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 is the normal practice of the Wilis to use their beauty to capture the attentions of young men and them force them to dance until they drop dead. Hilarion, they chase relentlessly until they toss him to his death in a lake. Moving on to serve a similar fate to Albrecht, they are thwarted by the ghost of the peasant girl. She forgives Albrecht, who is spared by the Wilis at dawn when they return to their graves until the following evening. Giselle may now rest eternally in peace.
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 leading role in this ballet is one of the most sought after by promising young dancers. It requires tremendous grace, a high level of technical skill and the ability to act convincingly. It was written by dramatist Theophile Gautier. It first starred Carlotta Grisi, for whom it was created by Gautier. Since then, the peasant girl has been portrayed by Alicia Markova, Svetlana Zakharova and Anna Pavlova.
It was Henrich Heine' tale of the Wilis that inspired Gautier, who imagined it as a ballet. He worked with the composer, Adolphe Adam and Jules Perot, choreographer.
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 is the normal practice of the Wilis to use their beauty to capture the attentions of young men and them force them to dance until they drop dead. Hilarion, they chase relentlessly until they toss him to his death in a lake. Moving on to serve a similar fate to Albrecht, they are thwarted by the ghost of the peasant girl. She forgives Albrecht, who is spared by the Wilis at dawn when they return to their graves until the following evening. Giselle may now rest eternally in peace.
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 leading role in this ballet is one of the most sought after by promising young dancers. It requires tremendous grace, a high level of technical skill and the ability to act convincingly. It was written by dramatist Theophile Gautier. It first starred Carlotta Grisi, for whom it was created by Gautier. Since then, the peasant girl has been portrayed by Alicia Markova, Svetlana Zakharova and Anna Pavlova.
It was Henrich Heine' tale of the Wilis that inspired Gautier, who imagined it as a ballet. He worked with the composer, Adolphe Adam and Jules Perot, choreographer.
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