She’s one of the most enduringly popular figures of classical ballet: Giselle, the deceived young peasant girl with a pure heart.
The role of Giselle was one of the most defining ones for Miyako Yoshida as a ballerina. Now, in her fifth year as the artistic director of the National Ballet of Japan (NBJ), Yoshida takes her original production of “Giselle” to London for what will be NBJ’s first official tour in the United Kingdom. Although the ballet company has performed internationally before by invitation (in 2008 in New York for a special Japan Festival and in 2009 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia), it is the first time it has initiated its own tour, financially backed by the Kinoshita Group and supported by The Royal Opera House in London.
First performed in Paris in 1841 with music composed by Adolphe Adam and choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, “Giselle” tells the story of tragic betrayal and transcendent compassion. When Giselle’s lover, huntsman Albrecht, turns out to be a nobleman in disguise and betrothed to another, the shock plummets the girl into madness and then death. Overcome by remorse, Albrecht visits her grave but is tormented by the Wilis, vengeful spirits of unwed maidens, determined to punish him.
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