Don Quixote

Don Quixote, a valiant and eccentric retired Nobleman, sleeps in his castle in Barcelona surrounded by dust-covered books in which he has been reading tales of the gallant knight-errant. He dreams of the Lady Dulcinea, heroine of one of the stories, and awakes to “saving” her from peril in his dreams. Inspired to the point of insanity from his incessant reading of these heroic stories, he vows to become a knight and to roam the land helping those in need and protecting beautiful damsels in distress.  Don Quixote enlists his neighbor Sancho Panza as his squire and together they set out on their chivalrous adventure.

At the port of Barcelona, the lovely Kitri seeks out her sweetheart, the gallant young barber Basilio. Their happy meeting in the square is interrupted by her father, the innkeeper Lorenzo, who tries to force her into accepting Gamache, a rich nobleman. She refuses and with Basilio, takes part in the festivities of the town folk. The joyful dancing is broken by the arrival of the Don and Sancho Panza, who becomes the target of some horseplay by the villagers until his master rescues him. As Kitri dances with Basilio, Don Quixote imagines her to be Dulcinea and invites her to be his partner. Gamache is furious, but reluctantly joins with the crowd in supporting the Don’s hallucination. In the confusion that follows, Kitri and Basilio run off to get married with Lorenzo and Gamache in hot pursuit. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza set out after them to right all the wrongs and continue their chivalrous quest.

The lovers, seeking shelter in a windmill on the plain on Montiel, encounter a camp of Romani who offer shelter to the fleeing Kitri and Basilio. Don Quixote arrives shortly after, and a fortune teller of the group reads his palm. Discovering his quest to be a gallant knight-errant, she decides to put on a “puppet” show that mirrors the lovers predicament that she has just learned about. The Don, confusing reality and imagination, thinks his Dulcinea is in danger and attacks the stage. Now in a delusional fury, he believes the windmill is also a foe and attacks it. Deranged and hurt, he imagines monstrous adversaries attacking from all directions but he “defeats” them and collapses in exhaustion.

As Don Quixote dreams, Cupid takes him to a magic garden where the Queen of the Dryads brings a grateful Dulcinea to him and he declares his love for her. The dream fades and the following morning the Don is awakened by Sancho Panza, who has returned to his delusional yet determined master. Lorenzo and Gamache arrive in pursuit of the missing lovers, and the Don sets off once more with his faithful squire by his side.

Kitri, Basilio, and their friends are celebrating their escape in a tavern when Lorenzo, Gamache, Don Quixote, and Sancho Panza arrive. Lorenzo is determined to marry his daughter to Gamache, and Basilio makes as if to kill himself.  Kitri entreats Don Quixote to intercede with her father so that she may marry the apparently dying Basilio.  The ruse succeeds and Basilio springs to life again. Gamache endeavors to allay his own frustrations by challenging Don Quixote to a duel but is overwhelmed by him before any real harm is done.

His good deed done, the knight errant, Don Quixote, joins the entire town in celebrating the wedding of Kitri and Basilio. As the celebrations draw to a close, the Don, with Sancho Panza by his side, sets off on his next noble quest to restore chivalry and honor to the land.