REVIEWS

The Australian Ballet

GISELLE

ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE AUGUST

A monument to poetry and beauty.

GISELLE. Not for nothing is it known in Russia as the “holy ballet”. Audiences and dancers are repeatedly drawn back to its transcendent poeticism, its endless nuances of characterisation, and the revelations it promises in the hands of its interpreters.

Maina Gielgud’s production of Giselle has been a well loved staple of The Australian Ballet’s repertoire since 1986. The sets are honestly traditional in the best sense, as are the costumes, Giselle’s pale yellow dress with its brown bodice reproducing the colours of the original costume of the first Giselle (Carlotta Grisi) back in 1841.

Adam’s score, a great innovation in its day with its use of leitmotifs and the fact that it was specifically composed for the ballet, is still hauntingly beautiful, and was brought to life with great musicality and subtle nuance by guest conductor Simon Hewett.

What stood out on the night was the attention to detail, both in the acting, and in the reproduction of the Romantic style of dance. There was a sense that the dancers, from the principals right through to the villagers, all had an integral part in the unfolding drama. The attention to detail extended to mime, which was convincingly executed throughout. The other thing that impressed was the dancers’ level of musicality. Underpinning it all was a belief in poetry and in beauty of feeling and image.