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{{Short description|Romantic ballet in two acts}}
{{About|the ballet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox Ballet
|name             = Giselle, or The Wilis
|native_name      = Giselle, ou les Wilis
|native_name_lang = fr
|image            = Carlotta Grisi in the title role of Giselle, 1842.jpg
|image_size       = 175px
|caption          = [[Carlotta Grisi]] in the first act of ''Giselle'' (1842)
|librettist       = {{plainlist |
* [[Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges]]
* [[Théophile Gautier]]
}}
|choreographer    = {{plainlist |
* [[Jean Coralli]]
* [[Jules Perrot]]
}}
|composer         = [[Adolphe Adam]]
|based_on         = {{plainlist |
* [[Heinrich Heine]]'s ''De l'Allemagne''
* [[Victor Hugo]]'s "Fantômes" from ''[[Les Orientales]]''
}}
|premiere         = 28 June 1841
|place            = [[Paris]], France
|ballet_company   = [[Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique]]
|characters       = {{plainlist |
* Giselle, a peasant girl
* Albrecht, Duke of Silesia
* Hilarion, a gamekeeper
* Berthe, Giselle's mother
* Bathilde, a princess
* Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis
}}
|set designer     = {{plainlist |
* [[Pierre Ciceri]] (scenery)
* [[Paul Lormier]] (costumes)
}}
|setting         = Rhineland during the Middle Ages
|created for     = Carlotta Grisi
|genre           = Romantic ballet
|type            = 
}}

'''''Giselle''''' ({{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɪ|ˈ|z|ɛ|l}} {{respell|jiz|EL}},<ref>{{Dictionary.com|Giselle}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|ʒizɛl|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-Roptat-Gisèle.wav}}), originally titled '''''Giselle, ou les Wilis''''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒizɛl u le vili|lang}}; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a [[romantic ballet]] ({{lang|fr|ballet-pantomime}}){{sfn|Greskovic|2005|p=304}} in two acts with music by [[Adolphe Adam]]. Considered a masterwork in the [[classical ballet]] performance canon, 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. It was an unqualified triumph. It became hugely popular and was staged at once across Europe, Russia, and the United States.

The [[ghost]]-filled ballet tells the tragic, romantic story of a beautiful young peasant girl named Giselle and a disguised nobleman named Albrecht, who fall in love, but when his true identity is revealed by his rival, Hilarion, Giselle goes mad and dies of heartbreak. After her death, she is summoned from her grave into the vengeful, deadly sisterhood of the [[Vila (fairy)|Wilis]], the ghosts of unmarried women who died after being betrayed by their lovers and take revenge in the night by dancing men to death by exhaustion (a popular theme in Romantic-era ballets). Led by Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, they target Albrecht when he comes to mourn at Giselle's grave, but her great love frees him from their grasp. They gain their power in numbers as they effortlessly move through dramatic patterns and synchronized movements and control the stage with their long tulle dresses and stoic expressions, creating an ethereal atmosphere that builds as they gradually close in on Albrecht. By saving him from the Wilis, Giselle also saves herself from becoming one of them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chien |first=Jane Ann |date=2022-06-10 |title=The Story of Giselle |url=https://www.sfballet.org/discover/backstage/the-story-of-giselle/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=San Francisco Ballet |language=en-US}}</ref>

Librettists [[Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges]] and [[Théophile Gautier]] took their inspiration for the plot from a [[prose]] passage about the Wilis in ''De l'Allemagne'', by [[Heinrich Heine]], and from a poem called "Fantômes" in ''[[Les Orientales]]'' by [[Victor Hugo]].

[[Jean Coralli]] and [[Jules Perrot]] created the original [[choreography]]. The role of Giselle was created for Carlotta Grisi as her debut piece for the Paris public, and she was the only [[ballerina]] to dance it at the [[Paris Opera]] for many years. The traditional choreography that has been passed down to the present day derives primarily from the revivals staged by [[Marius Petipa]] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the [[Imperial Ballet]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. One of the world's most-often performed classical ballets, it is also one of the most challenging to dance.<ref>Kirstein, Lincoln (1984). ''Four Centuries of Ballet: Fifty Masterworks''. Dover Publications. {{ISBN|0-486-24631-0}}.</ref>

== Synopsis ==
=== Act I ===
[[File:AnnaPavlovaAsGiselle.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Anna Pavlova]] as Giselle (before 1931)]]

The ballet opens on a sunny autumnal morning in the [[Rhineland]] during the [[Middle Ages]]. The grape harvest is in progress. Duke Albrecht of [[Silesia]], a young nobleman, has fallen in love with a shy, beautiful peasant girl named Giselle, despite being engaged to Bathilde, the Duke of [[Courland]]'s daughter. He disguises himself as a humble villager called "Loys" to court the enchanting and innocent Giselle, who knows nothing of his true identity. With the help of his [[squire]], he hides his fine attire, [[hunting horn]], and sword before coaxing her out of her house to romance her as the harvest festivities begin.

Hilarion, a local [[gamekeeper]], is also in love with Giselle and is highly suspicious of the newcomer who has won her affections. He tries to convince her that her beau can not be trusted, but she ignores his warnings. Her mother, Berthe, is very protective of her, as she has a weak heart that leaves her in delicate health. She discourages a relationship between Giselle and Loys, thinking Hilarion would be a better match, and disapproves of her fondness for dancing, due to the strain on her heart.

