Giselle

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin

****

Moscow City Ballet's production of Giselle enables Irish audiences to perpetuate a passionate relationship with imported Russian ballet. This Giselle ticks all the right boxes with its ethereal ballerina, corps de ballet in white tutus, romantic storyline and bittersweet denouement.

It exceeds what we have come to expect from so many Russian touring companies, largely because of the nature of the ballet itself. Giselle goes beyond eye candy and into the complexities of human nature. Since its premiere in Paris in 1841, it has helped ballerinas become stars.

In the lead role, Liliya Orekhova admirably morphs from an innocent lovestruck peasant girl into a woman whose heart is pierced by deceit. When she finds out her true love Albrecht is betrothed to someone else, Giselle literally goes mad. The scene in which she loses her mind, one fateful arabesque at a time, has been made famous by ballerinas from Carlotta Grisi, on whom the ballet was created, to prima ballerinas such as Natalia Makarova and Sylvie Guillem. There is a fine line between conviction and over-dramatisation and Orekhova balances it nicely.

Talgat Kozhabaev as Albrecht offers a stoic counterpoint to Giselle’s emotional zeal. She dies and joins a group of supernatural beings called the Wilis, women who have been wronged by their lovers and in return lure men and force them to dance until their deaths. He goes after Giselle and must face the wrath of Myrtha, queen of the Wilis, who accusedly points fingers and controls the Wilis with a steely downturned chin.

Despite their misunderstandings, Giselle and Albrecht reunite once more in genuine affection, a union even more remarkable given the forces working against them. This ballet presents several moments where the characters convincingly develop, such as when Hilarion, a peasant who also loves Giselle, throws himself at her grave.

Historically Russian dancers have an unsurpassed penchant for drama and storytelling, and aided by Igor Shavruk conducting the Moscow City Ballet orchestra, this Giselle continues the hallowed tradition in which it began.

Ends January 27. Moscow City Ballet perform The Nutcracker, Jan 28-31