Royal Ballet's Giselle - Autumn 2021

[alison]

Catching up with this thread after a busy couple of days, I felt I must post to say how taken I was with Cuthbertson and Bonelli's Act I (in particular) yesterday.  From the moment they set foot on stage until the curtain fell on Berthe mourning over Giselle's dead body, I felt really involved with, and moved by, their story in a way I hadn't been with any other cast I'd seen, almost as if I was standing among the crowd watching them.  Every thought, every motivation seemed so clear.  And everyone on stage, even those who basically have to do little more than "just stand there", seemed to be equally invested in them.  It thus made perfect sense that, as the lead in the pas de six, William Bracewell's entry "lit up the stage", as Jenny said up-thread, because everything else was so vibrant anyway.  I've been known to switch off a bit mentally during some of the corps dances, but no chance of that here, because they too were all so committed to their roles that they were interesting to watch individually, too.  The Royal Ballet really is on a high at the moment.

[Richard LH]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVk7_jlIe4U/

Naghdi and Ball in practice with some variation in the second lift !

[annamk]

I couldn't see this Gerald Dowler review of Osipova/Clarke cast in the links but apologies if it's there and I missed it. 

 

https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/the-royal-ballet-giselle-natalia-osipova-reece-clarke/

[RosiesDream]

46 minutes ago, annamk said:

I couldn't see this Gerald Dowler review of Osipova/Clarke cast in the links but apologies if it's there and I missed it. 

 

https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/the-royal-ballet-giselle-natalia-osipova-reece-clarke/

 

That's an interesting review, and one I mostly agree with, but I don't quite get the reference to Romanticism. I know that the ballet dates from the "Romantic" Era of Music and Art but does that mean it has to be a period piece as in playing Bach on Baroque instruments? [That's a genuine question, not rhetorical] 

 

One of the points raised is the shallowness of Albrecht's portrayal. I have to say I have never seen a performance of Giselle where I have either been compelled to despise or feel compassion for him, I always feel he is a mere cipher. I know my knowledge is very limited in these matters, because I have seen so few, but I struggle to connect with the classical Albrecht. I'd be happy to hear other folks opinions and even more, their suggestions for a great interpreter.

 

I have seen the Nureyev interpretation, at least on video, but to me, it was a very self-absorbed portrayal, possibly reflecting more of his own character than Albrecht's; Acosta seemed somewhat removed from the character, as if he was observing rather than inhabiting the role. 

 

For all of the weaknesses of ENB/Akram Khan's version of the tale, I feel it explores the characters of Hilarion and Albrecht were explored much better.

[Richard LH]

Claire Calvert has posted that unfortunately she won't be dancing Myrtha this week 😥 - her injury is healing well but she is not quite  ready to come back to such a demanding role. She has wished Hayward, Campbell and Magri a wonderful show - a generous and thoughtful gesture.  

[LinMM]

Were they mucking about with that second lift do you think Richard LH🤔 a bit of exuberance in rehearsal lol. 

 

[Richard LH]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Were they mucking about with that second lift do you think Richard LH🤔 a bit of exuberance in rehearsal lol. 

 

Maybe...I don't know what they did in their  performances at this point,  but I'm looking forward to seeing them in the  Streaming.

Either way, both are showing considerable finesse, coordination  and strength! 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Richard LH

[Dawnstar]

3 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Claire Calvert has posted that unfortunately she won't be dancing Myrtha this week 😥 - her injury is healing well but she is not quite  ready to come back to such a demanding role. She has wished Hayward, Campbell and Magri a wonderful show - a generous and thoughtful gesture.  

 

I'm sorry not to be seeing Calvert tonight. I would have found it amusing to see her acting as if she was trying to kill her real-life fiance! However I thought Magri was excellent in the role last week so I certainly don't mind seeing her again. I wonder if Calvert will make it for any of her later Myrthas, as her last scheduled one isn't for another 10 days.

