The soulful music of Adolf Adam and the amazing choreography of Marius Petipa immerse the viewer in an elegant and tragic love story of an aristocrat who wants to get what he desires and a naive peasant girl.
The libretto of this ballet is based on an ancient legend born in the mists of time in Eastern Europe and recorded by the German poet Heinrich Heine. It tells a story about the wilis - girls who died because of the betrayal of their chosen ones and then, being weightless and frightening spirits, cruelly cracked down on travelers at night, making them dance until they die from exhaustion. This is how they avenged their broken destinies.
In 1842, Giselle, after the resounding success of its premiere, was shown in St. Petersburg and has not left the Russian stage since that time. The main role was performed by Galina Ulanova, Ekaterina Maksimova, Lyudmila Semenyaka and other great ballerinas.
The romantic ballet about love, which is stronger than death, about devoted trust and repentance, has been repeatedly improved to achieve impeccability in choreography and dramaturgy. At the beginning of the 20th century, interest for this ballet declined, but Marius Petipa's version, performed during the Russian Seasons in Europe, revived it.
The influence of the ballet even penetrated into fashion: immediately after the premiere, a smooth hairstyle with a parting became a hit.