The internationally acclaimed Italian prima ballerina Alesandra Ferri stars in La Scala's gloriously traditional new production of this much-loved classic, the most celebrated ballet of the Romantic era. Massimo Murru takes the role of Albrecht, whose duplicity drives Giselle to madness and causes her to die of a broken heart.
Choreographed by Patrice Bart of the Paris Opera Ballet, this production recreates in Angelo Sala's sets and costumes the designs of the great Alexexandre Benois, famous for his work with Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes.
Giselle (French: Giselle, ou les Wilis) is a romantic ballet in two acts, and is considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon. It was first performed by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris, France on 28 June 1841, with Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi as Giselle. The ballet was an unqualified triumph. Giselle became hugely popular and was staged at once across Europe, Russia, and the United States.
Librettists Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier took their inspiration for the plot from a prose passage about the Wilis in De l'Allemagne, by Heinrich Heine, and from a poem called "Fantômes" in Les Orientales by Victor Hugo.
The prolific opera and ballet composer Adolphe Adam composed the music. Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot created the original choreography. The role of Giselle was intended for Carlotta Grisi as her debut piece for the Paris public, and she was the only ballerina to dance it at the Paris Opera for many years. The traditional choreography that has been passed down to the present day derives primarily from the revivals staged by Marius Petipa during the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg. One of the world's most-often performed classical ballets, it is also one of its most challenging to dance.
Synopsis:
The ghost-filled ballet tells the tragic, romantic story of a beautiful young peasant girl who falls for the flirtations of the deceitful and disguised nobleman Albrecht. When the ruse is revealed, the fragile Giselle dies of heartbreak, and Albrecht must face the otherworldly consequences of his careless seduction.
The second act is largely dominated by the Wilis, the spirits of maidens who died after being betrayed by their lovers, and take revenge in the night by dancing men to death by exhaustion (a popular theme in Romantic-era ballets). Led by Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, they summon Giselle from her grave and target her lover for her death, but Giselle's great love frees him from their grasp.
The Dancers:
Alessandra Ferri as Giselle
Massimo Murru as Albrecht
Isabel Seabra as Myrtha
Maurizio Vanadia as Hilarion
Director: Alexandre Tarta
Writers: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Théophile Gautier
Producers: François Duplat
