Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (Ukraine)
Composer: Adolphe Charles Adam
Libretto: Théophile Gauthier, Jean Coralli, Henri de Saint-Georges
Choreography: Jean Coralli, Gilles Perrot, Marius Petipa
Editorial: Leonid Lavrovsky
Artist – stage director: Nadija Shvets
Dance, its connection with youth, love and death is the central theme of the romantic ballet “Giselle”. In this story, the mythical characters of the viles – spirits of deceived maidens found in Slavic folklore, who in revenge can betray boys they meet at night to their deaths – play an important role. In any case, this motif became a source of inspiration for the ballet libretto by the French romantic writer, poet and literary critic Théophile Gautier. The ballet “Giselle”, a collaboration between Théophile Gautier, librettist Jules Henri Saint-Georges, composer Adolphe Charles Adan, choreographers Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, is still widely performed in theatres around the world after its premiere in Paris in 1841. Adan’s distinctly romantic music creates vivid characteristics of the characters and subtly reflects their feelings and emotions. The ballet's plot is about the first love and betrayal of a fifteen-year-old, naive girl, Giselle, followed by madness and death, which leads to the enchantments of the terribly beautiful afterlife, but in the end, the victory of love over the doom of death. The value of the production is also in its choreography. The role of Giselle is a great challenge, which for many dancers is the highest peak of their classical repertoire career. Today, “Giselle” is most often seen in the version created at the end of the 19th century by Marius Petipa, the choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. It is airy, light and emotionally saturated. It is this version, edited by Leonid Lavrov, that is offered by the Kharkiv Ballet.
Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is one of the most outstanding and oldest Ukrainian musical theaters, working based on the best traditions of Ukrainian and world cultural heritage, whose history dates back to 1780.
Organized by SIA “Kurzemes filharmonija”, the event is supported by the Ventspils City Municipality.
Tickets for concerts can be purchased at "Biļešu Paradīze" sales points and on the internet.
