from the previous generation. Étoile Roberto Bolle danced Basilio several times, giving the role that classical elegance and sharp technique that Nureyev sought. The principal dancer Timofej Andrijashenko looks to follow in his footsteps today, as well as the étoile Nicoletta Manni who seems inspired by the golden classicism of Sylvie Guillem. Manni and Andrijashenko, partners both on stage and in life, were once again the stars of the first cast in this summer revival, darlings of the international audience that packed the theatre.

Already familiar with their rigorous performance, this time we wanted to see a different cast, of less renown perhaps but certainly interesting: the prima ballerina Alice Mariani and the soloist Mattia Semperboni. Due to many injuries among the principal dancers (Claudio Coviello, Nicola Del Freo, Virna Toppi), they danced more than their two scheduled shows. 

Both graduates of La Scala Ballet Academy, Mariani comes to the company after a decade at the Dresden Ballet, while Semperboni is a long-standing company member. At “Piermarini” (as the Milanese audience calls La Scala after its architect), our pair first danced “Don Quixote” this season after their debut in Milan five years ago at the suburban Teatro Arcimboldi and last January on tour in China, from where the echo of their success reached us. We know that both possess all the qualities required to be Kitri and Basilio and after having seen them live we can venture a historical comparison, recognising Mariani and Semperboni as descendants of the great Italian school—that is, La Scala school—of the late nineteenth century.