[Dawnstar]

Tonight's cast list is now up on the ROH website. Kevin Emerton as Hilarion. Has he done the role in previous runs or is this his debut?

[alison]

I was thinking that.  I think it's a debut.

[JennyTaylor]

Mayara Magri is Myrtha and the pas de six is Mariko Sasaki, Joonhyuk Jun, Mica Bradbury, David Donnelly, Leticia Dias, Harry Churches

 

an interesting combination, I feel. 

 

I'm here to see the wonderful Alexander Campbell and Francesca Hayward and will of course, be taking particular note of the lifts. Gosh, what a fascinating thread that has been. Thanks to all who contributed as I certainly learned a lot! 

Edited November 22, 2021 by JennyTaylor
typo

[Beryl H]

Yes, fascinating, I've been watching films of the 32 entrechat six on Youtube, I can't remember Albrecht ever doing all of them at the ROH.

[Dawnstar]

Third cast lucky: I've finally been moved to tears at the end of Act 1.

 

More stray snowflakes. Maybe they should change the Giselle backdrops from the current autumnal colouring to something more wintery!

[maryrosesatonapin]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

Third cast lucky: I've finally been moved to tears at the end of Act 1.

 

More stray snowflakes. Maybe they should change the Giselle backdrops from the current autumnal colouring to something more wintery!

I was watching Francesca Hayward in a rehearsal for something else and noticed how even then she so gave herself to the role emotionally that it was quite mesmerising.  I'm looking forward to possible tears when I see this pair on Saturday!

Edited November 22, 2021 by maryrosesatonapin
typo

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

More stray snowflakes. Maybe they should change the Giselle backdrops from the current autumnal colouring to something more wintery!

 

On second thoughts, am I misinterpreting the Act I backdrop? Because if its getting light at 4am in Act II then it must be summer, unless Albrecht & Hilarion waited about 9 months to visit Giselle's grave, which seems unlikely.

 

Other Giselle queries that are still puzzling me after 3 viewings:

Why doesn't Giselle wear wings when all the other Wilis do? (I mean, I can see it makes the pdds easier but is there an in-story explanation.)

Why does Giselle first drop the 2 branches of flowers for Albrecht to pick up & then drop a whole load of flowers over him?

[Nina99]

19 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

On second thoughts, am I misinterpreting the Act I backdrop? Because if its getting light at 4am in Act II then it must be summer, unless Albrecht & Hilarion waited about 9 months to visit Giselle's grave, which seems unlikely.

 

Other Giselle queries that are still puzzling me after 3 viewings:

Why doesn't Giselle wear wings when all the other Wilis do? (I mean, I can see it makes the pdds easier but is there an in-story explanation.)

Why does Giselle first drop the 2 branches of flowers for Albrecht to pick up & then drop a whole load of flowers over him?

I suppose that Giselle doesn’t wear wings because she hasn’t become a fully fledged Wili yet, and when she saves Albrecht she never does.

 

Another thing which I wondered about is why does everybody run away at the end of Act 1 apart from Giselle’s poor mother who is left to mourn her?

[alison]

Agree about the wings.

 

It used to be that more or less the whole community was mourning her when I first started watching it, then it's got fewer and fewer until it's just Berthe.  Presumably an artistic decision.  *And* the curtain used to fall and then rise again on the "frozen" scene, too.

[JohnS]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I've finally been moved to tears at the end of Act 1.

I found the whole of Act 1 incredibly moving and can’t recall ever being so completely wrecked by a single Act. I had to get plenty of fresh air in the interval. Hoping I might be a bit more compos mentis in the morning.

[LinMM]

The Francesca magic starting to weave its spell!! 

