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Ballet West: Giselle Members Pick Staff Pick
BalletWest.org
The "mad scene" of Giselle is one of the great solos in the history of ballet—not so much for its athletic demands as for its emotional demands. Although it is physical in spots, the real brilliance is how the ballerina conveys Giselle's tragic death from heartbreak. That's not a finale "spoiler." Giselle, an innocent village girl, falls in love with Albrecht, a duke masquerading as a peasant. When Hilarion—a gamekeeper who also loves Giselle—reveals Albrecht's true identity, she goes mad from believing they can never be together. The young woman quite literally dies of a broken heart in the arms of the beloved she cannot have. The heroine's death ends the first act, and her ghost takes center stage for the remainder of the ballet. Act 2 is when the real fun begins, with a ghostly group of spurned women hell-bent on taking revenge upon men everywhere. After they raise poor Giselle's spirit from the grave to join them, they quickly find Hilarion and force him into dancing to the point of exhaustion so they can drown him in a nearby lake. Next up: Albrecht. Just imagine a couple of bewitched guys, both of whom once loved Giselle, pleading for their lives through extreme dance. The dramatic material continues through the last dance of the two star-crossed lovers. The choreography is designed to keep Giselle's touch on the stage light as a ghost, but still convey a strength of love and devotion that will ultimately keep Albrecht from meeting his death. (Jacob Stringer)
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