GISELLE
Giselle is the supreme achievement of the Romantic Ballet. Officially its several con- wey
tributors were Vernoy de Saint Georges and ‘Théophile’ Gautier: (Book), Adolphe Adam, . )
(Music), Pierre Ciceri (Scenery), Paul Lormier (Costumes), and Jean Coralli (Choreog-
pari
Gautier, reading Heinrich Heine’s De 'Allemagne, was much attracted by the story
of “snow-coloured Wilis who waltz pitilessly . . . in a mist softened by German moonlight” eis:
and said: “Wouldn't this make a pretty ballet!” The Wilis, according to Heine, are affianced
maidens dead before their wedding day, unable to satisfy during life their passion for ag
dancing. Meyer’s “Konservationslexikon” defines the Wilis as a species of vampire, the os
spirits of betrothed girls who have died as q result of their being jilted by faithless lovers.
The theme of Giselle is unique and ideal, because its mainspring is dancing. Gautier first é
thought of using Victor Hugo’s poem, FantOmes, in which a young.girl dancing all night ;
at a ball catches a fatal chill. Since this offered little dramatic action, he consulted the
prodigious librettist, Vernoy de Saint-Georges, who speedily devised the story of Giselle and
her ducal suitor, Albrecht, betrothed to the Princess Bathilde, who disguises himself as a
peasant and courts Giselle with tragic consequences.
Adam's score for Giselle, conceived in the cantilena style typical of Bellini and Doni-
zetti, was composed in little more than a week, according to Gautier. It abounds in flowing
melodies and simple dance rhythms, their colour and mood attuned to the various dramatic
situations. In the description of the ballet which follows, the music references are to the
original French piano score of 1841. There are nowadays some cuts and departures from the "=
original plan. No. 12, for instance, illustrating a scene of villagers pursued by Wilis, is
now omitted.
The first Giselle was Carlotta Grisi and her husband was Jules Perrot, the famous dancer
and choreographer, both friends of Adam. Neither the original poster nor progamme of +
Giselle bears any mention of Perrot’s name, but La France Musicale (July 4, 1841) discloses .
that “Perrot . . . has arranged all his wife’s pas and scenes.” Coralli was responsible for the fF
dances of the Wilis, which Gautier acclaimed as “pas, groups, and attitudes of exquisite .
novelty and elegance”
Giselle, ou Les Wilis had its first performance at the Paris Opéra on June 28, 1841,
preceded by the third act of Rossini’s opera Moise. The cast of the ballet was as follows:
Grisi was born on June 28, 1819, at Visinida, in Upper Istria. A product of La Scala, her
teacher there being a Frenchman, Guillet, she met Perrot in 1836 while dancing in Naples.
Gautier praised Grisi’s Giselle as “the greatest . . . triumph since ‘La Sylphide’.” “Carlotta,”
he wrote, “danced with a perfection, lightness, boldness, and a chaste and refined seduc-
tiveness which place her . . . between Elssler and Taglioni . . . she was nature and artlessness
personified.”
Now here is a description of the ballet. There is an overture (Introduction. Allegro con
fuoco) at the conclusion of which the curtain rises on—
ACT I
A German valley, with Giselle’s cottage in the left foreground, and that of the
disguised Duke Albrecht, who is known to Giselle as Loys, on the right. Round
the foothills of a castle-topped summit, a few vines grow; a road runs before.
Peasant girls, chattering and beckoning, pass beyond Giselle’s cottage. Albrecht enters,
attended by Wilfrid, who conceals in the cottage his lord’s cloak and sword. Albrecht,
peasant clad, dismissing Wilfrid, knocks on Giselle’s door, listens; then hides (No. 2 Entrée
du Prince [sic] Moderato).
Giselle emerges dancing; she pauses, surprised to find herself alone. Albrecht blows
kisses; hearing, she tries to find him. Stepping back, they collide as he approaches. In a
tender love scene, Giselle, overcome with shyness, tries several times to escape, but Albrecht
gently restrains her. Her arm within his, they dance.
He wishes to swear eternal fidelity, but she feels the vow ill-omened, and plucks the
petals of a marguerite, saying: “He loves me, he loves me not!” She bursts into tears; but
Albrecht retrieves the flower, triumphantly proclaiming “He loves me!” Giselle, comforted,
dances happily with him. Hilarion, appearing, shakes his fist angrily.
Again the lovers dance; Giselle, kissing her finger, presses it to Albrecht’s brow and runs
away, to be confronted by Hilarion, who -upbraids them, then kneels before Giselle and
declares his love. She turns aside; imploringly he clutches her dress, but Albrecht hurls him
away. Hilarion retires, vowing vengeance. (No. 3 Entrée de Giselle. Allegro non
troppo).
Albrecht embraces Giselle. The village girls, returning, greet Giselle, who invites them
to dance with her. Afterwards, Giselle’s mother appears, warning her that she will dance
herself to death and become a Wili; she shepherds her indoors. The girls and Albrecht exit.
(No. 4 Allegro louré. Retour de la Vendange).
Hilarion goes to Giselle’s cottage; before he can knock, a hunting horn is heard. He
breaks into Albrecht’s cottage and hides inside.
