Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal

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2009 - 2010 SEASON INVITED COMPANYNational Ballet of Cuba TYPEClassical CHOREOGRAPHYAlicia Alonso, inspired by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot MUSICAdam

Giselle

By The National Ballet of Cuba

Giselle

Dancers and choreographers have found inspiration in Giselle for more than 150 years. Giselle, an innocent country girl, is seduced by Albrecht, a prince who conceals both his rank and his betrothal to another woman. When Hilarion, a local huntsman who secretly loves Giselle, reveals the prince's identity, Giselle goes mad and dies. Albrecht and Hilarion visit her resting place in a forest haunted by the Wilis - young women who died of broken hearts after their fiancés abandoned them on their wedding day. The merciless Queen Myrtha, who reigns over the Wilis, condemns the men to dance until they die of exhaustion. Giselle appears from the grave as a Wili in the hope that her eternal love for Albrecht will save him from the queen's death sentence. Albrecht is saved only when dawn breaks, forcing the Wilis to return to their graves.

Alicia Alonso staged Giselle in 1948, following the original 1841 choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot to the music of Adolphe Adam. The story by Théophile Gautier, Vernoy de St. Georges and Coralli was inspired by Heinrich Heine's tale based on a popular German legend.

The National Ballet of Cuba's association with Giselle began even before Alicia Alonso founded the company in 1948.  Madame Alonso, then with the American Ballet Theatre, was called on unexpectedly to perform the title role for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 2, 1943. Her performance followed a period of convalescence during which she was able to rehearse the steps only in her mind. Her Giselle became the standard by which the role was judged, especially Act Two, in which the betrayed country girl becomes an otherwordly spirit and "dancing soul", performing as though weightless. On a historical note, Madame Alonso interpreted Giselle in Anton Dolin's staging at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in 1967 with Azari Plisetski as Albrecht. The two appeared as guest artists of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Nine years earlier, she had left New York to take up permanent residence in her native Cuba. A number of her admirers from New York came to Montréal just to see the "prima ballerina assoluta" perform again.

Madame Alonso's choreography for Giselle achieves a new poetic dimension. The story narrative is tightly linked with the choreography so that the two acts meld dramatically in a homogeneous style. Although Madame Alonso kept the principal roles largely intact, she made substantial changes to the choreography of the corps de ballet.

Madame Alonso's version of Giselle along with her interpretation of the title role was awarded the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris in 1966. Her version entered the repertory of the Teatro Colón ballet in Buenos Aires in 1958, the Ballet del Teatro de Bellas Artes de Mexico in 1976, the Vienna Opera Ballet in 1980, the Ballet of the San Carlo Theatre of Naples in 1981 and the Slovak National Ballet in 1989. From 1972 to 1986, it was the version performed at the Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris.

The National Ballet of Cuba

One of the best dance companies on the international scene, the National Ballet of Cuba has achieved legendary fame. From the outset, it has embraced the classical ballet repertory as well as contemporary creative trends while at the same time maintaining its Hispanic-American culture. The company's repertory includes the great classic ballets (Coppelia, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty), works from Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (Petroushka, Afternoon of a Faun), works by George Balanchine and creations of young Cuban and foreign choreographers. The National Ballet of Cuba's school, which opened in 1950, is a breeding ground for young talent. The company has also made numerous tours in Europe, Asia and North America.