A party of noblemen seeking refreshment following the rigors of the hunt arrive in the village with Bathilde among them. Albrecht hurries away, knowing he would be recognized and greeted by her, exposing him as a nobleman. The villagers welcome the party, offer them drinks, and perform several dances.<ref>{{cite AV media | people= Margaret Mullin |date=2014 | title=Peasant pas de deux rehearsal| publisher=[[Pacific Northwest Ballet]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqv78yzkY-A| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/Vqv78yzkY-A| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media | people= Natalia Osipova |date=2014 | title=Giselle Act I Variation| publisher=Opus Arte|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLSrI_hXEw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/3TLSrI_hXEw| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Bathilde is charmed with Giselle's sweet and demure nature, not knowing of her relationship with Albrecht. Giselle is honored when Bathilde offers her a necklace as a gift before the group of nobles depart.

The villagers continue the harvest festivities, and Albrecht emerges again to dance with Giselle, who is named the Harvest Queen. Hilarion interrupts the festivities. He has discovered Albrecht's finely made sword and presents it as proof that he is really a nobleman who is engaged to another woman. Using Albrecht's hunting horn, Hilarion calls back the party of noblemen. Albrecht has no time to hide and has no choice but to greet Bathilde as his fiancée. All are shocked by the revelation, but none more than Giselle, who becomes inconsolable when faced with his deception. Knowing that they can never be together, she flies into a mad fit of grief in which all the tender moments she shared with Loys flash before her eyes. She begins to dance wildly and erratically, ultimately causing her weak heart to give out. She collapses and dies in Albrecht's arms. Hilarion and Albrecht turn on each other in rage before Albrecht flees the scene in misery. The curtain closes as Berthe weeps over her Giselle's body.

In the original version, taken up again recently by a production of the ROB, Giselle stabs herself with Albrecht's sword, which explains why her body is laid to rest in the forest, in unhallowed ground, where the Wilis have the power to summon her. Most modern versions are sanitized and have edited out the suicide.

=== Act II ===
[[File:Nijinski in Albret du Ballet Giselle 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Vaslav Nijinsky]] as Albrecht, 1910]]

Late at night, Hilarion mourns at Giselle's forest grave, but is frightened away by the arrival of the Wilis, the ghostly spirits of maidens betrayed by their lovers. Many were abandoned on their wedding days, and all died of broken hearts. They, led by their merciless queen, Myrtha, dance and haunt the forest at night to exact their revenge on any man they encounter, regardless of who he may be, forcing their victims to dance until they die of exhaustion.

Myrtha and the Wilis rouse Giselle's spirit from her grave and induct her into their clan before disappearing into the forest. Albrecht arrives to lay flowers on Giselle's grave and he weeps with guilt over her death. Her spirit appears and he begs her forgiveness. She, her love undiminished unlike her vengeful sisters, gently forgives him. She disappears to join the rest of the Wilis and Albrecht desperately follows her.

Meanwhile, the Wilis have cornered a terrified Hilarion. They use their magic to force him to dance until he is nearly dead, and then drown him in a nearby lake. Then they spy Albrecht, and turn on him, sentencing him to death as well. He pleads to Myrtha for his life, but she coldly refuses. Giselle's pleas are also dismissed and he is forced to dance until sunrise.<ref>{{cite AV media | people= Étoiles Myriam Ould-Braham et Mathieu Ganio |date=2016 | title=Paris Opera Ballet – Giselle – Albrecht entrechats-six| publisher=Opéra national de Paris|location=Paris, France|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiQW0nTZWeM| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/SiQW0nTZWeM| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, the power of Giselle's love counters the Wilis' magic and spares his life. The other spirits return to their graves at daybreak, but Giselle has broken through the chains of hatred and vengeance that control the Wilis, and is thus released from their powers and will haunt the forest no more. After bidding a tender farewell to Albrecht, she returns to her grave to rest in peace.
{{clear}}

== Background ==
[[File:Jules Arnout - Meyerbeer's Robert le diable at the Académie impériale de Musique, Théâtre de l'Opéra.jpg|thumb|''[[The Ballet of the Nuns]]'' in the Salle Le Peletier, 1831]]

The [[French Revolution]] (1789–1799) brought sweeping changes to theatre in France. Banished were the ballets the aristocracy preferred about the gods and goddesses of [[Mount Olympus]]. Instead, ballets about everyday people, real places, real time, the historical past, and the supernatural took prominence. These sorts of ballets were preferred by the burgeoning middle class.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|p=9}}

Two ballets caused great excitement in Paris in the 1830s. In November 1831, [[Meyerbeer]]'s opera ''[[Robert le diable]]'' had its first performance. It featured a short ballet called ''[[Ballet of the Nuns]]''. In this little ballet, nuns rise from their graves to dance in the moonlight. The public loved this little supernatural ballet.<ref name=bal459/>

In March 1832, the ballet ''[[La Sylphide]]'' debuted in Paris.<ref name=bal459>{{harvnb|Balanchine|1979|p=459}}</ref> This ballet is about a beautiful [[sylph]] who loves James, a young Scotsman. Tragedy occurs. After dallying in the woods, the sylph dies when her earthly lover uses a bewitched scarf to trap her.{{sfn|Kirstein|1984|p=147}} This ballet brought [[Marie Taglioni]] before the French public. She was the first to dance ''[[en pointe]]'' for artistic reasons rather than spectacle and was also the first to wear the white, bell-shaped, calf-length ballet skirt now considered an essential feature of the romantic ballet.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|p=16}} Poet and critic [[Théophile Gautier]] attended the first performance of ''La Sylphide''. His ideas for ''Giselle'' would show touches of ''La Sylphide'' ten years later. It would be set in a real place and in the past, for example, and would be about everyday people and supernatural women.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=13–14}}

