The ballet, Giselle, is on a par with Hamlet in terms of its historical importance. Audiences go to see it time and again just for the opportunity of viewing the interpretation of the role by different ballet dancers. They comment that each time it is different and they see something new.
A love triangle with some unusual twists, the ballet tells the story of a peasant girl who dies of a broken heart when she learns that the nobleman with whom she has fallen hopelessly in love is engaged to another woman. A gamekeeper, who has fallen in love with the peasant girl, is seen weeping at her grave when he is startled by a band of spirits of young women who had died before their wedding days. The bitter spirits rise from their graves to torture men to their deaths.
It was the practice of the Wili to use their abundant beauty to attract vulnerable young men and force them to dance until they died of exhaustion. Hilarion, they pursued and then threw him to his death in a lake. Albrecht, to whom the band of bitter spirits turn their attention after disposing of Hilarion, fares somewhat better. The spirit of the peasant girl is summoned from her grave. She protects him from the Wili until daybreak, when they go back to their graves to rest until night falls again. Giselle forgives her lover and goes back to her grave where she may now rest peacefully for eternity.
The ballet was first staged in Paris in June, 1841. The following year, it appeared in London in March of 1842. It was later presented in Russia, Italy and in America.
The role demands technical precision, dramatic acting skill as well as outstanding grace. For this reason, it is one of the most coveted roles in ballet. It was created for Carlotta Grisi by dramatist Theophile Gautier. It has been played by many other accomplished ballerinas including Anna Pavlova, Alicia Markova and Svetlana Zakharova.
The story f Giselle was inspired by Henrich Heine's tale of the Wilis. Gautier envisioned it as a ballet. He worked with choreographer, Jules Perot and composer, Adolphe Adam.
A love triangle with some unusual twists, the ballet tells the story of a peasant girl who dies of a broken heart when she learns that the nobleman with whom she has fallen hopelessly in love is engaged to another woman. A gamekeeper, who has fallen in love with the peasant girl, is seen weeping at her grave when he is startled by a band of spirits of young women who had died before their wedding days. The bitter spirits rise from their graves to torture men to their deaths.
It was the practice of the Wili to use their abundant beauty to attract vulnerable young men and force them to dance until they died of exhaustion. Hilarion, they pursued and then threw him to his death in a lake. Albrecht, to whom the band of bitter spirits turn their attention after disposing of Hilarion, fares somewhat better. The spirit of the peasant girl is summoned from her grave. She protects him from the Wili until daybreak, when they go back to their graves to rest until night falls again. Giselle forgives her lover and goes back to her grave where she may now rest peacefully for eternity.
The ballet was first staged in Paris in June, 1841. The following year, it appeared in London in March of 1842. It was later presented in Russia, Italy and in America.
The role demands technical precision, dramatic acting skill as well as outstanding grace. For this reason, it is one of the most coveted roles in ballet. It was created for Carlotta Grisi by dramatist Theophile Gautier. It has been played by many other accomplished ballerinas including Anna Pavlova, Alicia Markova and Svetlana Zakharova.
The story f Giselle was inspired by Henrich Heine's tale of the Wilis. Gautier envisioned it as a ballet. He worked with choreographer, Jules Perot and composer, Adolphe Adam.
