Giselle

Synopsis

The beauty and charm of the simple peasant girl Giselle captivate Count Albrecht. Fascinated by Giselle, Albrecht conceals his noble origins from her, attending their meetings dressed in peasant attire. Young and trusting, Giselle has fallen in love with Albrecht. The world seems joyful and cloudless to her; she is proud of her beloved and full of hope for happiness with him. Giselle refuses to believe the forester, Hans, who suspects deception and tries to warn his beloved of bitter disappointment.

Noblemen stop in the village to rest after hunting. Among them is the Duke and his daughter Bathilde. Giselle and her mother greet the guests warmly and invite them into their home.

Inspired by love, Giselle and Albrecht dance with the peasants returning from the grape harvest. Hans interrupts the festivities, accusing Albrecht of deception. To prove his point, he shows a silver sword with a noble coat of arms, discovered in the hunting lodge where Albrecht was changing. The bitter truth falls upon Giselle with stunning cruelty: Albrecht is a nobleman, he is engaged, his fiancée is Bathilde. Giselle is shocked, she loses her mind and dies.

At night, an inconsolable Hans comes to the village cemetery. Mysterious sounds and wandering lights evoke a frantic fear, a desire to flee without looking back.

A figure appears in the moonlight: Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis. With a magic wand, she summons to ghostly life the souls of unfortunate girls, deceived brides transformed into Wilis. An inexplicable force irresistibly draws Albrecht to Giselle's grave. And Giselle appears to him in the guise of a Wilis—unearthly, unreal, elusive, melting like the night mist.

The Wilis draw Hans into their destructive dance and push him into the lake. The same fate awaits Albrecht. But the power of love proves stronger than the power of the Wilis. Giselle, a Wilis who holds no grudges, who has forgiven the sincerely repentant Albrecht, is ready to engage in combat with Myrtha and defend the one who was dearest to her in this earthly life.

Dawn breaks. With the first rays of the sun, the night's mirages dissipate. Was Giselle the Willis?

Music by A. Adan
Choreography by J. Coralli, J. Perrot, M. Petipa