Giselle
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| Giselle | |
 Carlotta Grisi as Giselle (1841) |
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| Choreographed by | Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa (revival) |
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| Composed by | Adolphe Adam |
| Date of premiere | 28 June 1841 |
| Place of premiere | Paris, France |
| Original ballet company | Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique |
| Characters | Giselle Albrect Hilarion Bathilda Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis |
| Created for | Carlotta Grisi and Lucien Petipa |
| Genre | Romantic |
| Type | classical ballet |
Giselle is a ballet by Adolphe Adam. It has 2 acts, 2 scenes, with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier and was originally choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot (the principal Ballerina's dances). The choreography of nearly all modern productions derives from the revivals of Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet (1884, 1899, 1903).
Giselle was first presented by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, Paris, France, on June 28, 1841.
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[edit] Synopsis
In the first act, Count Albrecht, not wishing to be recognised, has disguised himself as a peasant (Loys) and goes to stay in a small village. He flirts with a young, mentally fragile, country girl named Giselle who falls completely in love with him. Hilarion, one of the village hunters, is also in love with Giselle; due to this, he is very jealous and suspicious of Loys. He warns Giselle against trusting Loys, but Giselle refuses to listen and drives the hunter away. Giselle and Loys dance a love duet, during which Giselle has her famous bench scene with the daisy used to divine the truth of their love. They are interrupted by Giselle's mother, Berthe, who is worried about her daughter over-exerting herself. At this point, hunting horns are heard in the distance whereupon Loys hides. A hunting party enters, complete with a noblewoman. The villagers feel so honored that they offer to dance and hold a celebration. Giselle, smitten with the luxury of the strange woman, is offered a necklace to have. After the festivities, the hunting party departs and Loys reappears with the incoming grape harvesters. Giselle dances her first act solo (not part of the original choreography--added by Petipa), which marks her last moment of true happiness. At this point, the happy couple is broken up by Hilarion who, brandishing the horn and sword of Albrecht, accuses Loys of deception. Giselle refuses to believe this until the horn is blown, and the same hunting party from before returns. When Giselle realizes that the noblewoman who was so kind to her previously is actually the fiancee of Loys-cum-Albrecht, Giselle loses her mind. With a weak psychological state already established, the transformation of the peasant girl is not totally unforeseen. At this point in the story, Giselle was originally meant to take up the sword of Albrecht and kill herself, yet for some reason (religious, moral) her death was altered to that of a person driven to their demise by a shock too great to bear. The second act begins in the forest. As she originally killed herself, Giselle would have been unable to be buried in hallowed ground; a shadowy part of the forest was the best that could be done for the poor seamstress. Hilarion is present, grieving for his love that never had a chance to grow. Suddenly a host of female spirits come and frighten him away. These wilis are the ghosts of girls promised to be married but jilted before their wedding day. At night, they come from their tombs and seek revenge on their slight by dancing to death any man they encounter. Giselle is called from her tomb and welcomed by the unholy group whereupon all quickly disappear. At this point Albrecht comes looking for Giselle's grave; as the Count grieves at the tombstone, Giselle appears before him. He cannot believe his eyes and begs for forgiveness. Giselle, her love undiminished by the previous slight against her, readily accepts Albrecht and the two dance. The scene ends with Albrecht in pursuit of Giselle as she disappears into the forest. Hilarion soon enters pursued by the troupe of female spirits. They trap him and sentence him to die. After they have dumped his body into a nearby lake, the Wilis surround Albrecht and also sentence him to die. On bended knees he begs for forgiveness, but neither they, nor their Queen (Myrthe) will listen. As Albrecht dances, Giselle tries to protect him with her love, taking his place in the demon dancing and allowing him to rest. As the sun rises and the Wilis retreat to their graves, it is clear that Giselle has saved Albrecht and that she did not herself become a Wili; by not succumbing to those feelings of vengeance and hatred that so thoroughly define those unhappy ghosts, Giselle is allowed to finally rest.
[edit] Roles
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[edit] A varied past
| Important Ballets & *Revivals of Marius Petipa |
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*Paquita (1847, *1881) |
The version passed down to the present day was staged by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet (today the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet). Petipa staged his definitive revival of Giselle in 1884 for the Ballerina Maria Gorshenkova, but made his final touches to the work for Anna Pavlova's debut in 1903. It is said that the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet still dance the ballet in Petipa's original design nearly unchanged. Petipa's final work on Giselle was notated in the Stepanov method of choreographic notation around the turn of the 20th century, and is today held as part of the famous Sergeyev Collection in the Harvard University Library Theatre Collection.
