Giselle! It’s hard to think of, let alone write, without an exclamation point. When you add my birthday, celebrating in Copenhagen and tickets to the Royal Danish Ballet to the mix, I know I’m in for a real treat.
We are on summer holidays. Currently in Copenhagen in between cruises of the Baltic and the Norwegian Fjords, life does not really get much better than this. What is more, my husband has arranged tickets to Giselle as part of birthday season (four of us fall within a week). Tonight, it is just mum & I out for celebrations.
We have been out discovering Copenhagen for the day and now we have cleaned up, changed and are out for the night. The ballet is on at the Royal Danish Theatre, the beautiful Old Stage as the building is referred to was built in 1874. We have walked past this building several times during the time we have spent discovering this fascinating city, however it is something rather special to be attending a performance here.
A masterpiece of classical romantic ballet, Giselle tells the story of a beautiful and trusting peasant girl who innocently falls for the philandering nobleman, the disguised Count who observes and flirts with her in the woods.
When Giselle discovers that he is neither the nobleman she thinks but actually the prince of the land who is already engaged, she goes mad and at the first scene ends with her dying of heartbreak.
Giselle, buried deep in the forest becomes a ghostly apparition, a wili, and joins other wilis, girls who have died from their lovers betrayals. They haunt the forest and lure travelers to dance with them until the travelers die of exhaustion before dawn.
Count Albrecht comes to mourn Giselle and is tempted by the dance of the wilis whereby the Queen wili entices him to stay through the night. Despite the betrayal however, Giselle still loves him and helps him to stay alive until the dawn, thereby rescuing him from death. Giselle vanishes with the dawn and Albrecht is alive but knows he must live on with his sorrow and remorse.
As the music swells in the opening act, Queen Margarethe arrives and seats herself in the Queen’s box and it really is a night at the royal ballet. The set design, the costumes, the dancing and the orchestra are flawless and in such a beautiful setting, it all makes for a magical night.
Would I Return?
Yes. A night at the theatre is always a pleasing experience, however, such a first class production in such a spectacular setting is hard to beat. Truly an experience fit for a Queen.