== Development ==
[[File:Gautier ca 1838.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Théophile Gautier]], 1838]]

In an 1841 news article announcing the first performance of ''Giselle'', Théophile Gautier recorded his part in the creation of the ballet. He had read Heinrich Heine's description of the Wilis in ''De l'Allemagne'' and thought these evil spirits would make a "pretty ballet".{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|p=18}} He planned their story for act 2 and settled upon a verse by Victor Hugo called "Fantômes" to provide the inspiration for act 1. This verse is about a beautiful 15-year-old Spanish girl who loves to dance. She becomes too warm at a ball and dies of a chill in the cool morning.<ref name=beau19/>

Heine's prose passage in ''De l'Allemagne'' tells of supernatural young women called the Wilis. They have died before their wedding day and rise from their graves in the middle of the night to dance. Any young man who crosses their path is forced to dance to his death.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=170–172}} In another book, the Wilis are said to be jilted young women who have died and become vampires. This is assumed to be the reason that they hate men.<ref name=beau19>{{harvnb|Beaumont|1944|p=19}}</ref>

Gautier thought Heine's Wilis and Hugo's fifteen-year-old Spanish girl would make a good ballet story.<ref name=smith172>{{harvnb|Smith|2000|pp=172–174}}</ref> His first idea was to present an empty ballroom glittering with crystal and candlelight. The Wilis would cast a spell over the floor. Giselle and other dancers would enter and whirl through the room, unable to resist the spell to keep them dancing. Giselle would try to keep her lover from partnering other girls. The Queen of the Wilis would enter, lay her cold hand on Giselle's heart and the girl would drop dead.<ref name=beaumont20>{{harvnb|Beaumont|1944|p=20}}</ref>

Gautier was not satisfied with this story. It was basically a succession of dances with one moment of drama at its end.<ref name=beaumont20/> He had no experience writing ballet scenarios so he called upon Vernoy de St. Georges, a man who had written many ballet librettos. St. Georges liked Gautier's basic idea of the frail young girl and the Wilis. He wrote the story of Giselle as it is known today in three days,<ref name=smith174>{{harvnb|Smith|2000|p=174}}</ref>{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=202–203}} and sent it to [[Léon Pillet]], the director of the Paris Opéra.<ref name="beaumont20"/> Pillet needed a good story to introduce Grisi to the Paris public. He found that story in ''Giselle''. Grisi liked it as much as Pillet did, so ''Giselle'' was put into production at once.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=172–173}}

== First performance ==
[[File:Giselle -Carlotta Grisi -1841 -2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|[[Carlotta Grisi]] as Giselle, 1841]]

The balletomanes of Paris became very excited as the opening night of ''Giselle'' approached. News reports kept their interest alive. Some reports said that Grisi had had an accident whilst other reports indicated that the conductor was ill with a tumor. Still others said that the stage hands feared for their safety.<ref name=cordova113>{{harvnb|Cordova|2007|p=113}}</ref>

Hopes that the ballet would be ready in May were dashed and the opening night was postponed several times. Grisi was absent for a few days and her return was delayed to protect her health. Lighting, trapdoors, and scene changes needed further rehearsals. Cuts were made in Grisi's role to spare the dancer's health. Instead of returning to her tomb at the end of the ballet, it was decided that she would be placed on a bed of flowers and sink slowly into the earth. This touch preserved the romantic mood of the act 2 finale.{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=349}}

At last, on Monday, 28 June 1841 the curtain rose on ''Giselle'' at the Salle Le Peletier.{{sfn|Balanchine|1979|p=192}} Grisi danced Giselle with [[Lucien Petipa]] as her lover Albrecht, Jean Coralli as the gamekeeper Hilarion, and [[Adèle Dumilâtre]] as Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis.{{sfn|Robert|1949|p=169}} Typical of the theatrical practices of the time, ''Giselle'' was preceded by an excerpt from another production—in this case, the third act of [[Rossini]]'s opera, ''[[Mosè in Egitto]]''. In 1844 [[Marie Guy-Stéphan]] made her first appearance in the title role for the first production of ''Giselle'' in Spain. She performed in numerous works by Pepita.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/guy-stephan-marie-1818-1873 |title=Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages |via=[[Encyclopedia.com]] |publisher=[[Thomson-Gale]] |first1=Anne |last1=Commire |author-link=Anne Commire |first2=Deborah |last2=Klezmer |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7876-7585-1 |volume=1 |pages=1176}}</ref>

In spite of the chief machinist shouting orders to his crew that could be heard by the audience, ''Giselle'' was a great success. Grisi was a sensation. Ballet-goers regarded her as another [[Marie Taglioni]], the greatest ballerina of the period.<ref name=robert160>{{harvnb|Robert|1949|p=160}}</ref>

