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Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – 7:00pm
by Adolphe Adam
Libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de
Saint-Georges and Théophile Gaultier
Approx. running time: 2 hours 10 minutes,
with 1 intermission
Performed by the Moscow Festival Ballet
Cast, program, and schedule are subject to change.
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OVERVIEW
SYNOPSIS
ARTISTS
SYNOPSIS
Act I. A village in Germany. On the day of the village wine festival, Count Albrecht disguises himself as a peasant in order to court the beautiful Giselle. Unaware of his noble birth, Giselle resists his zeal and persistence as he gently tempts her to trust his pledge of eternal love. A hunting party arrives in the village and disrupts his plans. The entourage includes Albrecht's father and the beautiful Princess Bathilda, to whom Albrecht is already engaged. Upon meeting Giselle, Bathilda is immediately enchanted with her youthful innocence. They enjoy an animated conversation and discover that they are both engaged to marry. Unaware that they are betrothed to the same man, Bathilda gives her a beautiful gold necklace to celebrate their recent engagements.
Giselle asks her friends to dance for the hunting party's entertainment. Hilarion, the village gamekeeper who is deeply in love with Giselle, discovers Albrecht's disguise and is consumed with jealousy. He proceeds to reveal his rival's true identity to the village. Giselle is distraught by the unveiled deception and loses her reason. Uncontrollable and inconsolable, Giselle attempts to kill herself with Albrecht's sword. The Willis, spirits of girls who died betrayed by their unfaithful fiancés on the eve of their weddings, summon her and Giselle dies.
Act II. Giselle's tomb in the forest. Giselle has been buried deep in the forest and has become one of the Willis. They haunt the forest, luring wayfarers to dance with them until they die from exhaustion before the dawn. Mirtha, Queen of the Wilis, captures Hilarion as he mourns at Giselle's grave. She summons the spirits and Hilarion is forced to dance himself to death. Albrecht, full of remorse, also comes to mourn at Giselle's grave. The Queen commands Giselle to come from her grave and entice Albrecht to join in her dance. Giselle is obliged to obey the queen and dances with him through the night.
Although Albrecht has betrayed Giselle, she still loves him and helps him to stay alive until the dawn - when the Willis lose their power and will not be able to destroy him. With the arrival of dawn, Giselle vanishes back into her grave. Through her pure and selfless love, Giselle has been able to protect and save Albrecht's life. He is left alone with his sorrow.
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