"El último don Quijote": Vladímir Zeldin y la quijotización de la intelligentsia teatral rusa

Scholars who have studied the ways in which Don Quixote has been reinvented in Russia consider Russian quijotismo to be one of the most fascinating cases of cultural hybridization. Specifically, there is a long-standing tradition of appropriating Don Quixote's image in order to make it a key component of one's own identity among the Russian intelligentsia. This article looks at a 2004 adaptation of the musical Man of La Mancha at the Moscow Army Theater, focusing specifically on the acting career of Vladímir Zeldin, who is celebrated as "the Don Quixote of the Russian Stage." Zeldin's identification with Cervantes's hero is analyzed within the broader context of the novel's reception in Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries.