Giselle – The Exciting Ballet, a Mirror of the Romantic Era by Ronit Gruman

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. It was the time of faith, it was the time of skepticism. It was the days of light, it was the days of darkness. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. Everything was possible, nothing was impossible between two cities." 1859, Charles Dickens

This quote poetically describes the atmosphere of the “Romantic Period” (1789 – 1848). What is the reason for the feeling of insecurity and instability? A sequence of formative events: French Revolution The Napoleonic Wars and the Industrial Revolution shook the foundations of European society and changed its face beyond recognition. In art (literature, music, visual arts), the Romantic movement dominated, expressing the artist's feelings, pain, and even personal protest in relation to events affecting him in his daily life.

Art offered an escape from the problems of poverty, weakening faith, and loss of connection with nature through escape into the imaginary world of folk tales, fantasies, color, and perfect love. The emphasis was on emotion, creativity, and spontaneity.

The Golden Age of Romantic Ballet of the 19th Century

Romanticism is considered the most important influence on ballet in the 19th century, although it came to ballet later than to other arts. Literature had an important influence on the art of ballet during this period. The narratives of the new ballet works abandoned the clear framework of the three unities (unity of time, unity of place and unity of plot), abandoned the mythological heroes and preferred other subjects: simple village girls, Indian bayanettes, sensual flamenco dancers or, alternatively, fairies, nymphs and a host of mysterious and supernatural figures.

In the 19th century, ballet became a professional and independent art form, separate from the opera and theater that it had accompanied until then. Ballet became an art form capable of conveying a story and a message, without the need for additional verbal art. Ballet began to “speak” through body language. In the 17th century, men absolutely dominated ballet.

A woman appearing on stage was considered inappropriate. Women's roles were played by men. During the 18th century, the status of the female dancer increased, until in the 19th century, the tables were turned and the man vacated the center of the stage for the woman. The male dancer played a down-to-earth, unmysterious character, whose main role was to support and present the ballerina.

Romantic ballet undoubtedly belongs to the ballerina, who was considered a symbol of femininity, grace and mystery. The ballerina was an inhabitant of a world far from reality and family life, living in misty lakes and mysterious clearings. The gas lamps, under which the dancers appeared on the theater stage, created an effect of mystery and confusion that ignited the viewer's imagination.

In order to emphasize the woman's unearthly character, a pointe shoe technique was developed that created the illusion of levitation. The costume, too, underwent a radical change – from heavy, dark clothing that restricted movement to clothes made of light and flexible tulle. The corset became softer and more flexible, to allow for chest movement. The change in clothing and shoes led to the opening of virtuosity. The vibrating and floating ballerina was the personification of longing, the theme and object of the new romantic ballet.

The image of the ballerina as a different creature, the embodiment of beauty, passion and diversity did not fade with the end of the Romantic period. This image continues to exist today despite the great changes in taste. The ballerina today is different from the Romantic. She is more polished, faster, longer-legged, more acrobatic and flexible. Despite all the changes that have occurred since then, the identifying marks of the ballerina have remained to this day: a long or short tutu skirt and soft or hard pointe shoes.

The ballet Giselle

The lyricist, Théophile Gautier, drew his ideas from the German poet Heinrich Heine's book "Germany" and from the poem "The Victor Hugo “FANTOMES.” Gautier was a writer, poet, publicist, travel writer, amateur painter, and professional art critic. He left his mark on the bohemian circles of Paris, and quickly became one of the city’s tone-setters.

His friend Baudelaire He called Gautier “the rabbi of French literature” and dedicated his book of poems “The Flowers of Evil” to him. Just as the character of Victor Hugo marked the beginning of the era of melodrama in theater, so Gautier’s witty and opinionated character is identified with the sadism of romantic ballet in France.
Adolf Adam, a prolific composer of opera and ballet, composed wonderful music.

Jean Coralli and Gilles Perrot created the choreography. The role of Giselle was intended for Carlotta Grisi. She was an Italian ballet dancer and is particularly known for her performance in this ballet.

The plot story

Act I

The story takes place in a region beyond the Rhine, in a corner of Germany: hills laden with crimson, golden vines, ripened and sweetened by the autumn sun. High on a gray, desolate cliff, looms like an eagle's nest, the ducal palace. There lives Albrecht, the young duke.

In the foreground is a cabin half-hidden in the foliage, Giselle's cabin. Giselle, a country girl, differs from the other village girls in her physical and mental delicacy and her intense eagerness to dance. Her great desire to dance and her drifting into it to the point of losing consciousness alarm her mother and arouse fear for her future. But Giselle does not listen to her mother's voice, whom she appeases with gentle hugs. What fifteen-year-old girl would give up all her happiness?! Dancing and her love for Louis.

Louis is a new hunter in the village. Giselle is in love with him with all her heart. But Louis is not at all who he seems. Louis is the young Duke Albrecht. To win Giselle's heart, the Duke disguised himself as a peasant, but he is actually a nobleman engaged to a woman of his rank. The happiness of the lovers wounds the jealous heart of Hilarion. Hilarion, the village gamekeeper, is in love with Giselle and his desire is fierce to harm Louis, his rival. He breaks into the hut where Louis lives and discovers his sword and knightly decorations that reveal his true status.

