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The Royal Ballet: Giselle, Feb-April 2016


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"I know it's just a stupid, simple story..."

I slightly disagree with this comment in SMballet's detailed and beautifully expressed review.

Was it Alistair Macaulay who said of La Fille mal gardée that "the story may seem slight but the treatment isn't" (words that might also apply to The Two Pigeons).

The scenario of Act 1, of love betrayed and comfortable normality overthrown by glamorous circumstance (I'm sure a pre Loys Giselle might have been very happy with Hilarion) is surely universal, whilst Act 2 with its metaphors of forgiveness, self denial (Giselle "reborn" as a Willi can take to the air in the dancing she loves but has to subdue this urge to save the man she loves even more) and the Romantic vision of the idealised woman (think Sylphide) turned into vengeful furies (themselves capable of moments of the most exquisite beauty) is a striking expression of the nineteenth century artistic mind set. I think this, quite apart from the choreography and score (both edited over the years, of course) is why the ballet has lasted.

I'm sorry I never saw Matz Ek's modern take on this (and with his universal withdrawal of rights now never will) but will try to see Akram Khan's version as well as the Mary Skeaping which I recall as being a just about perfect version of the original (and which, using an unabridged score, is even tougher for Myrtha).

Edited by Ian Macmillan
On request; and just noticed.
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I saw the matinee yesterday and enjoyed the performance very much with Iana Salenko and Steven McRae.  I was very impressed with James Hay in the pd6.  Valentino Zucchetti was Hilarion and at the point  where Hilarion exposes Loys' deceit, he nearly pushed Steven McRae over!  I thought the wili were very well together and Helen Crawford was a menacing Myrtha - the looks she gave even the audience were pretty scary!  I know the Myrtha role is not easy but I could not help thinking that I am sure I have seen different versions where the choreography for Myrtha is much tougher with a lot more bourees than this version?

Anyway I had a lovely afternoon and got a nice curtain call photo.

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Edited by Don Q Fan
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I don't think anyone knows yet whether Osipova will be dancing or not, and if she isn't, whether it'll be Lamb/Golding again.  Lamb has her actually-scheduled performance the day before, so guess she will need the time to be rehearsing with her scheduled partner.

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It still says Osipova every time I look, but I have to say I am expecting every time to see it changed. I do hope not. I am taking a ballet virgin, and have promised them Osipova!

I hope you have started 'managing expectations', just in case!

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I am so enjoying the current run of Giselle. The second Act gets me everytime. I keep trying to explain to friends and family the way it makes me feel and I can't put it into words. I don't understand how movement can bring such a big lump to my throat. When the Wilis all cross into each other (something I used to re-enact in my grandma's house when I was about 5), it brings a lump to my throat every single time. I think it's the combination of the music and how beautiful they look as their bodies intertwine. It also makes me think of women as a whole and their strength. I find that whole act incredibly moving. 

 

Although it's been a shame not to have seen Osipova in this run (I'm not hopeful about her final performance) as this is her greatest role as far as I'm concerned, the Nunez/Muntagirov cast change was pretty awe inducing. Everyone I have spoken to since has said how special it was and Vadim has cemented himself as one of the greatest Albrechts (certainly that I have seen) of our generation. I found Nunez slightly knowing in Act 1 but i think this is often just her way (Salenko's first act was flawless for me, she was naive, pure and fragile which I think worked well against McRae's arrogant Albrecht). It was really Act 2 which blew me away, and Nunez was graceful and so full of love while Muntagirov danced with such strength and passion it seemed to bring a tear to everyone's eye! 

 

I'm so excited to see them again tomorrow night with an extra week of rehearsal time, I wonder if the interpretation will be slightly different at all.

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I am so enjoying the current run of Giselle. The second Act gets me everytime. I keep trying to explain to friends and family the way it makes me feel and I can't put it into words...

 

I've had the same difficulty to explain the combined impact of the dancing, storyline, staging, music & the overall sheer beauty.

The best I've managed is to say that I hope eternity contains the kind of feelings that watching Giselle & Vadim's dancing creates for me.

