Donizetti Variations was originally choreographed in 1960 as "Variations from Don Sebastian" with music by Gaetano Donizetti. Ten years later it was revived and updated to its present version, receiving new costumes and some new choreography. Pictured above is the ballet in it's original form and below are quotes from two dancers on the differences between the old and new versions.
Melissa Hayden: “It was much stronger, the colors were more vibrant—it had more flair, a sort of Spanish air. It had character. The present version is more pastel. Prettier. The intention of th eoriginal was not to be lovely, it was supposed to be more bravura. Now there are no more surprises; it’s no longer dangerous. A certain force is lost.”
Violette Verdy: “Now it’s lighter in feeling, faster, more of a divertissement and less of a marathon.”
—Repertory in Review: 40 Years of the New York City Ballet (affiliate link)
Hester Fitzgerald (blue), Richard Rapp, Suki Schorer (purple), William Weslow, Victoria Simon (pink) and Michael Lland. Variations from Don Sebastian.
Photo by Martha Swope, 1962
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