Music: A. Adam
Choreography: J. Coralli, J. Perrot, M. Petipa
Libretto: T. Gautier, J. Coralli, J. de Saint-Georges after Heinrich Heine
Set design and costumes: Vyacheslav Okunev (Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Giselle is a romantic ballet in two acts. It was first performed by the Ballet du Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris on 28 June 1841, with Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi as Giselle. The ballet was an unqualified triumph: it became hugely popular and was staged at once across Europe, Russia, and the United States. The traditional choreography that has been passed down to the present day derives primarily from the revivals staged by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg.
The ballet is about a peasant girl named Giselle, who dies of a broken heart after discovering her lover is betrothed to another. The Wilis, a group of supernatural women who dance men to death, summon Giselle from her grave. They target her lover for death, but Giselle’s great love frees him from their grasp.
Outstanding soloists and dancers, marvelous set design and costumes combined with a magnificent light design and wonderful music performed by a wondrous symphony orchestra — that is what the International Festival Ballet offers ballet lovers all over the world.