The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre, located just 750 metres from the Bolshoi Theatre, presents Giselle — the pinnacle of 19th-century Romantic ballet and one of the unquestioned masterpieces of the classical repertoire. The production is danced by a company that includes artists who have performed on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre and who trained in Russia’s leading ballet academies, maintaining the highest standards of classical technique and dramatic interpretation.
Inspired by a medieval legend about the wilis — young brides who died before their wedding day and return at night to dance in the moonlight — the ballet contrasts the pastoral reality of the first act with the ethereal, otherworldly realm of the second. The poetic libretto was written by Théophile Gautier, and the score by Adolphe Adam remains one of the most evocative examples of French Romantic ballet music.
At the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre, Giselle is performed in the choreographic version by Laurent Hilaire.
“Classics must be cared for if they are to live,” says Laurent Hilaire. “From time to time it is necessary to restore the internal logic of the performance and renew its emotional clarity. In the first act, I focus particularly on pantomime — it should not be a formality, but a true expressive language. In the second act, the essential task is purity of style: the placement of the arms, the precision of the line, the complete involvement of every dancer. Only then can we truly draw the audience into the world of Giselle.”