Don Quixote

In its performance of the late Rudolf Nureyev's light-hearted ballet "Don Quixote" Wednesday night, the Australian Ballet demonstrated confident artistry.Although Nureyev's three-act ballet was over-stuffed with slapstick humor and predictable choreographic structures, the company presented a thoroughly enjoyable evening of classicalballet.This production, with its fine set design by Anne Fraser and music by Ludwig Minkus, revolved mainly around two lovers, Kitri and Basilio, danced with finesse by Lisa Bolte and Li Cunxin.

The Naval Academy's Distinguished Artists Series ushered in spring with the ballet Don Quixote, performed by the Moscow Festival Ballet dance company at the academy's Alumni Hall. The 40-member Moscow Festival Ballet was founded in 1989 by Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Sergei Radchenko, who wanted to form a troupe that featured classical elements of the Bolshoi and Kirov companies and would stage new productions of classics like Don Quixote as well as 20th-century ballets such as Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella.

WASHINGTON -- Any similarity between the world's greatest novel, written in 1605 by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, and a Russian ballet called "Don Quixote" ends with the title.Oh, sure, there's an addled old guy in armor, with flyaway hair and vacant eyes, who can be glimpsed around the edges of Marius Petipa's 1869 ballet. But the meat of the piece is the up-and-down courtship of two very minor characters, Basilio and Kitri, whose romance is about as suspenseful as a Nancy Drew mystery.

Music Sun/Live! Stage 1400 Cathedral St. at Mount Royal Avenue Today noon --Carl Filipiak, jazz 1:30 p.m. --Charles "Big Daddy" Stallings, blues 3 p.m. --TBD 4:30 p.m. --Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, soul/blues 6:30 p.m. --Michael Franti and Spearhead, roots reggae United Way Stage Mount Royal Avenue near Lafayette Street Today noon --Guy Robinson and Friends, contemporary gospel 1:30 p.m. --Junkyard Saints, zydeco 3 p.m. --Mikey Jr. and...

Richard Strauss, "Don Quixote" and "Tod und Verklaerung" ("Death and Transfiguration"), performed by the MET Orchestra, James Levine conducting and (in "Don Quixote") cellist Jerry Grossman, violist Michael Ouzounian and violinist Raymond Gniewek (DG 447 762). Strauss, "Don Quixote," performed by cellist Jacqueline du Pre and the New Philharmonia Orchestra, Adrian Boult conducting; Edouard Lalo, Cello Concerto in D Minor, performed by du Pre and the Cleveland Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim conducting (EMI Classics 5 55528)

In a certain village in La Mancha, which I do not wish to name, there lived long ago a gentleman . . . It has been four centuries since Miguel de Cervantes wrote those words. And, unlike most other words written that long ago, we are still reading them. Don Quixote celebrates its 400th birthday in 2005, which has made it the subject of celebrations, seminars, exhibits and commemorations throughout the year. The George Peabody Library in Mount Vernon Square is displaying its collection of Don Quixote editions through Jan. 15. The exhibit, Celebrating 400 Years of Don Quixote de la Mancha, traces "the publication history of a work that has been translated more frequently than any other work except the Bible."

The end of anything often brings retrospection, a remembering of good times and bad times, expectations and accomplishments, disappointments and successes. As 1992 comes to a close, The Sun's arts and entertainment critics take a moment from watching and listening to concerts and recordings, plays, movies, art exhibits, architectural projects, television shows and dance programs to reflect on the one image or event in their respective fields of criticism that, more than any other, made 1992 memorable.

Music Sun/Live! Stage 1400 Cathedral St. at Mount Royal Avenue Today noon --Carl Filipiak, jazz 1:30 p.m. --Charles "Big Daddy" Stallings, blues 3 p.m. --TBD 4:30 p.m. --Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, soul/blues 6:30 p.m. --Michael Franti and Spearhead, roots reggae United Way Stage Mount Royal Avenue near Lafayette Street Today noon --Guy Robinson and Friends, contemporary gospel 1:30 p.m. --Junkyard Saints, zydeco 3 p.m. --Mikey Jr. and...

Lots of great reading on The Learning Channel today."The Bottom Line" (11 a.m.-noon, WBAL, Channel 11) -- Tiger Woods touched off a good bit of controversy when he called himself "Cablinasian," a reference to his mixed heritage; Wisconsin congressman Tom Petri went so far as to introduce legislation that would add the category "multiracial" to the 2000 census. Host Kweisi Mfume will lead a discussion on whether such a new category is needed, before an audience with many multiracial youths.

The Naval Academy's Distinguished Artists Series ushered in spring with the ballet Don Quixote, performed by the Moscow Festival Ballet dance company at the academy's Alumni Hall. The 40-member Moscow Festival Ballet was founded in 1989 by Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Sergei Radchenko, who wanted to form a troupe that featured classical elements of the Bolshoi and Kirov companies and would stage new productions of classics like Don Quixote as well as 20th-century ballets such as Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella.

