Act I Odd and pathetic are the inhabitants of an insane asylum. Among the inmates is a deluded lunatic, who imagines himself to be a dazzling knight, Don Quixote. Soon, his dreams about the magnificent Spain become contagious and consume the rest of the asylum. The merciless whistle of the Doctor shatters their colorful dream world. The bitter reality shrinks to the size of a hula hoop. But imagination is unstoppable. One step… and the inmates are in the sunny Barcelona. Here, the embodiment of the madman's dream is the charming Kittri, who is forced by her father, Lorenzo, to marry the rich nobleman, Gamache. The madman wants to stop the avaricious tavern keeper's plans. His fantasies have no limits, and so he becomes the handsome Basil - the contender to the hand of Kittri and the competitor of the rich bridegroom. The Doctor's loathsome whistle brings the lunatic back into the dark walls of the asylum. Obeying the Doctor's order, the inmates begin a game with a ball, which consumes the dreamer. The ball steals the fantasies and turns into an ominous vision. It is possible to escape the ball's oppression, but only for a moment - the whistle sounds again; the Doctor is always near.

Act II Nights are strange in the insane asylum. On one of them, when the thirst for freedom is especially strong, two lunatics escape. The reality of a modern city is violent and crude. The naove fantasist breaks into a street brawl and tries to stop the rape. His attempt elicits laughter; the mob mocks the madman. But to him, the saved girl is a vision of the beautiful Dulcinea - Kittri - and he leads her into the world of his fantasies, where the most audacious of dreams come true. Barcelona; enter Lorenzo and Gamache. The father insists: Kittri must marry the rich nobleman. Basil feigns a suicide. But as soon as the knight, Don Quixote, makes the tavern keeper give his blessing for Kittri's marriage to the "dead" contender, the young man "revives." The young couple ce