Giselle passed out of the repertory of the old Paris Opéra in 1867, and did not return to the western stage until Petipa's definitive version was performed by the Ballets Russes in 1910 at the Palais Garnier.
The role of Giselle is one of the most sought-after in ballet, as it demands both technical perfection and outstanding grace and lyricism, as well as great dramatic skill. In the first act Giselle has to convey the innocence and love of a country girl, the heartbreak of being betrayed. In the second act Giselle must seem otherworldly, yet loving. Some of the most accomplished dancers to perform this role include Carlotta Grisi (for whom Théophile Gautier created the role), Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Spesivtseva, Galina Ulanova, Alicia Markova, Alicia Alonso, Chan Hon Goh, Beryl Goldwyn, Karen Kain, Margot Fonteyn, Natalia Makarova, Gelsey Kirkland, Irina Kolpakova, Ekaterina Maximova, Natalya Bessmertnova, Carla Fracci, Altynai Asylmuratova, Alessandra Ferri, Viviana Durante, Eva Evdokimova,Diana Vishneva, Svetlana Zakharova, Alina Cojocaru and Nina Ananiashvili. Famous Albrechts include Lucien Petipa (creator of the role), Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Erik Bruhn, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Vladimir Vassiliev,Sir Anton Dolin Vladimir Malakhov, Vladimir Muravlev.
[edit] Résumé of scenes and dances
Act I
- no.1 Introduction
- no.2 Scène première
- no.3 Entrée d'Albrecht
- no.4 Entrée de Giselle
- no.5 Scène dansante
- interpolation - Pas de deux pour Mlle. Maria Gorshenkova (Ludwig Minkus; 1884; this piece was only included in Imperial-era productions)
- no.6 Scène d'Hilarion
- no.7 Retour de la vendange
- interpolation - Pas de cinq pour Mlle. Carlotta Grisi (Cesare Pugni; 1850; only included for Grisi's performance)
- no.8 Valse
- no.9 Scène dansante
- no.10 Le récit de Berthe
- no.11 Scène: Le chasse royale
- no.12 Scène d'Hilarion
- no.13 Marche des vignerons
- interpolation - Variaton pour Mlle. Elena Cornalba (aka Pas seul) (likely composed by Riccardo Drigo, c. 1888)
- interpolation - Pas de deux pour Mlle. Nathalie Fitzjames (aka Peasant pas de deux)
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- Fashioned from Souvenirs de Ratisbonne by Friedrich Burgmüller, c.1841 –
- a. Entrée
- b. Andante
- c. Variation
- d. Variation
- interpolation - supplemental female variation (Mariinsky Theatre staging) (Riccardo Drigo?; from the ballet Cupid's Prank; 1890.)
- e. Variation
- f. Coda
- no.14 Galop générale
- no.15 Grand scène dramatique: La folie de Giselle
Act II
- no.16 Introduction et scène
- no.17 Entrée et danse de Myrthe
- no.18 Entrée des Wilis
- no.19 Grand pas des Wilis
- no.20 Entrée de Giselle
- no.21 Entrée d'Albrecht
- no.22 L'apparition de Giselle
- no.23 La mort d'Hilarion
- no.24 Scène des Wilis
- no.25 Grand pas d'action —
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- a. Grand adage
- b. Variation de Giselle
- c. Variation d'Albert
- interpolation - Variation pour Mlle. Adèle Grantzow (likely composed by Cesare Pugni; 1867)
- d. Coda
- no.26 Scène finale
[edit] Gallery
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 Ballerina Xiomara Reyes as Giselle in Act II (2006) |
 Adèle Dumilâtre as Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis. Colored lithograph, 1843 |
 Famous Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova, as Giselle |
 English ballerina Beryl Goldwyn, as Giselle |
[edit] External links
- The Earliest Russian Giselles - discusses the first interpretors of the role of Giselle in Imperial Russia
- Some dance history of Giselle by Suzanne McCarthy for the Royal Ballet
- Giselle Rudolf Nureyev dancing Albrecht in Giselle
Video:
- Short video of excerpts from the Act II pas de deux of Giselle
- Giselle, Act II - Myrtha and the wilis (Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet, 2001)
- (Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis - Act II variation from Giselle (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal)
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