Japan’s national ballet company makes its European debut with its acclaimed production of Giselle by Miyako Yoshida, former Royal Ballet Principal and the company’s artistic director.
Seen for the first time outside of Japan, Miyako Yoshida's celebrated production of Giselle features a spectacular set by award-winning British designer Dick Bird, providing the perfect backdrop for this evergreen tale of love, betrayal, forgiveness and redemption.
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the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan / the Japan Arts Council
The peasant girl Giselle discovers the true aristocratic identity of her lover Albrecht – and that he is betrothed to another. In despair at the revelation, Giselle dies of heartbreak. Her spirit enters the realm of the Wilis – ghosts of women who were betrayed by their lovers and died before their wedding day. All men that come across their path are compelled to dance themselves to death. As Albrecht verges on meeting with the same fate, Giselle intervenes with her love from beyond the grave, saving Albrecht and releasing her own soul from the Wilis.
The National Ballet of Japan makes its European debut at the Royal Opera House with its acclaimed production of Giselle by the company’s artistic director Miyako Yoshida, the first Japanese ballerina to be made a Principal dancer in the history of The Royal Ballet. With staging and additional choreography by Alastair Marriott, the production features lighting by Rick Fisher and spectacular set by Dick Bird inspired by the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania, the backdrop for this evergreen tale of love, betrayal, forgiveness and redemption.
Resident at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, the national ballet company of Japan is the flagship institution of one of the world’s most vibrant ballet cultures. With 75 full-time dancers, the National Ballet of Japan performs three centuries of repertory from 19th century classics – in productions by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Roland Petit and Kenneth MacMillan – to contemporary works by Christopher Wheeldon, David Bintley and William Forsythe.
Marius Petipa after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot
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