The Prince of Courland, his daughter Bathilde, and their hunting-party enter, seeking
refreshment and rest. Wilfrid knocks at Giselle’s. cottage. Her mother and village girls set
out a table: Giselle, appearing, curtsies to Wilfrid, mistaking him for the Prince. Bathilde
praises Giselle’s beauty to her father. While Wilfrid attends them, Giselle kneels beside
wae caressing her rich dress. Bathilde, turning, questions her kindly. Giselle replies
at she spins and weaves, but “my heart’s delight is to dance,” and she begins a few steps,
ending in a curtsey. Again, her mother predicts her fate as a Wili, but Giselle is unheeding.
Bathilde bestows her necklace upon Giselle, who, overcome, kisses Bathilde’s hands
(No. 5 Allegro. La Chasse, Ist Part). A peasant girl and youth entertain the Prince
and his suite with dances (Interpolated Pas de Deux with variations, by Burg-
miiller).
Giselle begs the Prince to rest in her cottage. The Prince and ladies go within, the
Prince handing Wilfrid his hunting-horn, instructing him to sound it if his presence is
required (No. 5 Allegro. La Chasse, 2nd Part).
Hilarion steals out, carrying Albrecht’s sword; he hurries to show it to Giselle, but,
hearing girls’ voices, he hides it under a bush and retires (No. 6 Allegro. Scéne d’Hil-
arion).
The girls knock at Giselle’s door, and beg her mother to allow Giselle to dance. At last
she agrees, and when Giselleappears she is crowned Queen of the Vintage. She dances: her
friends applaud, and in the ensuing ensemble Giselle and Albrecht fall into each other's
arms. (No. 7. Allegro marcato. Marche des Vendanges).
Suddenly Hilarion rushes forward, forces the lovers apart, and declares Albrecht an
imposter: fetching the sword, he displays its jewelled hilt. Confused, then enraged,
Albrétht seizes Hilarion and is about to run him through: but Wilfrid stays his arm. The
sword falls to the ground.
_ Giselle, horrified, runs to her mother; Hilarion furiously sounds the Prince's hunting-
horn.
The Prince, Bathilde, and her ladies return. Bathilde goes to Albrecht enquiringly, and he
kneels, kissing her hand. Giselle steps between’ them. “Are you his betrothed?” she asks
Bathilde. Bathilde inclines her head in assent.
Giselle drags off the necklace, runs sobbing to her mother, and collapses. Her mother
loosens her hair, and Giselle rises, then falls again.
* At last she raises herself, but the shock has affected her reason. She makes pitiful gestures
of bewilderment; her limbs are stiff and awkward. Remembering past happiness, she
relives the flower test; then her foot touches the fallen sword. She seizes its point, sweeping
the hilt over the ground: the onlookers recoil. Suddenly, she plunges it into her breast as
Albrecht tries to stop her. Giselle falls into her mother’s arms; then goes to attack Bathilde.
Her father raises a protective arm, but Giselle turns back. The hunting-party leaves.
Giselle, believing herself to be dancing with her lover, struggles to perform the familiar
steps: but her movements grow weaker. An icy cold steals over her limbs. She stumbles
along the fringe of frightened onlookers: falls at the feet of her grief-stricken mother, and
beckons to Albrecht. In a moment of clarity, she touches his cheek forgivingly, then dies.
Albrecht kisses her face and hands; seeing Hilarion, he drags him forward, then hurls
him aside. Hilarion staggers; Albrecht seizes his sword, but Wilfrid again arrests the blow.
Albrecht, dropping the sword, kneels beside Giselle’s body. The onlookers gather about
their dead friend (No. 8 Allegro. Final).
ACT Il
A moonlit forest clearing before a sinister pool, bordered with wild flowers
and water plants. The drooping foliage of aspens and weeping willows trembles
in the chill night air. 'To the left, beneath a cypress, is a mound, flanked by a cross
bearing the name - GISELLE.
At curtain-rise Hilarion is kneeling beside Giselle’s grave,, until a flash of lightning,
followed by a peal of thunder, fills him with fear and he flees (No. 9. Andante sostenuto.
La Halte des chasseurs).
Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, enters and dances about the glade; then, with two magic
branches, she casts a spell in preparation for the assembly of vengeful spirits. They are to
be joined by Giselle. Bidding them remove their veils, Myrtha orders them to dance, and
vanishes. (No. 10. Andante. Apparition et Scéne de Myrtha). Later she returns; the
Wilis surround the tomb and Myrtha extends her branch, upon which Giselle emerges
from her grave, and at Myrtha’s command dances alone. (No. 11. Apparition de Giselle.
Andante moderato). Then Myrtha orders all to forsake the glade (No. 12. Allegro
moderato. Entrée des Paysans. Part only used).
Albrecht enters seeking Giselle’s grave. Discovering it, he decks it with flowers. Wilfrid
urges him to leave, but is told to withdraw.