The maidens return from the vineyards and hold a celebration in which Giselle, crowned queen, participates most of all. The joy is immense when Hilarion appears, wearing a ducal cape, sword, and knightly decorations found in Louis's hut. There is no longer any doubt that Louis is nothing more than an impostor who wanted to play on Giselle's innocence.

Giselle understands her disaster. Her mind is consumed by pain and sorrow: her heart is pounding, her head is lost, her legs are shaking. Soon her strength is gone. She staggers, picks up Albrecht's sword and almost falls to the ground if Albrecht does not snatch the weapon from her. But the stab of the sword has already done its job: it has pierced Giselle's heart and she falls and dies.

Intense love, jealousy, betrayal, madness...the plot revolves around intense emotions, as befits the romantic period.

Act two

A forest at the edge of the lake. The silvery moon scatters a trail of bright sequins across the water. The flowers exude an intoxicating fragrance. A hot, sensual air swirls in a thick, humid darkness. At the foot of a weeping willow is the cross that symbolizes Giselle's grave.

But the place is dangerous and dark, haunted by hooligans. Hooligans are young, betrayed maidens who died before their wedding day of a broken heart. Hooligans who cannot rest in their graves rise at midnight, gather in groups at crossroads, and as revenge, force a young man who meets them to dance until they lose their strength and die.

Mirtha, the Queen of the Viols, announces that tonight a new spirit of Giselle will be welcomed into the ranks of the Viols. And indeed, a stiff and pale Giselle suddenly emerges from the grave at the call of Mirtha the Queen.

Her eyes are closed and her arms are crossed on her chest. At Mirtha's command, she slowly walks towards her. When Mirtha removes the veil from her face, Giselle opens her eyes. The queen orders her to dance. She performs rapid twirls. Her character undergoes a kind of metamorphosis. Externally, she looks like the other waltzes, but she is different from them. She is not filled with bitterness and hatred towards the man she loved even though he brought about her death.

A young man approaches, mad with grief, his eyes filled with tears. This is Albrecht, who has escaped from his servants to visit the grave of his beloved. The courtesans demand that Giselle dance with him to death. Giselle's pleas to save him fall on deaf ears. Albrecht whirls, leaps...the madness he indulges in is imbued with a hidden desire to die with his beloved.

But the ringing of the church bells indicates morning. A pale streak appears on the edge of the horizon. This is the day, this is the sun, this is salvation and farewell. The waltzes disappear. Heavenly happiness shines in Giselle's eyes. Her beloved will not die. The danger is over. The waltzes die, fade and disappear. Giselle herself is drawn to her grave. Albrecht, despairing, grabs her, carries her to her grave. The earth opens up, the flowers bend down and cover Giselle. The young man kneels by the grave. Everything is over. The connection between the lovers is severed forever. Albrecht is left alone, immersed in his grief.

The thrilling second act, “The White Ballet,” is one of the highlights of romantic ballet.

Giselle – the Hamlet of the Dancers

In the last scene of the first act, Giselle's mind is consumed by grief and pain. As she sinks into her pain, her movements become less stylized. In this scene, madness and suicide are carefully treated. Madness is conveyed through symbols such as her hair falling out, a whirling dance creating the impression of loss of consciousness, the freezing of the audience around Giselle, and the music losing its orderly sentences and becoming turbulent. In the madness and suicide scene, there is a delicate balance between mundane movements and the beauty of romantic ballet.

Suicide is a human phenomenon that crosses cultures and periods, and its essence contradicts our accepted perceptions of the human desire for life. In the Romantic period, the ideal of a torn and conflicted soul, putting an end to a life full of suffering, dominated (for example, in Goethe's novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther")/ Did Giselle commit suicide or die of a broken heart? A thorough study of the text does not provide a clear answer...

The current version of Giselle was adapted by Marius Petipa for the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg. In Tsarist Russia, it was forbidden to perform suicide on stage.

The role of Giselle has a wide range of movement qualities. In the first scenes she is cheerful and lively. There are sections where she is soft and romantic, painful and full of sorrow and sections full of storm and madness. In the second act she is characterized by light, soft, delicate and airy movement, as she becomes a creature from another world. There is no doubt that the role of Giselle requires an excellent dancer with a variety of skills and rich expressiveness. The role has been called “the Hamlet of ballet”. Every dancer’s ambition is to perform this complex role.

“Giselle” was first performed in Paris in 1841 and was a huge success. The ballet is, to this day, an integral part of the repertoire of all classical ballet companies.

A few words about Ronit Gruman

Although her educational background (mathematical and physical major in high school, undergraduate degree in biology, master's degree in educational administration) is far from culture, France, it is precisely this subject that has occupied and continues to occupy her all these years. The main reason for this is that her late mother was a devoted Francophile and she absorbed a love for French culture from her childhood. In recent years, Ronit has returned to another youthful love: dance. This love also originates from her childhood, as she danced classical ballet for 10 years.