== Contemporary reviews and comments ==
''Giselle'' was a great artistic and commercial success. ''Le Constitutionnel'' praised act 2 for its "poetic effects".{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=351}} ''Moniteur des théâtres'' wrote that Grisi "runs [and] flies across the stage like a [[gazelle]] in love".{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=353}} One critic made a detailed analysis of the music in ''La France Musicale''. He thought the act 1 waltz "ravishing" and noted that the scene of Berthe's [[wikt:narrative|narrative]] was filled with "quite new" harmonic [[Modulation (music)|modulation]]s. He praised other moments in Act I (especially the mad scene), and was in raptures with the music of act 2, singling out the entrance of the Wilis and the viola solo played through Giselle's last moments. He thought the flute and harp music accompanying Giselle as she disappeared into her grave at ballet's end "full of tragic beauty".{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|p=58}}

Coralli was praised for the act 1 peasant ''[[pas de deux]]'' and for the "elegance" of act 2. Coralli followed a suggestion made by Gautier and picked the most beautiful girls in the company to play the peasants and the Wilis. One observer thought the selection process cruel: the almost-beautiful girls were turned away without a second thought.{{sfn|Guest|2008|pp=353–354}}

Grisi and Petipa were great successes as the tragic lovers. Gautier praised their performance in act 2, writing that the two dancers made the act "a real poem, a choreographic elegy full of charm and tenderness ... More than one eye that thought it was seeing only [dance] was surprised to find its vision obscured by a tear{{mdash}}something that does not often happen in a ballet ... Grisi danced with a perfection ... that places her in the ranks between [[Fanny Elssler|Elssler]] and [[Marie Taglioni|Taglioni]] ... Her miming surpassed every expectation ... She is nature and artlessness personified."{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=351}}

Adam thought Petipa "charming" as both dancer and actor, and that he had "rehabilitated" male dancing with his performance. Of Dumilâtre he wrote, "... in spite of her coldness, [Dumilâtre] deserved the success she achieved by the correctness and the 'mythological' quality of her poses: perhaps this word may seem a little pretentious, but I can think of no other to express such cold and noble dancing as would suit [[Minerva]] in a merry mood, and in this respect [Dumilâtre] seems to bear a strong resemblance to that goddess."{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=351}}

''Giselle'' made 6 500 French francs (equivalent to 37 529 € in 2015) between June and September 1841. This was twice the amount for the same time period in 1839. Grisi's salary was increased to make her the top earner among the dancers at the Opéra. Souvenirs were sold, pictures of Grisi as Giselle were printed, and sheet music arrangements were made for social dancing. The sculptor Emile Thomas made a statuette of Giselle in her act 2 costume. A silk cloth was manufactured called ''façonné Giselle'', and Madame Lainné, a milliner, sold an artificial flower called 'Giselle'. The ballet was parodied at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in October 1841.{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=357}}

== Music ==
[[File:Adolphe_Adam_by_Maurin.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Portrait sketch of a short-bearded man with cropped hair. He is wearing glasses and formal wear.|Adolphe Adam about 1835]]

Adolphe Adam was a popular writer of ballet and opera music in early 19th-century France.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|p=53}} He wrote with great speed and completed ''Giselle'' in about two months.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=173}} The music was written in the smooth, song-like style of the day called ''cantilena''. This style is well known to music lovers from [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]]'s opera ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' and [[Donizetti]]'s ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]''.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=55–56}}

Adam used several ''[[leitmotif]]s'' in the ballet. This is a short musical phrase that is associated with a certain character, event, or idea. Adam's leitmotifs are heard several times throughout the ballet.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=55–58}} There is a leitmotif associated with Giselle and another with Albrecht. Hilarion's motif marks his every entrance. It suggests the Fate theme in [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Fifth Symphony]].

Another leitmotif is associated with the "he loves me, he loves me not" flower test in act 1, which is heard again in the mad scene, and in act 2 when Giselle offers flowers to Albrecht. The Wilis have their own motif. It is heard in the overture, in act 1 when Berthe tells the story of the Wilis, and in the mad scene. It is heard again in act 2 when the Wilis make their first entrance. The hunting horn motif marks sudden surprises. This motif is heard when Albrecht is exposed as a nobleman.{{sfn|Kirstein|1984|p=146}}

The music was completely original. A critic noted, however, that Adam had borrowed eight bars from a romance by a Miss Puget and three bars from the huntsman's chorus in [[Carl Maria von Weber]]'s opera ''[[Euryanthe]]''.

One dance historian wrote:{{quote|text=By no stretch of the imagination can the score of ''Giselle'' be called great music, but it cannot be denied that it is admirably suited to its purpose. It is danceable, and it has colour and mood attuned to the various dramatic situations ... As we listen today to these haunting melodies composed over a century ago, we quickly become conscious of their intense nostalgic quality, not unlike the opening of a Victorian ''Keepsake'', between whose pages lies an admirably preserved Valentine{{mdash}}in all the glory of its intricate paper lace and symbolic floral designs{{mdash}}which whispers of a leisured age now forever past. For a brief space the air seems faintly perfumed with parma violet and gardenia. The music of ''Giselle'' still exerts its magic.|author=Cyril W. Beaumont|source=''A Ballet Called Giselle'', p. 58}}

=== Additions to the score ===
Adam's score for ''Giselle'' acquired several additional numbers over the course of its history, with some of these pieces becoming an integral part of the ballet's performance tradition.