As Albrecht kneels beside the grave, Giselle drifts towards him, then vanishes. He rises
wonderingly: now and again she reappears, then dissolves into a wreath of mist. He prays
for her return, to find her phantom form beside him. They dance briefly together, then she
vanishes, to return holding a flower in each hand. Again they dance; she boypds away,
tossing first one flower, then the other, to Albrecht, who catches them as ie to
vanish into the woods (No. 13. Andante. Entrée d’Albert et Wilfride).
Enter Hilarion, terror-struck and pursued by Wilis. Twisting and turning, he is whirled
into the fatal pool to drown.
Myrtha and her Wilis depart triumphantly, but quickly return. Now Albrecht is men-
aced, and Giselle glides before her lover and entreats the Queen to spare him. When she
refuses, Giselle directs Albrecht to the Cross’s sanctuary. The Wilis try to intercept him,
but the Cross glows strangely; Myrtha opposes her magic branch, which breaks. She
commands ‘Giselle to dance, hoping to entice Albrecht from the protecting Cross, The
a vainly implore the help of the Wilis (No. 14. Allegro feroce. Entrée d’Hilarion).
Giselle dances, supported by Albrecht. (No. 15. Andante. Grand Pas de Deux). Then
the Queen orders her to dance alone, and forces Albrecht to follow, until he should die
of exhaustion, Just as his tortured heart feels as though it must burst, the foliage becomes
tinged with a rose-coloured light. A distant bell strikes four o'clock. The power of the
Wilis is over; their pale forms melt in the growing light. Albrecht struggles to his feet;
Giselle glides toward her tomb and vanishes into the cold earth. Albrecht collapses before
the Cross. (No. 16. Allegro con moto).
NOTES BY CYRIL BEAUMONT
NOTES ABOUT THIS RECORDING
Mercury is proud to add this recording of Adam’s classic Giselle to its series of complete
ballets, especially because it completes the “Big Six” of repertory favorites, sharing this
exalted prominence with Tchaikovsky's three major works, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake
and Sleeping Beauty, and Léo Delibes’s two, Coppélia and Sylvia. Like the others, Giselle
has entered the realm of favor as much for its music as for its affecting, timeless story and
opportunities for virtuoso dancing.
The recording sessions took place in London during the early summer of 1960. On the
stage of Watford Town Hall, the members of the London Symphony Orchestra were
arranged in their normal concert placement, an advantage for both recording engineers
and balletomanes, since the accompanying ensemble in a ballet performance would be
crowded into the pit. Besides the usual strings, the scoring calls for double woodwinds,
two horns, two trumpets, one trombone, timpani, and harp. Adam’s music is distinguished
by his delicate solo writing; most of the instruments of the orchestra play alone at various
times over fragile accompanying groups, thereby contributing much to the grace and
charm of the ballet. These solos provide the listener with an index to the Living Presence
technique of recording which flawlessly captures the individual timbre and colors of each
instrument, as well as the balance and contour of the entire ensemble.
Three microphones were used for the stereophonic recording, one for the monophonic,
and they were hung slightly in front of the orchestra, somewhat out into the auditorium.
‘Tests and level checks dictated the plane and elevation of their location, but once they were
positioned, they were not moved at any time during the sessions. The three channels of
sound which were caught by the microphones for stereo were transmitted directly to
recording machines without any tampering or monitoring on the part of engineers; in
other words, the quieter passages of music were not electronically “boosted” nor were
louder sections compressed. The same is of course true for the single microphone version.
Musical balance, nuance, and all dynamics were controlled solely by Maestro Fistoulari, and
it is his conception of the score which is cut onto these discs. The Mercury classical staff
believe that only in this way can a performance of music be accurately captured in a
recording.
Wilma Cozart and C, R. Fine collaborated on the basic recording set-up and procedure;
Harold Lawrence was the recording director, and Robert Eberenz was the engineer and
technical supervisor. Miss Cozart mixed the three-channel original tape into the two-channel
stereo version and George Piros made the tape-to-disc transfer. John Johnson made the
monophonic transfer.
OTHER RECORDINGS OF COMPLETE BALLETS FROM
s MERCURY’S UNIQUE LIVING PRESENCE SERIES:
TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker. Deluxe two-record album. Minneapolis Symphony,
Antal Dorati conducting. (Monaural only) OL2-101
TCHAIKOVSKY Swan Lake. Deluxe three-record album. Minneapolis Symphony, Antal
Dorati conducting. (Monaural only) OL3-102 (Also available on three single records.)
TCHAIKOVSKY The Sleeping Beauty. Deluxe three-record album. Minneapolis Sym-
phony, Antal Dorati conducting. (Monaural only) OL3-103 (Also available on four single
records.)
DELIBES Coppélia. Deluxe two-record album. Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati con-
ducting. SR2-9005 /OL2-105
DELIBES Sylvia. Deluxe two-record album. London Symphony, Anatole Fistoulari con-
ducting. SR2-9006 /OL2-106
STRAVINSKY The Firebird. London Symphony, Antal Dorati conducting. SRg0226/
MG50226
STRAVINSKY Petrouchka (1947 version). Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati con-
ducting. SR90216/MG50216
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring. Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati conducting.
‘SR90253/MG50253
RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé. Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati conducting. MG50040
(Monaural only) ;
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