Marius Petipa's Giselle, after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot — Music by Adolphe Adam

The pastoral realism and fantastical imaginary worlds of the iconic French ballet Giselle come alive in designer Matali Crasset’s colorful staging at the Opéra National de Bordeaux. Composed by Adolphe Adam on a libretto by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Giselle recounts the tale of a young peasant girl who falls in love with Albrecht, a nobleman in disguise, but dies of heartbreak when she discovers her lover’s true identity. Now transported to the realm of the Wilis — the spirits of young, unmarried women — Giselle sets out to save Albrecht from his unusually morbid fate after the Queen of the Wilis condemns him to dance to his death.

Originally created by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, and later revised by the great Marius Petipa, the charming choreography is elegantly interpreted against an original backdrop of geometric wooden tree sculptures. Crasset’s staging is not just a pretty picture: the visual elements of her production represent two worlds coming together — the real and the fantastical, the low and high echelons of society from which Giselle and Albrecht respectively emerge. The conical form of the tutu, echoed in the shape of the tree’s branches, reminds us what lies at the heart of the ballet: dance, the source of both Albrecht’s death and his redemption.