First performed in Paris in 1841, it tells the story of a young peasant girl, Giselle, who falls in love with a youth, Albrecht (or Albert), who is in reality has promised to marry someone else.

The work was an instant success and was soon being staged all over the world.

It contains some supernatural characters called Wilis. They are the souls of dead girls who died unmarried, and they have the power to control and destroy men (such as Albert), because they have all died of broken hearts. But Giselle defends Albert with the power of her great love.

Giselle is being directed in Saigon by Chloe Glemot and Yuki Hiroshige. They will also dance the roles of leaders of the Willis.

Chloe Glemot and Yuki Hiroshige have appeared at the Saigon Opera House in The Nutcracker, and they will appear again as the Snow Queen and Dewdrop in The Nutcracker in December.

There will be a repeat performance of Giselle in the Saigon Opera House on November 9.

The leading roles, of Giselle and Albert, will be danced by Do Hoang Khang Ninh and Ho Phi Diep in all performances. The Village Gamekeeper will be Dam Duc Nhuan.

The ballet opens with a young nobleman, Albert, in disguise as a peasant youth called Loys. Giselle falls in love with him, and he with her, but he is already betrothed to an aristocratic girl called Bathilde.

A local gamekeeper, Hilarion, is also in love with Giselle. It’s a time of harvest festivities in the German Rhineland (where the ballet is set), and Bathilde and her friends arrive to join the festivities. But Hilaron discovers who “Loys” really is, and Giselle, in a frenzy of dancing after being chosen as “Harvest Queen”, also discovers the truth and, collapsing in Albert’s arms, dies of a broken heart.

The Wilis’ method of killing a man is to make him dance until he dies of exhaustion. In Act Two they recruit the ghost of Giselle to their number, then seize on Hilarion who has come to lay flowers on Giselle’s grave. He dances almost to his death, then is thrown into a lake to die.

Albert arrives, and the Wilis plan the same fate for him. But Giselle saves him, and the vengeful Wilis disappear with the sunrise. Giselle, for her part, is freed from being one of the Wilis, blesses Albert, then returns to her solitary grave as the ballet ends to the plaintive music of a flute and harp.

The music for Giselle, which will be pre-recorded, is by Adolphe Adam (1803-56), a prolific ballet composer in his day.

With impossible love, a rural setting, and supernatural spirits, this is a typical Romantic ballet. Many opportunities for dance are provided by the harvest festivities, plus the dances-to-the-death mandated by the Wilis. It is a welcome addition to HBSO’s ballet repertoire.

Tickets for Giselle are VND650,000 to VND200,000, with VND80,000 for students. All performances begin at 8 p.m.

SGT