[bridiem]

There are so many words that could be used to describe this evening’s performance: beautiful, moving, musical, dramatic, thrilling, mesmerising… but what can’t easily be conveyed in words is what happened in Act II, when the momentum built to create that rare sensation of a performance becoming something real and tangible in its own right. No longer a superbly performed ballet but a real world in which was being fought a desperate, grim but achingly beautiful battle for the soul of Giselle, the lives of Albrecht and Hilarion, and the power of Myrtha and the Wilis.

 

Superb dancing from the whole cast. Hayward and Campbell ensured that the story was told with complete and devastating clarity; every movement and every gesture was used not to display their (enormous) skill or technical prowess but to tell the story. This Albrecht was a selfish, thoughtless, privileged young man enjoying an illicit romance with a lovely peasant girl; when his duplicity is exposed with the most terrible consequences, he’s shocked and furious and only then grief-stricken. He suddenly realises the enormity of what has happened and that his actions have brought this about. And this Giselle is the epitome of innocence, joy and trusting goodness; when her trust is shattered, she’s simply incredulous and loses all her bearings and so her mind. But in Act II, she refuses to let the betrayal define her; her true self is re-established and she pours all her love (and flowers) over the no-longer-feckless Albrecht. And their souls meet here in the sweetest of unions which even Myrtha and her acolytes cannot break.

 

Tremendous.

 

[Rob S]

1 hour ago, Nina99 said:

 

Another thing which I wondered about is why does everybody run away at the end of Act 1 apart from Giselle’s poor mother who is left to mourn her?

They've been watching Romeo and Juliet where the same thing happens

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, Nina99 said:

Another thing which I wondered about is why does everybody run away at the end of Act 1 apart from Giselle’s poor mother who is left to mourn her?

 

Guilt?

And her mother does drive them away eventually, as if to mourn in privacy

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Why does Giselle first drop the 2 branches of flowers for Albrecht to pick up & then drop a whole load of flowers over him?

 

I think she is trying to show her 'presence' is more than just a spirit, that there is still some substance left (i.e. that she is not as yet a proper ghostly Wili)

[JohnS]

8 hours ago, LinMM said:

The Francesca magic starting to weave its spell!! 

Not just Francesca Hayward although she was indeed magical. Alex Campbell was a wonderful Albrecht and fully deserved Giselle’s love and forgiveness: a complete performance from him. We’ve seen fabulous standards for the Wilis throughout this run of Giselles but what was welcome this performance was having such an accomplished PD6. With Giselle so clearly in her element expressing the joy of dance (and love), it was fitting to have a PD6 complementing and celebrating Giselle’s dancing - Mariko Sasaki, Joonhyuk Jun, Mica Bradbury, David Donnelly, Leticia Dias, Harry Churches. I also was very impressed with Hilarion (Kevin Emerton), Berthe (Kristen McNally), and Bathilde (Annette Buvoli). Act 1 simply demanded attention at all times. 

 

Act 2 was fabulous and I was very pleased to see Bridiem’s post above. Giselle’s strength in protecting her Albrecht was palpable. There was one slightly anxious moment when Giselle momentarily slipped and I was hoping all was well. It was and the ending was achingly beautiful. Having saved Albrecht, Giselle melted away, no extravagant wave, and we were left with Albrecht, grief stricken, remorseful, and recognising that whilst life beckons with Bathilde, he will never forget Giselle and their love.

I wish I were coming again on Saturday to the second performance of this cast but trains are a major problem this weekend and I’m already having to get a 6:00 train to make the 11:30 matinee. I’ll look forward to others’ posts as I’m sure it will be another very special occasion.

 

[Richard LH]

22 hours ago, RosiesDream said:

One of the points raised is the shallowness of Albrecht's portrayal. I have to say I have never seen a performance of Giselle where I have either been compelled to despise or feel compassion for him, I always feel he is a mere cipher. I know my knowledge is very limited in these matters, because I have seen so few, but I struggle to connect with the classical Albrecht. I'd be happy to hear other folks opinions and even more, their suggestions for a great interpreter.

Alexander Campbell !  

