Giselle

Ballet by Adolphe Adam

Libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Théophile Gautier and Jean Coralli after Heinrich Heine

Timely and powerful themes in the world of 1940s.
Strobe lighting and gunshots are used in the production.
Recommended age 14.

World premiere on June 28, 1841 in Salle Le Peletier, Paris
On April 5, 2024 in the Estonian National Opera

Choreographer and Stage Director: Michael Pink (England)
Based on a production conceived for Northern Ballet Theatre by the production team: Director Christopher Gable and Designer Lez Brotherston
Original Choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot
Music by Adolphe Adam, arranged by Gavin Sutherland
Music Director and Conductor: Mikk Murdvee
Conductors: Lauri Sirp, Jaan Ots
Designer: Reili Evart
Lighting by Rasmus Rembel
Stage Manager: Anton Osul

Michael Pink has created a touching and contemporary adaptation of Adolphe Adam’s “Giselle” based on Jean Coralli’s and Jules Perrot’s original choreography. Combining classical and contemporary choreography, Michael Pink delves deeper into the human existence and retells one of the most romantic stories in all of ballet repertoire.

Pink transports the famous love story to a more modern time, telling the story of love, betrayal, revenge and forgiveness. “I’ve moved the ballet forward one hundred years to heighten the audience’s emotional connection to the piece; it’s a classical story for a contemporary world. The themes are as timely and powerful as ever”.

Michael Pink’s „Giselle“ resets the story in the ghetto of the 1940s. The shift in setting adds yet another layer of depth. We find ourselves in Europe with World War II boiling around us, and very quickly the themes of betrayal and forgiveness take on a different, darker significance. As in the original story, the theme of forgiveness takes centre stage. Giselle and Albrecht, two youths from different worlds, find love and comfort in each other in the middle of the war. Albrecht betrays Giselle. He is asking for forgiveness not only as a man who has wronged a woman, but also because he is a man who is too weak to resist the crushing forces of society and of class, and in this case, of war. This rendition is tender, powerful, and thought provoking.

Cast:
Giselle: Laura Maya, Ketlin Oja, Marta Navasardyan, Nanae Maruyama, Akane Ichii, Phillipa McCann
Albrecht: William Newton, Joel Calstar-Fisher, Cristiano Principato, Francesco Piccinin, Sergei Upkin, Ali Urata, Finn Adams
Hilarion: Jevgeni Grib, Marcus Nilson, Francesco Piccinin, Nikos Gkentsef, Connor Williams
Giselle’s mother: Ami Morita, Anna Roberta, Marjana Fazullina, Karina Laura Leškin
Bathilde: Triinu Upkin, Nadežda Antipenko, Marjana Fazullina, Ksenia Seletskaja
Bathildes brother: Vitali Nikolajev