Immediately following the first ''répétition générale'' of ''Giselle'' on the stage of the Paris Opéra, the danseuse [[Nathalie Fitz-James]] used her influence as the mistress of an influential patron of the theatre to have a ''pas'' inserted for herself into the ballet.<ref name="Beaumont 1952 145">{{harvnb|Beaumont|1952|p=145}}</ref> Coralli quickly arranged the ''"Pas de deux des jeunes paysans"'' (''"Pas de deux of young peasants"'') for Fitz-James and the danseur [[Auguste Mabille]], with music arranged from pieces by the composer [[Friedrich Burgmüller]] including his ''Souvenirs de Ratisbonne'' for the ''coda''.<ref name="Beaumont 1952 145"/>

For Carlotta Grisi's performances as Giselle with the Imperial Ballet in Saint Petersburg, Perrot commissioned the composer [[Cesare Pugni]] to score a new ''pas de cinq'' for the ballerina that was added to the first tableau.<ref name="Guest 1983 36">{{harvnb|Guest|1983|p=36}}</ref> This ''pas'' was only retained for Grisi's performances and never performed again after her departure from Saint Petersburg.

Marius Petipa commissioned an additional ''pas de deux'' from the composer [[Ludwig Minkus]] for the choreographer's 1884 revival of ''Giselle'' for the ballerina [[Maria Gorshenkova]]. Minkus based the music for this ''pas'' on airs taken from Adolphe Adam's score for the ballet ''Orfa''.{{sfn|Smakov|1967}} 

Three solo variations were added to the ballet by Petipa during the latter half of the 19th century. The first was arranged in 1867 for the ''Grand pas de deux'' of the second tableau for the ballerina [[Adèle Grantzow]].{{sfn|Petipa|1971|p=267}}<ref name="Guest 1983 36"/> The music was composed by Cesare Pugni and was based on Adolphe Adam's "he loves me, he loves me not" leitmotif.<ref name="Guest 1983 36"/> This variation has been retained in the ballet ever since.

The second variation was added by Petipa to the first act of the ballet for the ballerina [[Emma Bessone]]'s début as Giselle at the [[Mariinsky Theatre]] in September of 1887, and for this occasion the composer [[Riccardo Drigo]] wrote the music.<ref name="Travaglia 1929 74">{{harvnb|Travaglia|1929|p=74}}</ref> The music was never used again after Bessone's departure from Russia until [[Agrippina Vaganova]] added it to the ''Peasant pas de deux'' for the Kirov Ballet's production of ''Giselle'' in 1932.{{sfn|Edgecombe|2005}} The inclusion of this variation in the ''Peasant pas de deux'' remains part of the Mariinsky Theatre's performance tradition of ''Giselle'' to the present day.

The third variation added by Petipa was also composed by Drigo and has survived as one of the most beloved passages of ''Giselle''. This variation, sometimes dubbed as the ''Pas seul'', was arranged 1887 for the ballerina [[Elena Cornalba]]'s performance in a revival of Saint-Léon's ''[[Fiametta]]''. Cornalba then included it for her début in ''Giselle'' in December of that year, where it has remained ever since.{{sfn|Petipa|1971|p=266}}<ref name="Travaglia 1929 74"/> The variation was also danced by many of Cornalba's successors in the role of Giselle at the Mariinsky Theatre. Cornalba's variation was first performed outside of Russia by [[Olga Spessivtzeva]] in 1924 at the Paris Opéra, and from then on all productions staged outside of Russia included the variation. There was much confusion at that time as to who was responsible for composing the music, leading many ballet historians and musicologists to credit Ludwig Minkus as the author, a misconception which still persists.

== Choreography ==
[[File:Jean Coralli.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Jean Coralli about 1830]]

[[Jean Coralli]] and [[Jules Perrot]] choreographed the original version of ''Giselle''. Perrot and Carlotta Grisi were lovers and, consequently, Perrot designed all of her dances and [[pantomime]].{{sfn|Kirstein|1984|pp=150–151}} Everyone in the Paris dance world knew that Perrot had created Grisi's dances and Coralli admitted it, but Perrot was given no official credit in the printed materials such as posters and programs.{{sfn|Cordova|2007|p=116}} This was most likely done to prevent Perrot from collecting royalties on the ballet.{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=148}} Perrot liked bold touches and planned several rapid aerial swoops on wires in act 2 for Giselle. Grisi was afraid of these swoops, therefore a stage hand was brought in to test them. He crashed face-first into the scenery and the swoops were dropped.{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=149}}

Cyril Beaumont writes that ''Giselle'' is made up of two elements: dance and mime. Act 1 features short mimed scenes, he points out, and episodes of dancing which are fused with mime. In act 2, mime has become fused entirely with dance. He indicates that the choreographic vocabulary is composed of a small number of simple steps:

* Movements: ''développé, grand rond de jambe''
* Poses: ''arabesque, attitude''
* Gliding steps: ''chasse, glissade, pas de basque, pas de bourrée''
* Hopping steps: ''balloné, temps levé''
* Turning steps: ''pirouette, petit tour, tour en l'air''
* Leaping steps: ''(vertical) ballotte, entrechat, sisonne, rond de jambe en l'air sauté, (horizontal) cabriole, jeté, grande jeté, soubresaut''

Beaumont speculates that the simple steps were deliberately planned to allow the "utmost expressiveness".{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=85–88}}

