Helgi Tommason's beautiful Giselle

A tragic tale of love and betrayal set to a haunting score by Adolphe Adams with choreography by Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa, Jules Perrot, and Jean Coralli, Giselle's bittersweet beauty tells the story of a young peasant girl, and the new life she discovers after a fatal case of heartbreak. Evocative, alluring, and seductive, this 1841 ballet remains as timeless as ever at every performance.

What is the story

Giselle is a beautiful and gentle peasant girl who is pursued by a nobleman, disguised as a peasant himself. But the nobleman finds himself a rival for her affections however in the form of Hilarion, a fellow villager who is suspicious of him. He has good reason to be distrustful; the nobleman is betrothed to marry another. This comes to light during a brawl between her two suitors, during which Giselle dies of a heart attack. 

The titular damsel then joins a group of ghostly brides, who all perished before being married to their loves...her nobleman is devastated and tries to kill himself - but can Giselle's spirit and enduring love save him?