Year 11 Ballet

Essay by NicoleapascoeHigh School, 11th gradeB, April 2012

download word file, 7 pages 0.0

� PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT �2��Giselle as a Romantic Ballet��

The staging of Giselle at the Paris Opera in 1841 was more or less the beginning of the Romantic era in the revolution of dance. Juels Perrot & Jean Coralli (Ballet Masters/Choreographers) worked hand in hand with Adolphe Adam (Music Composer) to create one of the most significant works of the Romantic era. The ballet offers audiences the experiences that are now thought to be characteristics of romantic ballet.

The plot of Giselle takes place in a village in the Rhineland. A nobleman, Albrecht has fallen for a village girl, Giselle. He begins to court her, but he pretends to be but a village boy himself. Giselle is also desired by Hilarion the woodsman, who discovers that Albrecht is in fact a nobleman. A hunting party of nobles arrives halfway through the first act. The party includes Albrecht's betrothed noblewoman Bathilde.

Bathilde presents Giselle with a necklace. During the stay of the hunting party, jealous Hilarion reveals the true identity of Albrecht. Giselle is shocked, and dies of heartache. The first act closes.

Act two takes place at night in a cemetery. Hilarion comes to mourn Giselle's grave. At midnight, the spirits of young girls who have died before their wedding day rise up from the earth, terrified, Hilarion flees and is pursued to his death. Albrecht also comes to the grave of Giselle bearing flowers, and the spirits or 'willis' led by their queen Myrtha make him dance until dawn with the intension of killing him by exhaustion. Giselle still loves him and succeeds in preventing his death. Albrecht lives to see the dawn and has a last farewell to the spirit of Giselle before she returns to the grave.

The Story line of Giselle is the main component...