Synopsis
Programme
WARNING SPOILER!!! - Click here for Short Synopsis (Teaser)
ACT I
Giselle is an innocent and impressionable young living with her mother, Berthe, in a rustic village in the Rheinland. One day, a handsome stranger arrives in the village, it is Prince Albrecht who has disguised himself as a peasant, Loys, to find some time away from court and his impending marriage. He flirts with Giselle and she falls instantly in love with him, despite the warnings of her mother who does not trust him. The forester, Hilarion, who is in love with Giselle himself, also jealously tries to turn her away from Loys, but Giselle, believing Loys will marry her, will not be swayed. Loys and Giselle take part in the celebrations marking the end of the grape harvest where Giselle is crowned Queen of the Vintage. Then Wilfred, Albrecht's squire, secretly warns the Prince that a royal hunting party is approaching, including Countess Bathilde, his true betrothed. Albrecht slips away but Hilarion takes advantage of his absence to break into the cottage where he has been staying to find evidence of his true identity. The royal party arrive, Giselle dances for Bathilde and when she tells the Countess that she too is soon to be married the Countess makes her a gift of a necklace. The Countess then asks to rest in Berthe's cottage whilst the rest of the party continue the hunt. The hunters depart, leaving a hunting horn behind so that they can be summoned back when Bathilde is ready to rejoin them. Hilarion then emerges from Loys cottage with the strangers sword. He compares it with the hunting and sees that they each bear the same crest, evidence of Loys duplicity. Loys returns and Hilarion denounces him, then blows upon the horn to recall the hunting party. The hunters return and Bathilde comes out of the cottage to claim 'Loys' as Prince Albrecht as her betrothed. Giselle is distraught, and tells the Countess that Loys had promised to marry her. Unable to comprehend what has occurred, Giselle loses her reason and, snatching up Albrechts fallen sword, kills herself.
ACT II
Unable to be buried in consecrated ground because she was a suicide, Giselle's body has been laid to rest in a glade deep in the forest. Hilarion is kneeling by her grave when he is frightened away by a set of ghostly apparitions. They are the Wilis, spirits of young women who died after being jilted by men before their wedding days and who now take their revenge on any men they find in the forest by dancing them to death. They have come to claim their sister and Myrtha, their queen, draws Giselle's spirit from her grave to be initiated into their number. The Wilis disperse and Albrecht arrives to lay flowers on Giselle's grave, repentant at the outcome of his deeds. Giselle's spirit appears to him and he follows her off into the forest. Meanwhile the Wilis are pursuing Hilarion and force him to dance until he is exhausted then drive him into the lake where he drowns. Next, they locate Albrecht and condemn him to the same fate. But Giselle has forgiven him the wrong he has done her and as the Wilis force him to dance she helps to sustain until morning when their power is broken by the first rays of sunlight. Giselle returns to her grave for her eternal rest and Albrecht is left to contemplate his sorrow.
Impressions/Performances
The Royal Ballet's interpretation of this supremely romantic ballet is a glorious spectacle, cementing the company's position as one of the world leaders. With dreamy music by Adolphe Adam, dramatic choreography displaying all the brilliance of Marius Petipa, and detailed storytelling in an engaging plot, all the elements are there for a fantastic evening. Add the genius of the leading artists of the Royal Ballet and the sheer strength in depth of the corps de ballet and it becomes little short of magical. Act one is, for the most part, a carefree rustic romp, set in a small village, depicted by two quite lifelike wooden structures. The action for the most part is celebratory, taking on a dramatically darker overtone only at the very end when we discover just how emotionally fragile Giselle really is - classic timing to tear at our heart-strings just before the interval. The second act is altogether much darker and more ethereal as the Wilis seek to exact their revenge on mankind. Silver moonlight, mist, a dank forest clearing with uprooted trees and a small unostentatious grave in one corner, and a tangle of thicket rising up on both sides and intertwining overhead give a ghostly feel to the scenario even before the spectral apparitions in white tulle drift silently onto the stage.
Bennet Gartside's Hilarion places a strong emphasis on the jealousy of his character towards Loys and the anger this engenders within him. His intent in exposing Loys/Albrecht was much less motivated by Giselle's best-interests than by his own. Consequently, his character is far less sympathetic than might have otherwise been the case given the circumstances. This adds a clever extra edge to the story as we really want Giselle to find a happy ending with her prince charming and not the moody woodsman. It also portrays Hilarion as the greater villain in the tragic events that follow and makes his own fate more appropriate. Albrecht, on the other hand, danced by Rupert Pennefather, is portrayed as more thoughtless than scheming, negligent perhaps of the effects of his actions on others but never setting out to hurt and so it is again appropriate that Giselle ultimately forgives him.
But certainly the star of the night was Tamara Rojo. Her dancing throughout is sure-footed and immaculate and her acting is at least equally as good. In the first act she superbly captures Giselle's carefree innocence and youthful exuberance in her love of life, and in the second she is all dolorous dignity and evanescence - every anguished move resonent with love, sorrow, and forgiveness. But her best is in the revelation scene - first the dawning of the awful realisation that she has been deceived, the anguished pleading that it cannot be true, and finally the madness, wringing our hearts as she rushes around the stage with tousled hair unable to cope with the truth. It is a very demanding part, calling upon the performer to call into play a panoply of emotions as she transform herself from the happy childish girl to the serene ennobled spirit, and Tamara manages to remain totally convincing throughout.
Verdict
Visually stunning and emotionally stimulating with first class choreography and sensational performances.