Parts of ''Giselle'' have been cut or changed since the ballet's first night. Giselle's act 1 pantomime scene in which she tells Albrecht of her strange dream is cut and the peasant ''pas de deux'' is also slightly cut back. The Duke of Courland and his daughter Bathilde used to make their entrance on horseback, but today they walk on. In the original production they were present at Giselle's death, but now they leave the scene before she dies. The machines used to make Giselle fly and to make her disappear are no longer employed. A trapdoor is sometimes utilized to make Giselle rise from her grave and then sink into it at the end of act 2.{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=354}} At the end of act 2 Bathilde formerly entered with the courtiers to search for Albrecht. He took a few unsteady steps toward them and then collapsed into their arms. This moment was an artistic parallel to the act 1 finale when the peasants gathered about the dead Giselle. Now, Bathilde and the courtiers are cut and Albrecht slowly leaves the stage alone.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=176}}

== Ethnic elements ==
[[File:Giselle Petipa and Grisi.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Sketch on the title page of a music sheet called Valse Favorite de Giselle. The sketch is of a pair of dancers, the male partially dipping the female in his left arm.|Grisi and Petipa on the sheet music cover of "Valse favorite de Giselle"]]

Ethnic music, dance, and costume were a large part of romantic ballet. At the time ''Giselle'' was written, people thought of Germany when they heard a waltz because the waltz is of German origin. Giselle makes her first entrance to the music of a waltz, and the audience would have known at once that the ballet was set in Germany. Adam wrote three waltzes for ''Giselle'': two for Giselle and one for the Wilis. He said that the "Giselle Waltz" in act 1 has "all the German color indicated by the locality" and people agreed. One critic wrote: "A lovely waltz ... in the Germanic spirit of the subject".<ref name=smi191/>

At first, Gautier thought that some of the dancers in the waltz for the Wilis should dress in ethnic costume and dance ethnic steps. Adam put bits of French, Spanish, German, and Indian-sounding music in the waltz for this purpose. Gautier's "ethnic" idea was dropped as the ballet developed and it has not been picked up by modern producers. Today, act 2 is a ''[[ballet blanc]]'' (a "white" ballet in which all the ballerinas and the ''corps de ballet'' are dressed in full, white, bell-shaped skirts and the dances have a geometric design).<ref name=smi191>{{harvnb|Smith|2000|pp=191–195}}</ref>

== Sets and costumes ==
[[File:Giselle 1841 Albrecht 1st costume by Lormier.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|alt=Sketch, with notes, of a male wearing red and white, Renaissance-style clothes, with tights and a black feathered hat.|Albrecht by Paul Lormier]]

The historical period for ''Giselle'' is not indicated in the story. Paul Lormier, the chief costume designer at the Paris Opéra, probably consulted Gautier on this matter. It is also possible that Pillet had the ballet's budget in mind and decided to use the many Renaissance-style costumes in the Opéra's wardrobe for ''Giselle''. These costumes were said to have been those from Rossini's ''[[William Tell (opera)|William Tell]]'' (1829) and [[Berlioz]]'s ''[[Benvenuto Cellini (opera)|Benvenuto Cellini]]'' (1838). Lormier certainly designed the costumes for the principal characters. His costumes were in use at the Opéra until the ballet was dropped from the repertoire in 1853.

''Giselle'' was revived in 1863 with new costumes by Lormier's assistant, Alfred Albert. Albert's costumes are closer to those of modern productions than those of Lormier, and were in use at the opera until 1868. The ballet was revived again in 1924 with scenery and costumes by [[Alexandre Benois]]. He wanted to revive the costumes of the original production but dropped the idea, believing the critics would charge him with a lack of imaginative creativity.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=64–67}}

=== Sets ===
[[File:Pierre Cicéri by Nadar – BnF btv1b10535658m (adjusted).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Photograph of Ciceri, c. 1857]]

[[Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri|Pierre Luc Charles Ciceri]] was the chief set designer at the Paris Opéra from 1815 to 1847. He designed the sets for the first production of ''Giselle''. Gautier was not specific about the ballet's locale, but placed it in "some mysterious corner of Germany ... on the other side of the Rhine".{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=59–60}}

''Giselle'' was two months in rehearsal, which was a very long rehearsal time for the period. Even so, Ciceri did not have enough time to design sets for both acts and focused on the second act. The sets for the first act were actually those designed for the 1838 ballet, ''[[La Fille du Danube]]'' by Adam. An illustration from ''Les Beautés de l'Opera'' of 1845 shows Giselle's cottage with a roof of straw on the left and Albrecht's cottage on the right. The two cottages are framed by the branches of two large trees on either sides of the stage. Between the two cottages, in the distance, appears a castle and slopes covered with vineyards. Although this scene was not designed for ''Giselle'', it has remained the model for most modern productions.{{sfn|Ashton|1985|p=36}} Ciceri's set was in use until the ballet was dropped from the repertoire in 1853. At that time, Gautier noticed that the sets were falling apart: "Giselle's cottage has barely three or four straws on its roof."{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=59–60}}

[[File:Giselle -scène.jpg|thumb|left|Act 2 from ''Les Beautés de l'Opéra'']]

The act 2 illustration from ''Les Beautés'' shows a dark wood with a pool of water in the distance. The branches of aged trees create a [[tree tunnel]]. Beneath these branches on the left is a marble cross with 'Giselle' carved on it. From one of its arms hangs the crown of grape leaves Giselle wore as Queen of the Vintage. On the stage, thick weeds and wildflowers (200 bulrushes and 120 branches of flowers) were the undergrowth. The gas jets of the footlights and those overhead suspended in the flies were turned low to create a mood of mystery and terror.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=59–60}}

[[File:Maquette de décor de Giselle (Les Ballets russes, Opéra) (4550389196).jpg|thumb|Benois' design for act 1 at the Paris Opera, 1910]]