 

8 hours ago, bridiem said:

This Albrecht was a selfish, thoughtless, privileged young man enjoying an illicit romance with a lovely peasant girl; when his duplicity is exposed with the most terrible consequences, he’s shocked and furious and only then grief-stricken. He suddenly realises the enormity of what has happened and that his actions have brought this about.

And yet I felt that as Act 1 was progressing his initial dalliance was visibly turning into a genuine love for this charming girl - love he hadn't found with the disdainful and proud Bathilde,  presumably his fiancée by family arrangement. Who knows  how he might have resolved this, given the rigid social structure of the time,  if his  publicly exposure  had not led to Giselle's' death.

Alexander  gave a very nuanced display of Albrecht's    mixture of embarrassment, sorrow, anger and helplessness as it all goes horribly wrong at the end of Act 1.  His  genuine love for Giselle then makes it possible to feel sympathy for his loss and heartache  throughout Act 2.  A tremendous performance from him, I thought. 

[LinMM]

Yes in 2018 I cried as Alex walked down the stage at the end because there was such a sense of his loss that he would never see Giselle again and also that such a wonderful performance had come to an end. I couldn’t clap for ages. 
 

John S ....yes was a bit remiss of me to say just the “Hayward magic” of course it was the magic of the partnership with Campbell as well!! 

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by LinMM

[ninamargaret]

Very much looking forward to seeing the Hayward/Campbell cast on Saturday. Finances will only run to one Giselle, but I selected this very much in the strength of Alex's performances in Manon and Two Pigeons. For my money he's one of the best actors currently dancing and I don't think I'll be disappointed!

[LinMM]

You won’t be! One of the memorable Giselles over the years for me! 

[Jan McNulty]

37 minutes ago, ninamargaret said:

Very much looking forward to seeing the Hayward/Campbell cast on Saturday. Finances will only run to one Giselle, but I selected this very much in the strength of Alex's performances in Manon and Two Pigeons. For my money he's one of the best actors currently dancing and I don't think I'll be disappointed!

 

Alex joined BRB as already a complete package from RBS.  I think he is an exceptional actor as well as a beautiful dancer.  I will never forget his performances as Will Mossop and Cyrano and, for me, he actually managed to make the Prince in Sleeping Beauty a real person.  IMHO the Royal is very lucky to have him.

[nycitybird]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Yes in 2018 I cried as Alex walked down the stage at the end because there was such a sense of his loss that he would never see Giselle again

 

 

Me too, and that was the first time I really had the emotional response I thought one should have during Act 2. I also thought the 'wafty' lifts where she looked like she was floating in space were so breathtaking. I'm gutted I couldn't see them again in this run as their 2018 performance made this my favourite classical ballet.

 

[FionaM]

Thank you for this wonderful thread … I am now wishing I can get a late return for the next Hayward/Campbell performance having been quite disappointed with Cesar Corrales’ interpretation.  
 

I feel the believability of this ballet relies on Albrecht’s journey.  Cesar’s shock and distress at Giselle’s death came from nowhere … and made no sense with an otherwise good Act 1.  In Act 2 he was mostly unconnected emotionally from Akane’s ethereal Giselle.  I feel Albrecht has to make this connection as Giselle needs to create her own other-worldliness, which Akane did and beautifully.  He fluffed both Bolshoi lifts on the way up and the way down.   His partnering skills elsewhere in Act 2 weren’t great either … putting Akane back down on pointe rather heavily from any lift.  After that I just didn’t care what happened to him.  

[LinMM]

It’s lovely to hear another person has felt in a similar way to myself about that performance. I had no particular expectations when attending that day and then felt as if was present at something very special indeed which sort of went beyond the Ballet itself. 
I suspect all regular ballet goers have this experience at certain times with different performers and it doesn’t happen every time even with the same performers but certain performances can stay with you forever. You just never know when it’s going to happen and when it does it’s inspite of yourself. 
 

[Rob S]