Discover Petipa's Ballet Giselle
A pinnacle of Romantic ballet, famed for other-wordly Act II.
Introduction | Synopsis | Characters
Introduction
Giselle has a long pedigree on the ballet stage. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra in 1841, when its Rhineland village setting would have been exotically alien to audiences.
The second act takes place in the mysterious moonlit world of the Wilis. Here, the spectral forms of jilted brides who have committed suicide are compelled to haunt the men who deceived them, forcing them to dance themselves to death. Dressed in chaste white, the ensemble dances a hypnotic sequence of slow steps – a defining prototype of Romantic ballet.
The Royal Ballet’s current version uses choreography derived from the original 1841 version as preserved by the great choreographer Marius Petipa in the 1880s, and restaged by Peter Wright.
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Synopsis
ACT I
A Rhineland village.
A nobleman, Count Albrecht, disguises himself as a peasant to seduce a pretty country girl, Giselle. She soon falls for Albrecht’s charms, despite her mother’s warning not to trust him. Hilarion, a village boy, is in love with Giselle and jealous of Albrecht. He tries to find out who the interloper really is.
Unexpectedly, Albrecht's fiancée comes to Giselle’s village. Albrecht hides, while Giselle dances for the visitors. By mistake, Albrecht appears and is recognized by his fiancée. Giselle realises that she has been deceived, but the shock is too much for her to bear. Mad with despair, she seizes Albrecht’s sword and kills herself.
ACT II
Giselle's grave on unconsecrated ground in the forest. Midnight, the hour when the Wilis come out.
Hilarion keeps vigil by Giselle's grave, but flees when the spectral forms of the Wilis - ghosts of young girls who have been jilted - appear out of the gloom. Myrtha, their queen, draws Giselle from her grave to be initiated into the ghostly rites.
Albrecht appears, searching for Giselle's grave. He sees her ghost and follows it into the forest.
Hilarion, pursued by the Wilis, returns and is forced into an endless dance. Exhausted, he is driven into the lake, and drowns.
The Wilis chase Albrecht and command him to dance. Giselle tries to save him but is powerless to help. He dances uncontrollably, growing weaker and weaker.
Just as he is about to die, dawn breaks. Daylight destroys the Wilis' power, and the ghostly dancers fade away. Giselle’s love has transcended death. She returns to her grave, her spirit freed from the power of the Wilis, leaving Albrecht sorrowful and alone.
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Characters
Giselle: A simple country girl who falls in love with an attractive stranger who comes to her village. He turns out to be Count Albrecht, a nobleman in disguise, who is already engaged to be married. Giselle's heart is broken when she realises that he has deceived her, and she kills herself. In the second act, she reappears as a Wili - a vengeful spirit compelled to punish the man who jilted her.
Albrecht: A nobleman who falls in love with Giselle and disguises himself as a peasant to woo her. However, he is already engaged to another woman, and when Giselle finds out she goes mad with despair. In the second act, filled with remorse, Albrecht comes to Giselle's grave and encounters her spectral incarnation as a Wili.
Hilarion: A village boy who also loves Giselle. He is jealous of Albrecht and tries to find out his true identity.
Bathilda: Albrecht's betrothed, who visits Giselle's village by chance and thus reveals Albrecht's true identity.
Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis: She commands the Wilis to dance and they are powerless to disobey her.
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