Just My Imagination
by Shannon Christy
Every country has its myths. The United States believes they are a beacon for freedom and democracy. Canada believes that it is a nice country. The French believe that people are inherently rational. Hence it is of little surprise that after having survived a crushing defeat to Prussia because of the irrational aspirations of Napoleon III, the brilliant French opera composer Jules Massenet turned Don Quichotte into an opera. Both he and Miguel Cervantes had seen their ideals bashed against reality and both looked to the errant knight and his island of dreams as a refuge and an excuse to continue. The Seattle production of Don Quichotte presented by the COC provides the music, stunning performers, and a reproduction of the original but it fails to provide the imagination to connect our flawed world to the flawed world of a France eclipsed by the pragmatic Prussians of the 19th century or a Spain of the 16th century lost to the Inquisition and awash in gold and corruption. That is unfortunate because if there ever was a time when the island of dreams would be a pleasant respite from a cold reality that time is now.
