Agathe Poupeney / OnP

Ballet

Giselle

Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot

Palais Garnier

from 02 May to 01 June 2024

from 150 € to 170 €

2h10 with 1 interval

Giselle

Palais Garnier - from 02 May to 01 June 2024

Synopsis

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Diaphanous tutus, pointe shoes, white gauze, tulle: Giselle marks the pinnacle of romanticism. In a bucolic landscape, a young girl dies of love and is transformed into a spirit that haunts the forest. Taken in by the Wilis, she enters an ethereal world where dance is the language of the soul. Her lover Albrecht, distraught, pursues this ghost at the risk of his life. The ballerinas, with their aerial presence, defy him just as they do gravity. The mist-shrouded set reveals spectral visions enhanced by Adolphe Adam’s bewitching score. Premiered at the Royal Academy of Music on 28 June 1841, the ballet travelled to Russia and disappeared from the repertoire before its return to France in 1910. Today, in Patrice Bart and Eugène Polyakov’s version, faithful to the original choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, the ballet continues to offer us its magic.

Duration : 2h10 with 1 interval

  • Opening

  • First Part 55 min

  • Intermission 20 min

  • Second Part 55 min

  • End

Show acts and characters

CHARACTERS

Giselle: A young peasant girl. She falls in love with Loys, who turns out to be Duke Albrecht. Consumed by madness, she dies of a broken heart at the end of Act I.
Albrecht: Duke of Silesia. Already betrothed to Princess Bathilde, he seduces Giselle during the harvest season.
Myrtha: Queen of the Wilis, spirits of young maidens who have died before their wedding day. At night, they lure men into a deadly dance.
Hilarion: The village gamekeeper who is in love with Giselle. He reveals Albrecht’s true identity then dies, punished by the Wilis.

Act 1:
A village in the midst of celebrations
Giselle, a pretty village girl, has fallen in love with a handsome young man who comes from elsewhere. She knows nothing about him. He says his name is Loys. However, Hilarion the gamekeeper, whose shrewdness is made all the sharper by jealousy, suspects that he is a nobleman. Everyone is swept up in the dance. Waltz

Giselle’s mother worries that her daughter’s fragile health will not withstand her passion for dancing and, recounting the fate of the wretched Wilis – maidens who having died before their wedding day are condemned to dance every night until dawn – fears a similar end for her daughter. Giselle laughs off her mother’s concerns and continues dancing with the handsome young man. She is crowned queen of the festivities.

The Peasants’ pas de deux (also known as “the Harversters’ pas-de-deux”)

The Prince of Courland happens to pass through the village with his entourage. He stops in front of Giselle’s house and asks for something to drink. His daughter, Princess Bathilde, is engaged to Albrecht, Duke of Silesia, who is none other than… the young man whom Hilarion has just unmasked, having discovered the coat of arms on the sword of his rival. Giselle – shocked by the revelation – loses her mind and dies.

Act 2:
The forest at midnight: a tombstone topped with a cross.
Several white shades suddenly streak furtively by, then return. Who are these ethereal creatures? They are the Wilis, the souls of young maidens abandoned by faithless lovers. They reap their revenge luring young men to their death by night in the world of shadows. Myrtha, their queen, gathers them together to welcome a new companion into their midst: Giselle appears, shrouded in a deathly pale veil.

Dance of the Wilis

Albrecht arrives to place flowers on Giselle’s grave. He sees the ghostly-white vision of his beloved floating above him and tries to catch hold of her, but the apparition continually escapes his grasp. Finally, it flees. Entranced, he follows her. The foolhardy Hilarion arrives and the Wilis lead him into a feverish yet fatal dance: he is their first victim of the night. Albrecht is set to suffer the same fate.

Giselle implores Myrtha and the other Wilis to show clemency but they remain inflexible. Condemned to dance until exhaustion, Albrecht finds support in Giselle’s love: momentarily united, they dance desperately. Soon, the first light of day forces the ghosts to flee. Giselle, in turn disappears, leaving Albrecht to real life.

Artists

Ballet en deux actes (1841)

Creative team

The Étoiles, the Premières Danseuses, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet
Marianela Núñez, Principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, will be performing the role of Giselle on May 25th and 27th, 2024.

The Paris Opera Orchestra

Media

  • [TRAILER] GISELLE by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot
  • [TRAILER] GISELLE by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot

Press

  • A lavishly danced romantic choreography.

