Giselle

On the cusp of adulthood, Giselle for the first time experiences the thrill of love, as yet unsullied by suspicion, disappointment or loss. But soon she discovers that her lover Albrecht is not quite who he pretends to be. He is hiding another relationship from her, and the pain of disappointment breaks Giselle’s heart. She dies and is transported to the mysterious and feared world of the legendary Wilis. Albrecht’s world is also transformed when he is confronted with his guilt and, in a ghostly dream, meets the Wilis and their queen Myrtha. The ballet Giselle ou: Les Wilis premiered at the Opéra de Paris in 1841. This work forms the basis for David Dawson’s first full-length narrative ballet. Employing his distinctively neoclassical and highly aesthetic physical vocabulary, the work was created in 2008 for the Semperoper Ballett.