A circular hole was cut into the backdrop and covered with a transparent material. A strong light behind this hole represented the moon. The light was occasionally manipulated to suggest the passage of clouds. Gautier and St. Georges wanted the pool to be made of large mirrors but Pillet rejected this idea because of its cost. In the 1868 revival, however, mirrors were acquired for this scene.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=60–61}}

Adam thought Ciceri's backdrop for act 1 was "not so good ... it is all weak and pale" but he liked the set for act 2: "[Ciceri's] second act is a delight, a dark humid forest filled with bulrushes and wild flowers, and ending with a sunrise, seen at first through the trees at the end of the piece, and very magical in its effect." The sunrise also delighted the critics.{{sfn|Guest|2008|p=351}}

== Early productions ==
''Giselle'' was performed in Paris from its debut in 1841 to 1849, with Grisi always dancing the title role. In 1849, it was dropped from the repertoire. The ballet was revived in 1852 and 1853, without Grisi, then dropped from the repertoire after 1853. It was revived in 1863 for a Russian ballerina, then dropped again in 1868. It was revived almost 50 years later in 1924 for the debut of [[Olga Spessivtzeva]]. This production was revived in 1932 and 1938.<ref name=beaumont126/>

[[File:Théâtre de l'Académie royale de musique - Grande salle.jpg|thumb|Ballet in the Salle Le Peletier in 1864]]

''Giselle'' was mounted by other ballet companies in Europe and America almost immediately after its first night. The British had their first taste of ''Giselle'' with a drama based on the ballet called ''Giselle, or The Phantom Night Dancers'' by [[William Moncrieff]], who had seen the ballet in Paris the same year. The play was performed on 23 August 1841 at the Theatre Royal, Sadler's Wells.<ref name=beaumont126>{{harvnb|Beaumont|1944|p=126}}</ref> The actual ballet was first staged in London at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] on 12 March 1842 with Grisi as Giselle and Perrot as Albrecht. The dances were credited to Perrot and one Deshayes. This production was revived many times, once in 1884 with a Mlle. Sismondi in the role of Albrecht. This production, preceded by an operetta called ''Pocahontas'',<ref name=beaumont127>{{harvnb|Beaumont|1944|pp=126–127}}</ref> met with little enthusiasm.

''Giselle'' was first performed in [[Russia]] at the [[Bolshoi Theatre]], [[Saint Petersburg]], on 18 December 1842. [[Stepan Gedeonov]], the Director of the Saint Petersburg [[Imperial Theatres]], sent his ballet master Antoine Titus to Paris to find a new ballet for ballerina [[Yelena Andreyanova]]. Titus chose ''Giselle''. The Ballet Master then staged the work completely from memory in Saint Petersburg.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|p=128}} Perrot produced ''Giselle'' in Saint Petersburg in 1851. He made many changes to the ballet in his years of service to the Imperial Ballet. In the 1880s, Petipa made many changes to the Perrot production.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|p=130}}

''Giselle'' was first staged in Italy at [[La Scala|Teatro alla Scala]] in Milan on 17 January 1843. The music however was not Adam's but that of Niccolò Bajetti. The dances were not the original either but those of Antonio Cortesi. It is possible that the ballet was first staged in the provincial theatres. This, however, is not known with certainty.<ref name=beaumont129/>

In 1844, American ballerina [[Mary Ann Lee]] arrived in Paris to study with Coralli for a year. She returned to the United States in 1841 with the directions for ''Giselle'' and other ballets. Lee was the first to present ''Giselle'' in the United States. She did this on 1 January 1846 in Boston at the [[Howard Athenæum]]. George Washington Smith played Albrecht. Lee danced ''Giselle'' (again with Smith) on 13 April 1846 at the Park Theatre in [[New York City]].<ref name=beaumont129>{{harvnb|Beaumont|1944|p=129}}</ref>{{sfn|Robert|1949|p=163}}

In January 1911 [[Nijinsky]] danced in ''Giselle'' at the [[Mariinsky Theatre]] in Saint Petersburg for the [[Mariinsky Ballet|Imperial Ballet]], with the Tsarina [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|Maria Feodorovna]] in attendance. His costume, which had been designed by [[Alexandre Benois]] and used in Paris before, caused a scandal, as he danced in tights without the then-common trousers. He refused to apologize and was dismissed from the Imperial Ballet.{{sfn|Ostwald|1991|page=46}}

The ballet was staged by [[Diaghilev]]'s [[Ballets Russes]] later in 1911 at the [[Royal Ballet|Royal Opera, Covent Garden]], with [[Tamara Karsavina]] and [[Nijinsky]] as Giselle and Albrecht. [[Anna Pavlova]] danced Giselle with her own company in 1913. [[Alicia Markova]] danced the role with the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1934, and [[Margot Fonteyn]] took the role in 1937 when Markova left the company. The English loved ''Giselle''. In 1942, for example, three different companies were dancing the ballet in London.{{sfn|Beaumont|1944|pp=126–128}}

In a departure from the traditional ''Giselle'', [[Frederic Franklin]] restaged the ballet in 1984 as ''[[Creole Giselle]]'' for the [[Dance Theatre of Harlem]]. This adaptation set the ballet among the [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]]s and African Americans in 1840s [[Louisiana]].

A 2012 novel by author [[Guy Mankowski]] entitled ''[[Letters from Yelena]]'' follows the journey of a [[principal dancer]] as she performs the role of Giselle in [[Saint Petersburg]].

