SUMMARY

A masterpiece of 19th-century Romantic ballet, Giselle established a style and its title role is every ballerina’s dream. With music composed by Adolphe Adam, the ballet had its premiere in 1841. Ballet Company of Győr’s new production is meant to reveal new layers in this story of fairies, while the music is provided by Félix Lajkó. Said choreographer László Velekei: “With every work, I have a vision. With GisL, it was the image of being danced to death that set me off working. The country girl’s amorous disappointment and afterlife are condensed into a single act. It is dominated by the white otherworld of the former second act, which we use to refer back to the flesh-and-blood reality of the original first act. The transition between the real and the magical world takes place mostly via the development of the character. There’ll be a strange, enclosed space, with trees growing out of nothing. They’ll be pressed into cubes, and the dancers will dance in these.”

“As far as I know, there was quite a lot of pantomime in the 1841 Paris version. Some fifty minutes of pantomime, and sixty minutes of dance. Which is to say stage presence and character development were considered important. At Ballet Company of Győr we have always made a point of taking on individuals for the company who in the case of ballets with action like this can create the characters that make it possible for me, the creator, to reconsider a piece of this kind. We are after a production that is simultaneously theatre, ballet and a concert in its own right.”

Giselle, the titular heroine is first just a girl like many others. Her lover, Albrecht, is possessive, and somewhat overbearing. For him, love is but a game. Hilarion, an acquaintance of Giselle, is also in love with her, and disapproves of her romance with Albrecht. Jealous, he wrecks their relationship by exposing Bathilde as Albrecht’s fiancée. Incapable of accepting that Albrecht deceived her, Giselle flies into a mad fit. Consumed by rage, she starts tearing at her clothes, then her hair, and finally collapses dead. The Wilis, these otherworldly beings, female demons, play an important role in the story. They are the haunting spirits of virgins who were abandoned or cheated on before their wedding. They take revenge by dancing men who wander into the woods to death. They are beautiful and ghastly, mystical and bewildering. They display youthfulness and beauty, death and decay all at the same time. They are led by Myrtha, who bursts with vengefulness, violence, femininity and menace. Imperious, she casts a spell on men by simply appearing. Giselle is resurrected among the Wilis…

2023. április 28.

Martin Grubinger S A Luxemburgi

Filharmonikus Zenekar

Vezényel: Gustavo Gimeno

2023. május 2., 3.

DUNA MŰVÉSZEGYÜTTES: SZÉPSÉGES MEZŐSÉG

Koreográfus: Kocsis Enikő, Fitos Dezső, Juhász Zsolt, Farkas Tamás

Rendező: Kocsis Enikő

2023. május 10.

NAVRATIL ANDREA FOLKKVINTETT:

DARAM-DARAM-MADARAM

2023. május 13.