    Le Figaro, 2019
  • At the Palais Garnier, an ardent company takes «Giselle» to the top.

    Le Monde, 2019
  • There is a "Giselle" miracle: you never tire of this ultimate romantic ballet.

    Les Échos, 2016
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Giselle

Watch online the recording from season 19/20 on Paris Opera Play, with Dorothée Gilbert, Mathieu Ganio, Valentine Colasante...

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Access and services

Palais Garnier

Place de l'Opéra

75009 Paris

Public transport

Underground Opéra (lignes 3, 7 et 8), Chaussée d’Antin (lignes 7 et 9), Madeleine (lignes 8 et 14), Auber (RER A)

Bus 20, 21, 27, 29, 32, 45, 52, 66, 68, 95, N15, N16

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Car park

Q-Park Edouard VII16 16, rue Bruno Coquatrix 75009 Paris

Book your parking spot
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Imagined as benchmark, richly illustrated booklets, the programmes can be bought online, at the box offices, in our shops, and in the theatres hall on the evening of the performance.

BUY THE PROGRAM
  • Cloakrooms

    Free cloakrooms are at your disposal. The comprehensive list of prohibited items is available here.

  • Bars

    Reservation of drinks and light refreshments for the intervals is possible online up to 24 hours prior to your visit, or at the bars before each performance.

  • Restaurant

    CoCo is open every day from 12:00 pm to 2:00 am. More information on coco-paris.com or at +33 1 42 68 86 80 (reservations).

  • Parking

    You can park your car at the Q-Park Edouard VII. It is located at Rue Bruno Coquatrix 75009 Paris (in front of 23 Rue de Caumartin).

    BOOK YOUR PARKING PLACE.

At the Palais Garnier, Cat. 6 tickets (very restricted view, with a maximum of two tickets per person) are released for €10 on the day of the performance at the Palais Garnier box office.

At the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille, discounted tickets are released starting 30 minutes before the performance:

  • €10, €25 and €35 tickets for under 28s, unemployed people (you will be asked for proof dated three months or less), 65+ senior citizens not subject to tax (you will be asked for proof of non-taxation for the current fiscal year)
  • €15, €40 and €70 tickets for 65+ senior citizens

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Palais Garnier
  • Every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and until performances end
  • Get in from Place de l’Opéra or from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 53 43 03 97
Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

Palais Garnier

Place de l'Opéra

75009 Paris

Public transport

Underground Opéra (lignes 3, 7 et 8), Chaussée d’Antin (lignes 7 et 9), Madeleine (lignes 8 et 14), Auber (RER A)

Bus 20, 21, 27, 29, 32, 45, 52, 66, 68, 95, N15, N16

Calculate my route
Car park

Q-Park Edouard VII16 16, rue Bruno Coquatrix 75009 Paris

Book your parking spot
super alt text

Imagined as benchmark, richly illustrated booklets, the programmes can be bought online, at the box offices, in our shops, and in the theatres hall on the evening of the performance.

BUY THE PROGRAM
  • Cloakrooms

    Free cloakrooms are at your disposal. The comprehensive list of prohibited items is available here.

  • Bars

    Reservation of drinks and light refreshments for the intervals is possible online up to 24 hours prior to your visit, or at the bars before each performance.

  • Restaurant

    CoCo is open every day from 12:00 pm to 2:00 am. More information on coco-paris.com or at +33 1 42 68 86 80 (reservations).

  • Parking

    You can park your car at the Q-Park Edouard VII. It is located at Rue Bruno Coquatrix 75009 Paris (in front of 23 Rue de Caumartin).

    BOOK YOUR PARKING PLACE.

At the Palais Garnier, Cat. 6 tickets (very restricted view, with a maximum of two tickets per person) are released for €10 on the day of the performance at the Palais Garnier box office.

At the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille, discounted tickets are released starting 30 minutes before the performance:

  • €10, €25 and €35 tickets for under 28s, unemployed people (you will be asked for proof dated three months or less), 65+ senior citizens not subject to tax (you will be asked for proof of non-taxation for the current fiscal year)
  • €15, €40 and €70 tickets for 65+ senior citizens

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Palais Garnier
  • Every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and until performances end
  • Get in from Place de l’Opéra or from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 53 43 03 97
Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

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Giselle

Giselle: the true/false story

Ha, Giselle! The quintessence of romantic ballet… How well do you really know the story?

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