It was for about two months, Paris was having an enormous strike. Numerous performances were cancelled during December and January. At last, I finally had a chance to visit the Paris Opera again in February, a beautiful Valentin’s gift that I gifted to myself.
Quel joli ballet on ferait avec cela!
(Wouldn’t we create a beautiful ballet with this)
The French poet, Théophile Gautier wrote down this sentence when visiting Harz Mountains after finishing Heinrich Heine’s De l’Allemagne.
In De l’Allemagne, a book which inspired the story of Giselle in 1841, Heinrich talked about the elves that dressed in white gowns and Wilis that waltzed under the German moonlight in the soft mist.
In the late 18th century, the Romantisme art movement had come out for the world to escape the reality due to the disappointment brought by the French Revolution, people chased after the fantasies and the nothingness.
Later, it had influenced the appearance of the Romantisme ballet.
Giselle,
one of the representatives of the Romantisme ballet in the early 19th century. It was not until this time the pointed shoes had appeared on stage.
Act I: story always begins in the mortal world.
The beautiful village girl, Giselle, falls in love with the young stranger named Albrecht, whom she doesn’t know is actually the Duke of Silesia betrothed to Princess Bathilde.
They waltz, in the midst of the mountain; they dance, to celebrate the festival.
However, happiness never lasts long is the formula for each story. When the identity of Albrecht is unmasked, it’s a devastating revelation to Giselle. In front of all the villagers and Albrecht, Giselle loses her mind and dies from the heart attack.
Act II: l’Act Blanc, the nocturnal phantasmagoria.
Act II of the Romantisme ballet is always happening in the mysterious and delusional world. Ballerinas are wearing long white silk chiffon tutus that create an illusion of the enigmatic impression. But the most difficult part is that dancers have to be balanced and dexterity enough in order to achieve this illusion with their hard pointed shoes.
Legend has it that maidens who die before their wedding will become Wilis and condemned to dance every night until dawn.
Midnight in the forest, there are deathly pale shades flicker in the mist. They are Wilis, the souls of the abandoned maidens lead by Queen Myrtha.
Still having the infatuation with Giselle; Albrecht came to Giselle’s grave with a bouquet of flowers. He sees the phantom of Giselle floating above. Albrecht is enchanted, tries to hold her and finally follows her into the forest.
Following Queen Myrtha, the Wilis seduce Albrecht to suffer from the feverish and fatal dance. Seeing the fate Albrecht is facing, Giselle tries to plead for mercy from Queen Myrtha. They dance desperately together to show their sincere love to each other.
Even though Queen Myrtha never shows clemency, as the first light of the day penetrates the forest, all the Wilis vanish into thin air as well as Giselle that left Albrecht alone back in the mortal world.
Les Étoiles in Giselle.
The “mad scene” of Giselle plays an important part in the play; it’s a large transition of the performance that needs to be accomplished by the extreme coordination of the ballerina and the orchestra. Right before the intermission, it’s tugging at the heartstrings.
I adore the Giselle played by Amandine Albisson. Although I could be honest, Giselle is just a foolish girl who believes in unrealistic romance from a total stranger; when it comes to the dancer, not only is Amadine a magnificent ballerina, but she is also a memorable actress. I would never forget the scene that she breaks down and shakes off her up-do before Giselle’s sudden death.
Besides Amandine, Hugo Marchand was, of course, an impressive Albrecht. I awe his feverish variation in Act II. While showing the exhausted and wrecked body and mind of Albrecht, Hugo was at the same time, performing the impeccable tours en l’air and double cabriole devant. Plus, whenever Hugo is dancing the pas de deux with Amandine, the way they gazed with deep feeling at each other had spelt a tender atmosphere on stage.
Both Amandine and Hannah O’Neil, who played as Queen Myrtha, performed elegant Wilis. The adagio showed how stable and strong their bases were. Each attitude and arabesque felt like the delicate dance of the elves. Even if they are wearing the tough pointed shoes that were difficult to walk, they could still deliver an illusion that they are floating in the mist, created a heartbreaking pipe dream in the opera house.
As the curtain fell
Albrecht, what will happen to him after he returns to the mortal world, is he still marrying Princess Bathilde? Maybe that’s a story that I will never know.
