Giselle by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, music by Adolphe Adam

The ballet was in fact a reworking by its choreographer, Mikhail Fokine, who several years earlier had created Chopiniana, his hommage to the Romantic ballets of the past. The work does not have a story – as Karsavina says in the introduction, it is a 'Romantic reverie'. The only male dancer (John Field in this recording) plays the role of a Poet. The corps de ballet and the three female soloists, Alicia Markova, Violetta Elvin and Svetlana Beriosova, have strong links with the Ballets russes and Russia.