A
small, peaceful village, bathed in sunlight. It is inhabited by simple, artless
people. Giselle, a young peasant girl, is rejoicing in the sun, the blue
sky, the singing of the birds and, most of all, in the happiness of pure,
trusting love which has lit up her life. She is in love and is confident that
she is loved. The gamekeeper, who is in love with Giselle, tries in vain to
persuade her that Albrecht, her loved one, is not a peasant at all but a
nobleman in disguise and that he is deceiving her.
The gamekeeper manages to steal into the cottage which Albrecht is renting in
the village and here he finds a silver sword with a coat of arms on it. Now the
gamekeeper knows for sure that Albrecht is concealing his noble origins.
A party of distinguished noblemen, attended by a sumptuous suite, seek rest
and refreshment in the village after the hunt. The peasants give their guests a
cordial welcome.
Albrecht is embarrassed by this unexpected meeting: he
tries to hide the fact he knows them for, in their company, is his betrothed,
Bathilde. Meanwhile the gamekeeper shows everyone Albrecht’s sword and,
unmasking him, tells them of the latter’s deceit. Giselle is shocked to the core
by the perfidy of her loved one. The pure, crystal-clear world of her faith,
hopes and dreams has been destroyed. She goes mad and dies.
Act II
Night-time. The ghostly forms of the Wilis, died brides, appear among the
graves of the village church yard which is bathed in moonlight. "Dressed in
bridal gowns and garlands of flowers…The irresistibly beautiful Wilis
danced to the light of the moon. And as they felt the time given them for
dancing was running out and that they had again to return to their icy graves,
their dancing became more and more impassioned and rapid…" (Heinrich
Heine).
The Wilis catch sight of the gamekeeper who, suffering
from pangs of conscience, has come to visit Giselle’s grave. At the command
of Myrtha, the unrelenting Queen of the Wilis, the Wilis encircle the gamekeeper
and make him dance until he drops lifeless, to the ground.
Albrecht too, is unable to forget Giselle. And, at dead of night, he
comes to her grave. The Wilis immediately encircle the youth. Albrecht
is now threatened by the same horrifying fate as the gamekeeper. But the
shadow of Giselle now appears and her eternal and self-sacrificing love protects
and saves Albrecht from the anger of the Wilis.
The ghostly, white forms of the Wilis vanish with the first rays of the
rising sun. And Giselle’s ethereal shadow vanishes too, but Giselle will
always be alive in Albrecht’s memory - the ever-present regret for a lost love,
a love that is stronger than death.
Giselle - Alina Kacheva.
Albert - Maxim Afanasyev.
Libretto by T. Gauthier and J. Saint-Georges.
Choreography: J. Perrot, J. Coralli, M. Petipa and A. Petrov.
Stage version and staging by Andrey Petrov, People's Artist of the Russian Federation, Moscow Prize winner.
The artist - set designer - the national artist of the Russian Federation, the winner of the State award of the Russian Federation Stanislav Benediktov.
Costume Designer - Olga Polyanskaya.
The performance is accompanied by the Orpheus Radio Symphony Orchestra. Artistic director and chief conductor - Sergey Kondrashev.
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