Adam: Giselle - Live from the Opera National de Paris (2006) [Blu-ray]

Giselle is the classical ballet, which, with all its splendour and grace, is generally regarded as the apotheosis of the Romantic ballet. The performance recorded on this DVD is based on the version performed at the Paris Opéra in 1991, which is in turn based on the St Petersburg version and was choreographed by Patrice Bart and Eugène Polyakov, two out-and-out Petipa specialists. The scenery is the work of Alexandre Benois from 1924; originally designed for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, it heralded the re-emergence on Western programmes of the long absent Giselle and to this day it remains the benchmark for traditionalist stagings of this ballet.
The production was marked by an all-stars cast: Laëtitia Pujol dances the title role, combining her fl awless technical skill with a fully developed sense of grace. Nicolas Le Riche, one of international ballet’s most respected stars, created her male counterpart. Le Riche has been a member of the company since 1988 and is famous all over the world for his elegant strength, the beauty of his expression and the musicality of his movements. Marie-Agnès Gillot creates Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis and Wilfried Romoli is the young man Hilarion who truly loves Giselle.