Premiered in 1841, Giselle is perhaps the sole Romantic ballet that continues to be performed on every major ballet stage in the world today. The plot originates from a German legend: the wilis are brides who died before their weddings. They rise from their graves at midnight to haunt the moonlit valleys, and woe to those whom they entice to dance with them! They'll be mercilessly danced to death! As librettist Théophile Gautier put it, “The ballet came to be intimately and fertilely pervaded by everything that is mysterious, remote and unearthly.” In this fairy tale-like story, Giselle's supernatural existence after dying of a broken heart serves as the vehicle for depicting the tensions that develop between men and women, making this one of the most complex and difficult leading roles in the history of ballet. The work imposes strenuous technical demands on all of the performers: only the very finest dancers of classical ballet are capable of credibly reflecting Giselle's etherealness, the impetuosity of the male characters and the delicate movements of the wilis.
This work is being presented in the “Moscow version” created by legendary Russian choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky, as interpreted by the artists of the Hungarian National Ballet.

Cast

Credits

Conductor: Coleman David / Thomas Herzog
Composer: Adolphe Adam
Choreography: Leonyid Lavrovszkij
Libretto: Théophile Gautier
Set designer: Csikós Attila
Costume designer: Vágó Nelly
Répétiteur: Mihail Lavrovszkij
Company répétiteurs: Radina Dace / Venekei Marianna / Pongor Ildikó / Kövessy Angéla / Dózsa Imre / Aradi Mária