
Giselleisaquintessentialartefactof19th-centuryEuropeanRomanticism,abroodingtwo-actdramainwhicheroticismanddeatheachclaimsitsact.Giselle,adelicatevillagebeauty,lovestodance.Aprince,disguisedasacommoner,isentrancedandwoosherawayfromherdevotedsuitor.Theyfallinlove,butbeforehehasthechancetodisentanglehimselffromaninconvenientbetrothalhisperfidyisrevealed.ThesecondactbelongstotheWilis,acorpsdeballetofwraiths,thespiritsofwomenjiltedatthealtar,whotakerevengeonfecklessmenbyforcingthemtodanceuntiltheydie.<br/> Anyhabituéoftheostensibly‘live’-feedstageproductionsthatcrowdcinemascreenswillquicklyrecognisethatthetranspositionhereisexceptionallypowerful.Thefilmmakerscouldhardlyhavehadamorecleanlyenunciatedproductiontoworkwith.EthanStiefelandJohanKobborg’sstagingandchoreographyparebackthetraditionalelaborationstorestorepsychologicaldirectnesstotherelationships.Theseareperfectlyexpressedbyapeerlesssetofdancers,principallyGillianMurphyasGiselleandQiHuanasAlbrecht.