The 2019 South Korean TV series [[Angel's Last Mission: Love]] features a blind ballerina who is to play the title role of Giselle in a production staged by the Fantasia Ballet Company.

== Citations ==
{{reflist|colwidth=25em}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{Citation |last=Ashton |first=Geoffrey |year=1985 |title=Giselle |place=Woodbury, New York |publisher=Barron's |isbn=0-8120-5673-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/giselle00asht }}
* {{Citation |last=Balanchine |first=George |year=1979 |title=101 Stories of the Great Ballets |place=New York |publisher=Anchor Books |isbn=0-385-03398-2}}
* {{Citation |last=Beaumont |first=Cyril W |year=1944 |title=The Ballet Called Giselle |place=London |publisher=C W Beaumont}}
** See also {{Citation |last=Beaumont |first=Cyril W |year=1996 |title=The Ballet Called Giselle |edition=2nd |place=London |publisher=Dance Books |isbn=1-85273-004-8 |ref=none}}
* {{Citation |last=Beaumont |first=Cyril W |year=1952 |title=Supplement to the Complete Book of Ballets |place=London |publisher=Putnam}}
* {{Citation |last=Cordova |first=Sarah Davies |contribution=Romantic ballet in France: 1830–1850 |editor-last=Kant |editor-first=Marion |year=2007 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Ballet |location=Cambridge and New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |series=[[Cambridge Companions to Music]] |isbn=978-0-521-53986-9}}
* {{Citation |last=Edgecombe |first=Rodney Stenning |date=1 December 2005 |title=A Ragbag of Ballet Music Oddments |url=https://ausdance.org.au/articles/details/a-ragbag-of-ballet-music-oddments |journal=Brolga: An Australian Journal About Dance |issue=23 |pages=12–19}}
* {{Citation |last=Greskovic |first=Robert |year=2005 |title=Ballet 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2COs6yh_LS0C | publisher=Limelight|isbn=978-0-87910-325-5 }}
* {{Citation |last=Guest |first=Ivor |year=1983 |title=Cesare Pugni: A Plea For Justice |journal=Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=30–38 |place=London |doi=10.2307/1290799 |jstor=1290799 |issn=0264-2875}}
* {{Citation |last=Guest |first=Ivor |year=2008 |title=The Romantic Ballet in Paris |place=Alton, Hampshire |publisher=Dance Books |isbn=978-1-85273-119-9}}
* {{Citation |last=Kirstein |first=Lincoln |year=1984 |title=Four Centuries of Ballet: Fifty Masterworks |place=New York |publisher=Dover |isbn=0-486-24631-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/fourcenturiesofb0000kirs }}
* {{Cite book|last=Ostwald |first=Peter F. |year=1991 |title=Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness |place=New York |publisher=Carol Publishing Group |isbn=0-8184-0535-X |url=https://archive.org/details/vaslavnijinskyle00ostw|url-access=registration|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{Citation |last=Petipa |first=Marius |year=1971 |title= Мариус Петипа. Материалы. Воспоминания. Статьи. (Marius Petipa: Materials, Memories, Articles) |place=Leningrad |publisher=Iskusstvo (Искусство)}}
* {{Citation |last=Robert |first=Grace |year=1949 |title=The Borzoi Book of Ballets |place=New York |publisher=Knopf |oclc=16747462}}
* {{Citation |last=Smakov |first=Gennadi |year=1967 |title=Giselle perf. by the Bolshoi Theatre Orch., cond. by Algis Zhuraitis (liner note for LP SRB4118) |place=Moscow |publisher=Melodiya}}
* {{Citation |last=Smith |first=Marian |year=2000 |title=Ballet and Opera in the Age of "Giselle" |place=Princeton, New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-04994-6}}
* {{Citation |last=Travaglia |first=Silvio |year=1929 |title=Riccardo Drigo: L'uomo e l'artista |place=Padua |publisher=Guglielmo Zanibon}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.aha.ru/~vladmo/d_txt12.html ''The Earliest Russian Giselles'']{{snd}}discusses the first interpreters of the role of Giselle in imperial Russia
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031210012623/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_02/mar02/sm_rb_giselle_study_0302.htm "Royal Ballet: ''Giselle''{{-"}}]{{snd}}Insight DaySome dance history of ''Giselle'' by Suzanne McCarthy for the Royal Ballet
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070817222210/http://www.nureyev.org/ballets/ballet-giselle-albrecht-petipa-rudolf-nureyev ''Giselle'']{{snd}}[[Rudolf Nureyev]] dancing Albrecht in Giselle
* {{IMSLP|work=Giselle (Adam, Adolphe)|cname=''Giselle''}}

{{Adolphe Adam}}
{{Ballets of Marius Petipa}}
{{Théophile Gautier}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1840s ballets]]
[[Category:1841 works]]
[[Category:Ballets by Adolphe Adam]]
[[Category:Ballets by Jean Coralli]]
[[Category:Ballets by Jules Perrot]]
[[Category:Ballets by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges]]
[[Category:Ballets by Marius Petipa]]
[[Category:Ballets by Théophile Gautier]]
[[Category:Ballets designed by Alexandre Benois]]
[[Category:Ballets premiered at the Paris Opera Ballet]]
[[Category:Ballets set in Germany]]
[[Category:Romantic dance]]
[[Category:Ballets about suicide]]