 

Hugely looking forward to seeing the performance tomorrow night too  :)

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Me too! That music is so powerful! I think the corps are the real stars of the ballet, they are so together in this run and the most beautiful Wilis I can ever imagine seeing on stage. I love it when they all go on pointe when they have just walked on stage and they are wearing their veils, I find it so mesmerizing, haunting and beautiful!

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That's lovely! Isn't a flower also given to them in Swan Lake at the end of the run? The corps run the show in Giselle and Swan Lake! Without them, neither ballet would hold my interest!

 

Those are from me too (except the Swan Lake run that finished with Liam Scarlett's final performance with the company).

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When the Wilis all cross into each other (something I used to re-enact in my grandma's house when I was about 5), it brings a lump to my throat every single time. I think it's the combination of the music and how beautiful they look as their bodies intertwine. It also makes me think of women as a whole and their strength. I find that whole act incredibly moving.

 

When I was a child and my parents used to take me to see Giselle at ABT (and we are going back to the 60s/early 70s here) the NY audience always used to burst into loud applause at that beautiful part of Act 2 (I don't know if they still do that). It is indeed so hauntingly beautiful and stirring in so many ways....but much as you might be tempted to acknowledge how wonderful the corps was being, it always used to kind of ruin the moment. My English mother used to go nuts and hiss very loudly "why can't they wait until the end" and I used to cringe with embarrassment; but now, as with many things, I totally understand what she meant! :)

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When I was a child and my parents used to take me to see Giselle at ABT (and we are going back to the 60s/early 70s here) the NY audience always used to burst into loud applause at that beautiful part of Act 2 (I don't know if they still do that). It is indeed so hauntingly beautiful and stirring in so many ways....but much as you might be tempted to acknowledge how wonderful the corps was being, it always used to kind of ruin the moment. My English mother used to go nuts and hiss very loudly "why can't they wait until the end" and I used to cringe with embarrassment; but now, as with many things, I totally understand what she meant! :)

 

I always want to applaud at that point - otherwise it seems that Myrthe is getting all the aplause and the corps none. I have a recording from The Scala where they do applaud, and whilst it can be seen as ruining the moment, it does seem right somehow at the same time.

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I watched Saturday's Matinee and the Corps ladies deserve much credit. They were truly stunning and the stars of Giselle!

I am afraid Miss Salenko doesn't do it for me as a Giselle, her technic is as is expected when one is a Principal but she leaves me totally cold, I don't "feel" her when she performs, she doesn't exude any emotions, she had several stumbles and it seemed as if she wasn't able to finish certain steps. There are dancers in the Soloist/FirstSoloist rank who'd be capable of dancing Giselle with much more emotion, finesse, and with greater acting skills. Steven McRae was fabulous. I also thought Emma McGuire and Yasmine Naghdi were really good as Myrthe's Assistants, Naghdi in particular looked very authoritative and threatening. 

 

Maybe I have seen too many other good casts.

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I watched Saturday's Matinee and the Corps ladies deserve much credit. They were truly stunning and the stars of Giselle!

I am afraid Miss Salenko doesn't do it for me as a Giselle, her technic is as is expected when one is a Principal but she leaves me totally cold, I don't "feel" her when she performs, she doesn't exude any emotions, she had several stumbles and it seemed as if she wasn't able to finish certain steps.

 

I was at that performance too, could you be more specific about the steps she couldn't complete and where the stumbles were exactly, as I saw no major errors at all. 

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I loved Salenko in this role, far more than I enjoyed McRae. He was a bit over the top for me and I actually didn't feel anything for him. It was tough though, because I was still thinking of Vadim!

 

I liked Salenko's first Act in particular, I loved the way she was fragile and sickly, just waiting really for her heart to be broken. She's a lot more subtle than the others but still acts, although perhaps some of this is missed without binoculars! I mainly focused on her throughout, and thought it was an intelligent performance. 

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I've only seen Giselle a couple of times and so perhaps the answer to my question is obvious. Why does Giselle die?

 

Does she kill herself?

 

Does she die of end stage heart failure / a heart attack, which may or may not have been brought on by shock?

 

Does she die of a 'broken heart'?

