English National Ballet’s ‘Giselle’ returns to the London Coliseum

English National Ballet in Mary Skeaping’s Giselle

English National Ballet presents Mary Skeaping’s Giselle at the London Coliseum this week, with production and choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa. A story of innocence and betrayal, Giselle is one of the oldest classical ballets still being performed today and regarded as the most famous of the Romantic era ballets.

The ballet was the result of the collaboration of the three French artists – Ballet Masters Perrot and Coralli – and composer Adolphe Adam, who in 1841 were commissioned by the Ballet du Théâtre de l’Academie Royale de Musique to create a new ballet. Adam had previously composed for this company, and he co-opted librettists Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier to assist with the storyline.

Lorenzo Trossello & Adriana Lizardi in the Peasant pas de deux

It was Gautier though who initially started working on the story, drawing inspiration from two sources – the poem Fantômes from Victor Hugo’s Les Orientales, which told of a Spanish girl who died after a night of frenzied dancing, and a passage in prose entitled L’Allemagne by German poet, writer and literary critic Heinrich Heine, about a Slavic tale of supernatural maidens called Wilis, young brides-to-be who die before their wedding day. Perrot and Coralli were then brought in to choreograph the work, and Giselle premiered at the Théâtre de l’Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on 28th June, 1841, with Carlotta Grisi in the title role.

In 1842, this version of Giselle was staged in St Petersburg, and this is where Marius Petipa became involved in the choreography. As Premier Maître de Ballet of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg from 1871, he staged four revivals of Giselle between 1884 and 1903, and it’s this final version on which most interpretations have since been based.

Giselle dies in her mother’s arms

The ballet tells of a frail young peasant girl, Giselle, leading an idyllic village life, who is betrayed by her beloved, the aristocratic Count Albrecht, as a result of which she dies of a broken heart. Giselle finds herself in a moonlit glade surrounded by the supernatural Wilis and their queen, Myrtha. Albrecht enters the glade to lay flowers on Giselle’s grave, and is summoned by Myrtha and her Wilis to dance to his death. The spirit of Giselle – ever forgiving, and touched by his exhaustion – vainly pleads for mercy on his behalf, but finally Giselle and Albrecht are parted forever.

Katja Khaniukova as Giselle & Aitor Arrieta as Albrecht in Mary Skeaping’s Giselle

Giselle is a ballet of grace, beauty and passion. The first act features the young and innocent peasant girl, at first bewildered, a bit nervous and delighted at finding love, with colourful scenes of her friends celebrating with her – until Giselle discovers the truth about the man she loves, experiencing utter devastation at his betrayal. The second act is ethereal and mystical, with shadows of the Wilis flitting across the stage, the icy figure of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, determined to see Albrecht humiliated.

Described in January 2024 by the Observer as “A glorious sight”, and referred to by the Telegraph as “Bewitching”, Mary Skeaping’s Giselle returns to the London Coliseum from January 15th to 18th, 2025, to be followed later in the year with performances in Manchester and Liverpool.