The midweek suppers and our house were leaning toward the ho-hum. So in an attempt to put a little spice in our weekday meals, I made pork chops La Mancha. La Mancha is in the center of Spain and is perhaps best known as the land of Don Quixote. Don Quixote is the fictional 17th-century knight who livened up his life by riding around the Spanish countryside on horseback, righting wrongs and attacking windmills. It made for a good novel, if not a great career path. I found a pork-chop recipe that looked promising in a new cookbook about this region of Spain, Cooking From the Heart of Spain, by Janet Mendel (Morrow Cookbooks, 2006)

HOUSES OF WORSHIP TOUR Experience a self-guided tour through one or more of 12 featured worship houses in Frederick. View three centuries of holiday decorations and the architecture of the buildings illuminated by candles. Many of the locations offer vocal and instrumental performances, as well as light refreshments. Visitors also can ride in horse-drawn carriages for a 25-minute tour of downtown Frederick. ....................... The Houses of Worship Tour is from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday.

In a certain village in La Mancha, which I do not wish to name, there lived long ago a gentleman . . . It has been four centuries since Miguel de Cervantes wrote those words. And, unlike most other words written that long ago, we are still reading them. Don Quixote celebrates its 400th birthday in 2005, which has made it the subject of celebrations, seminars, exhibits and commemorations throughout the year. The George Peabody Library in Mount Vernon Square is displaying its collection of Don Quixote editions through Jan. 15. The exhibit, Celebrating 400 Years of Don Quixote de la Mancha, traces "the publication history of a work that has been translated more frequently than any other work except the Bible."

HAND-WRINGING AND name-calling by Democrats is an understandable reaction to Ralph Nader's announcement Sunday that he will make another quixotic bid for president. They blame the crusading consumer advocate for drawing away votes in 2000 that might have gone to Vice President Al Gore and thus tipping the race instead to Republican George W. Bush. But the 69-year-old reformer was less a spoiler than a scapegoat. Mr. Gore had all the advantages of incumbency in a period of peace and prosperity, yet ran such a poor campaign against a relative novice that he couldn't even carry his home state.

ELKTON - Cecil County commissioners will meet Tuesday evening to consider proposed legislation that would impose a six-month moratorium on housing construction in about 63 percent of the county. "It has stirred a lot of excitement," said Commissioner William C. Manlove, author of the bill, which would halt the required county approval for new homes in the northern and southern agricultural regions. "The homebuilders really hate me." Manlove said he wants a break in housing development long enough to allow a newly appointed 11-member comprehensive review committee to examine the county's long-term growth plan.

Somersault, by Kenzaburo Oe. Translated from Japanese by Philip Gabriel. Grove Press. 720 pages. $26. Imagine, for a moment, that members of a religious cult have infiltrated a nuclear power plant near a major metropolis. They intend to blow it up to hasten the end of the world, to persuade others to repent and follow their path. But when the cult's leaders find out, they are horrified. This was never part of their plan. To stop the bomb, they appear on national television just as their followers have broken into the plant.

The Ballet Theater of Annapolis' spring performance last weekend at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis was an improvement over the disorganized, unmusical mess of last fall's "Dracula."The three-part program showed the company in proper repertory for its size and ability.It began with "Minkus Variations," a compilation of bon-bons from Leon Minkus' full-length ballets "Paquita" and "Don Quixote," and ended with "3 Moons Unveiled," a new work by Anton Wilson, a former BTA dancer.

The midweek suppers and our house were leaning toward the ho-hum. So in an attempt to put a little spice in our weekday meals, I made pork chops La Mancha. La Mancha is in the center of Spain and is perhaps best known as the land of Don Quixote. Don Quixote is the fictional 17th-century knight who livened up his life by riding around the Spanish countryside on horseback, righting wrongs and attacking windmills. It made for a good novel, if not a great career path. I found a pork-chop recipe that looked promising in a new cookbook about this region of Spain, Cooking From the Heart of Spain, by Janet Mendel (Morrow Cookbooks, 2006)

Tony Award-winning actor Brian Stokes Mitchell performs two rituals whenever he begins a play in a new theater. He burns sage throughout the building to drive out evil spirits. And before the first performance, he gathers the cast on stage and shares the history of the theater. Observing rituals reinforces the actor's belief that his life has followed definite patterns. These patterns go all the way back to his birth, which happened to fall on Halloween, a holiday he believes is an ideal birthday for an actor.

During a wordless prologue to Massenet's opera "Don Quichotte," the wonderfully naive hero is seen in an attic, absorbed in books about knights and ideals. A winged horse appears in the distance, daring the old dreamer to climb on for a ride into the unknown, the untried, the impossible. It's one of several striking, lasting images to be found in Washington Opera's season-opening production of this under-appreciated gem by Massenet, based on Cervantes' "Don Quixote." The fate of the "knight errant" - most battles lost, a few surprisingly won; some big dreams shattered - and his ultimate journey toward the stars seems somehow even more touching than usual in this inventive staging.