 

Even by the standards of the day Giselle seems incredibly child-like. Even a naive teenage girl would not finger a stranger's clothes or tell her about her engagement. Are we to conclude that Giselle has a mild learning disability? Osipova's interpretation in the last run seemed to me to portray a girl with some sort of intellectual challenge. Or is she is fact just very young (perhaps only 14 or 15) and naive, having lived a rather limited life with an over protective mother in a very small community?

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I've only seen Giselle a couple of times and so perhaps the answer to my question is obvious. Why does Giselle die?

 

Does she kill herself?

 

Does she die of end stage heart failure / a heart attack, which may or may not have been brought on by shock?

 

Does she die of a 'broken heart'?

 

I was talking to bangorballetboy about this the other week at ROH and he explained that Peter Wright production is meant to make it very clear that she dies from wounding herself with the sword - otherwise she would be buried on consecrated ground.  However, I personally don't feel that comes across so obviously - which is why I had asked the question in the first place.

 

I can hardly contain my excitement about seeing my dream cast tonight...

 

Edited to add: cross-posted with you, BBB!

Edited by RuthE
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I think Kobborg once mentioned that she definitely does kill herself because of where she is buried (and I agree that this isn't always so clear), and he also spoke of the lines that Giselle draws with the sword on the ground but I can't remember the symbolism does anyone know?

 

 

Even by the standards of the day Giselle seems incredibly child-like. Even a naive teenage girl would not finger a stranger's clothes or tell her about her engagement. Are we to conclude that Giselle has a mild learning disability? Osipova's interpretation in the last run seemed to me to portray a girl with some sort of intellectual challenge. Or is she is fact just very young (perhaps only 14 or 15) and naive, having lived a rather limited life with an over protective mother in a very small community?

 

Perhaps this is unrealistic but so is a bunch of ghosts dancing around a forest killing men?! Many ballet tales have elements of what's unrealistic, especially the Romantic ones; however, this is often a way of highlighting the moral codes that support the narrative. Giselle has to be overly naive and child-like to make the betrayal strong enough to send her mad.

 

I've actually always thought that the lead characters are more symbolic than they are realistic: Giselle symbolises betrayed women and Albrecht symbolises the aristocracy and the unfairness between classes during that time.

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Yes, I remember Kobborg talking about the circle she draws around herself with the sword;  everyone knew not to step over the line and into the circle. 

 

I agree with your comments, TTP, and I have also often thought that there is much to be said here about the classes.  Why is it Hilarion, who is, after all, really the good guy, who dies and Albrecht, the traitor, lives?  Is it because he was more deserving, as an aristocrat, than a mere gamekeeper was?  In my book, the Wilis (or the writer) got it the wrong way round!! 

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I have seen many Giselles, and I would say that the story and the characterisation of the 'good' or 'bad' is very much dependant upon the dancer too, and which story they wish to portray.

 

In most cases Giselle is not very well, and 'falls for' Albrecht, in her dancing, she could be 'coquettish', 'naive', 'playful', and in some cases bit more keen on him and a bit more direct.

 

Hilarion has been played as the unfortunate 'friend' who really cares for Giselle and looking out for her best interests. He is often played as a very aggressive farmer who is quite threatening to all parties, and is just very upset that Giselle is not interested in him, but the rich 'playboy'.

 

Albrecht I have seen from being the poor romantic victim who starts out to play with Giselle, but falls in love with her, and he is genuinely distraught when he is found out by his wife and reminded of his obligations. In other cases he is an arrogant gentleman who is only out to have fun, and is not too concerned about Giselle, or her downfall.

 

The Act II is more about the fact that Giselle is the all forgiving girl who steals our heart. The guys, whether good or bad are just paying the price for all of the men that have treated the 'Willis' badly, and they are the unforgiving ones who want to punish all men for the bad they have suffered. The emotion comes from Giselle who selfishly forgives to save her love.

 

So I would not always say that the 'good guy' dies while the 'bad guy' lives, there are multiple possibilities :)

 

EDITED TO ADD: This is also within the same choreographer version. Not different stories.

Edited by SwissBalletFan
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