DVD Videos

The amazing Bolshoi interpretation of Theophile Gautier’s piece created in 1841 at the Opéra de

Paris : Giselle. One of the great moments of Dance history that saw the main themes of Romanticism expressed.

A love pastoral care that ends tragically, a fantastic world of unearthly creatures and redemption

thanks to the power of love. Giselle is the dream of a poet who gets deliberately lost in a dream world… A young countryside

girl seduced by a Lord, reaches the height of tragedy before falling into a supernatural epilogue. This ballet is a masterpiece of romantic ballets in which movement traduces the soul’s language. In order to write Giselle, Théophile Gautier required the help of Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. The choregraphy was insured by Jean Coralli : first ballet director of the Opéra de Paris.

Jules Perrot who was in love with the main interpret contributed to the project more than he was expected to. This reunion of talents made this romantic ballet masterpiece exist. Movement

became the soul’s language. The popular Bolshoi Ballet series continues, bringing ballet lovers some of the finest performances by

the worlds most acknowledged dance company.

On October 31, 1980, a unique event in the world of dance took place at the Grand Theatre of Havana. Alicia Alonso, the prima ballerina assoluta of the 20th century, and Vladimir Vasiliev, the most distinguished Russian male dancer of his era, performed together for the first time. This video documents that unforgettable Giselle, presenting the two great stars accompanied by a first-rate supporting cast and the famous corps de ballet of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

(Please note: part of the original video master for this performance was lost; the version presented here was compiled from sources of varying quality. Though the final results are less than ideal, the video technicians did succeed in preserving a memorable performance that would otherwise be lost to posterity.)

DVD Bonus: “Encounter” – Alonso and Vasiliev in rehearsal for Giselle introduced by Anton Dolin (15 minutes). 110 minutes (plus bonus = 15 minutes), Color, stereo/mono. All regions.

Perhaps the most celebrated ballet of the Romantic era, Adolphe Adam’s intoxicating ballet Giselle is the dramatic story of a peasant girl whose betrayal by her aristocratic lover causes her to go mad before dying and returning as a ghost. Featuring the fabulous Alina Cojocaru in the title role and Johan Kobborg as a torn Count Albrecht, Peter Wright’s sparkling production and John Macfarlane’s pastoral designs create an opulent feast for the eyes, here captured in High Definition video and true surround sound.

Choreography by JEAN CORALLI & JULES PERROT

Choreographic restaging by YVETTE CHAUVIRÉ

From La Scala comes a staging of an archetypical Romantic ballet on DVD. A production of Giselle features the original version of the choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot and was danced by outstanding dancers, including two of international ballet’s star dancers - Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle.

First performed at the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris in 1841 as a two-act “ballet-pantomime”, Giselle is hailed by ballet historians as the apotheosis of the Romantic ballet. The ballet was conceived by the influential French poet, author, critic and possibly the greatest champion of the Romantic ballet, Théophile Gautier, who, together with Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges wrote the scenario that inspired Adolphe Adam’s score.

In this performance, Giselle is danced by Svetlana Zakharova, a Ukrainian dancer, who grew up in the tradition of St Petersburg’s Maryinsky Ballet and is now one of the youngest ballerinas at Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, where her predecessors include Galina Ulanova, one of the most famous Giselles in the history of ballet. Her partner as Albrecht is Roberto Bolle, La Scala’s current star dancer. The filming for this DVD recreates the atmosphere of a night at the wonderful La Scala opera house, while providing the viewer with a closer look at the dancers, their interpretation and their artistic endeavours.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Running Time: 105 mins

FSK: 0

Choreography by JEAN CORALLI & JULES PERROT

Choreographic restaging by MARIUS PETIPA

Adapted by PATRICE BART & EUGÈNE POLYAKOV

Arthaus presents Giselle, a classical ballet, which, with all its splendour and grace, is generally regarded as the apotheosis of the Romantic ballet.

The work premiered in the Salle de la rue Le Peletier at the Paris Opéra in 1841 and is considered the first major plot-based ballet to have survived to the modern day with its original choreography almost intact. In the course of the past century and a half Giselle has undergone only a few changes, e.g. by Marius Petipa, who revised the work for his 1887 production at the Maryinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.

The performance recorded on this DVD is based on the St Petersburg version and was choreographed by Patrice Bart and Eugène Polyakov, two out-and-out Petipa specialists. The scenery is the work of Alexandre Benois from 1924; originally designed for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, it heralded the re-emergence on Western programmes of the long absent Giselle and to this day it remains the benchmark for traditionalist stagings of this ballet.

The production was marked by an all-stars cast: Laëtitia Pujol dances the title role, combining her flawless technical skill with a fully developed sense of grace. Nicolas Le Riche, one of international ballet’s most respected stars, created her male counterpart, Albrecht, whose faithlessness drives her insane. Le Riche is famous all over the world for his elegant strength, the beauty of his expression and the musicality of his movements.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.0, DTS 5.0

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Running Time: 111 mins

FSK: 0

The Bolshoi Ballet troupe in Yuri Grigorovich’s version of the romantic masterpiece 'Giselle', at last available in HD. First performed in 1841, 'Giselle' was an immediate hit. With music by Adolphe Adam and a libretto by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, the ballet touches on the great romantic themes: local colour, a pastoral love affair doomed to end in tragedy, a plunge into fantasy and redemption through the power of love. Learning that Albrecht, her beloved, is in fact a nobleman engaged to be married to a princess, the naive peasant girl Giselle dies. The Queen of the Wilis – the spirits of deceased young virgins– decides that Albrecht should follow Giselle to the grave, and condemns him to dance until he dies of exhaustion. But Giselle’s spirit dances with him and saves him. Composer Adolphe Adam owes his reputation to this archetypal, richly melodic Romantic ballet. As Giselle, Svetlana Lunkina is simply sensational. Her Albrecht is the iconically noble dancer Dmitri Gudanov. And the cast is perfectly rounded off by Maria Allash as the Queen of the Wilis. The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra is conducted by Pavel Klinichev.

Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa

Choreographic version Yuri Grigorovich

Designer Simon Virsaladze