Los Angeles Ballet Delivers a Beautiful ‘Giselle’
by Rachel Mathieu
For any company, a performance of “Giselle” stands as a bold proclamation of artistic ambition. Honoring the iconic romantic ballet’s emotion-filled story and challenging adagios, famous for showcasing mind-boggling extensions amidst an overflow of poise and grace, is no small feat. On November 1, Los Angeles Ballet delivered a charming final performance of its “Giselle” adaptation by Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary of the original Coralli, Perrot, and Petipa choreography, starring seasoned principals Allyssa Bross as Giselle and Ulrik Birkkjaer as her lover Albrecht, Prince of Silesia.
Upon opening of the curtain, soft, golden lighting, designed by Ben Pilat, greets the audience as it shines through the leaves of a picturesque forest scene. The set, designed by Desmond Heeley and provided by The National Ballet of Canada, offers the warm atmosphere of late summer/early fall beauty that welcomes the character’s participation in and celebration of the grape harvest.
As is traditional in “Giselle,” the story and its characters introduce themselves through a collection of pantomimes. Through this method, the audience sees Albrecht’s showering of affection and flirtatious behavior on Giselle, which Bross and Birkkjaer convey with especially notable clarity and charm while offering a beautiful depiction of young love. Bross perfectly captures the necessary sweetness and innocence in her portrayal of Giselle’s initial refusals but ultimate acceptance of Albrecht’s advances and eventual proposal. The abrupt entrance of Hilarion, played by Alexander Castillo, gives a sharp jump in dramatic tension as Castillo dances a high energy, almost aggressive portrayal of Hilarion’s attempt to compete with Albrecht for Giselle’s heart. Hilarion’s very visible, very acute level of desperation in his pursuit of Giselle serves as an excellent choice in plot development by making Giselle’s refusal of his affection more justified.
Amidst Act 1’s progression into a variety of dances from the corps de ballet portraying the peasants’ harvest celebrations, Julia Cinquemani and Dustin True dance “Giselle”’s peasant pas de deux with a delightful lightness fitting of choreography largely based on jumps and turns. After it is revealed that Albrecht deceived Giselle and is engaged to another woman, Bross delivers an exemplary performance of Giselle’s shock, heartbreak, and dissolution into madness. Her portrayal of Giselle gave a highly charged, Ophelia-esque level of drama to the scene, complete with transitions to and from a feverish, crazed hysteria and a highly contrasting confused, stoic detachment. The intensity of this build-up gave the audience the appropriate level of suspense and pity as Giselle’s delusion progressed into her eventual death from heartbreak, which closes Act I with a striking, emotional response.
Act 2 sees a transformation into the eerie depth of the forest where the Wilis, ghosts of women jilted by their formers lovers, dwell and force men who cross their path to dance until death by exhaustion. The Queen of the Wilis, Myrtha, played by Kate Highstrete, excells at portraying the stoic solemnity of her position as a leader of lost souls.
As always, the raw, emotional adagio pas de deux between Albrecht and Giselle as a Will gives a beautiful juxtaposition to the airy petit allegro of the Act 1 peasant pas de deux. Bross and Birkkjaer give a praiseworthy performance in their pas, but the true highlight of Act 2 comes during the Wilis’ attempt to dance Albrecht to death. His rhythmic precision in executing the famous entrechat six combination well deserves the outburst of applause it received throughout the audience.
The performance was not without its little imperfections; some of the more challenging choreography was accompanied by small but visible wobbles, slight moments of disunity crept into the corps de ballet, and the height of the extensions, particularly within the iconic second act pas de deux, left a little to be desired. Nevertheless, the show was undoubtedly worth viewing and served as an excellent opening production for Los Angeles Ballet’s 10th season. As the second time Los Angeles Ballet has performed “Giselle,” one cannot help but applaud how the company has grown in size, resources, and skill and look forward to the company’s future, both within their 2015–2016 season and beyond.
“Giselle” ran through November 1st in various locations around L.A. For more information and ticket sales for the 2015–16 season, please visit www.losangelesballet.org.
Contact Staff Reporter Rachel Mathieu here.
