Houston Ballet Presents the World Premiere of Stanton Welch's 'Giselle'

From June 9 - 19, 2016, Houston Ballet will conclude its 2015-16 season with the world premiere of artistic director Stanton Welch's "Giselle."

The world premiere of "Giselle" is made possible through the generosity of longtime Houston Ballet supporter and trustee Lynn Wyatt. This production will showcase the company's strength and depth of talent, while staying true to the original story of love, betrayal, and redemption, set in the Romantic era. The ballet is set to the famous score by Adolphe Adam and designed by renowned Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, who will create the scenery and costumes for the production.

This world premiere of "Giselle" would not be possible without the support of Lynn Wyatt, who is underwriting the production. The internationally renowned philanthropist has been a longtime supporter of Houston Ballet and has tirelessly championed the cultural importance of the arts in Houston. Her close relationship and appreciation of Mr. Welch's new works made her support for "Giselle" a natural fit.

"I am so happy to support the creation of a new 'Giselle' for Houston Ballet," comments Ms. Wyatt. "As a passionate lover of the arts, I know how important it is that we keep striving to create new works that elevate the status of the company and keep our dancers challenged and engaged. I know Stanton will create a beautiful version of 'Giselle' that will remain in the company's repertoire for years to come."

"Lynn is one of the first people I met when I arrived in Houston to take the position of Artistic Director. We instantly became friends and, since then, she's been instrumental in always making me feel supported, loved and a part of Houston. 'Giselle' is my latest, and last, of the great classics left for me to choreograph for Houston Ballet and it is an honor to have my dear friend Lynn support this new production and join me on this new creation," states Mr. Welch. "I'm thrilled that she has chosen to support this particular timeless ballet that is so special to the history of Houston Ballet."

Originally choreographed by Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli to a commissioned score by Adolphe Adam, "Giselle" had its premiere in Paris on June 28, 1841. The ballet has impacted ballet companies across the world, and Houston Ballet is no exception, with "Giselle" playing a seminal role in the history of the company. "Giselle" was the first full-length classic that Houston Ballet Foundation staged in 1967, featuring superstar Carla Fracci, a legendary Giselle of the era, and Erik Bruhn, one of the world's most heroic danseur nobles, in a production supported by student dancers from Houston Ballet's Academy and from other area dance schools.

The production was a success and inspired Houston balletomanes to launch a major fund drive. By 1968, the foundation gave the go-ahead for the creation of a professional company. In May 1969, the sixteen dancers of Houston Ballet's professional company gave their first Houston performance at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts.

Mr. Welch has had enormous success in staging new full-length works. His ability to reinterpret the classics by staying true to the original intent of a ballet, while expanding the storyline and showcasing the depth and talent of a company's dancers is a particular strength of his. For Houston Ballet he created stunning new versions of "Swan Lake" (2006), "La Bayad�re" (2010), and "Romeo and Juliet" (2015), as well as creating the original full-length ballets "Tales of Texas" (2004), and "Marie" (2009).

For "Giselle," Mr. Welch has breathed new life into the ballet by restoring nearly the full original score. Many ballet companies edit and rearrange ballet scores, losing passages and whole phrases of music to suit a production's needs. For Mr. Welch, the importance of the original intent of the music was integral to the creation of the ballet. With the help of Houston Ballet Music Director Ermanno Florio, the production uses almost the entirety of Mr. Adam's original score.

"Since the premiere of 'Giselle' there have been several re-orchestrations to the score. From a musical standpoint, we have restored the ballet score to be as faithful as possible to the original intent of the composer," said Mr. Florio. "This orchestration will sound very delicate and refined, and it has a much more subtle sound."

To further update this romantic classic, Mr. Welch conceived of the idea to link the two acts of the ballet, foreshadowing the descent into Act II from the very beginning of the ballet. In Act I audience members will be able to catch glimpses of the Wilis in the windows of the village houses. In addition, the backdrop for Act I features a distant glimpse of the forest which is the setting for Act II. These innovative changes provide a more cohesive storyline for theatergoers.

Acclaimed designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno will return to Houston to create the sets and costumes for "Giselle." Ms. Guidi di Bagno previously collaborated with Mr. Welch on two of his productions for Royal Danish Ballet: "�nsket" ("The Wish") (1998) and "Ander" ("The Ghost") (1999), and most recently created the lavish and spectacular costumes for his Houston Ballet production "Romeo and Juliet" (2015).

Born in Rome, Roberta Guidi di Bagno enjoys an international reputation as a set and costume designer. She created scenery and costumes for John Cranko's Onegin for Teatro alla Scala, and her designs were later taken into the repertoires of Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Col�n Buenos Aires and Op�ra de Nice. For English National Ballet, she created designs for two new productions by Derek Deane: Romeo and Juliet (1998) and The Sleeping Beauty (2000), both performed at The Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2000, she also created new sets and costumes for Ronald Hynd's productions of "The Nutcracker" for Teatro alla Scala and Copp�lia for Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 1996, Ms. Guidi di Bagno was commissioned to create new sets and costumes for Mr. Hynd's "The Merry Widow" for Teatro alla Scala, which was restaged in Seattle by the Pacific Northwest Ballet and by Houston Ballet.

The Story of "Giselle"

In "Giselle," Prince Albrecht disguises himself as a peasant in order to court Giselle, a beautiful young village girl. Unaware of Albrecht's noble birth, Giselle falls in love with him. A hunting party stops for refreshments at the house where Giselle and her mother Berthe live. The party includes the Duke of Courland and his beautiful daughter Bathilde, to whom Albrecht is already engaged. Upon meeting Giselle, Bathilde, unaware that they are in love with the same man, is enchanted by her youthful innocence. They fall into conversation and Giselle tells the Princess that she is engaged to marry. Bathilde gives her a beautiful gold necklace. Hilarion, the village gamekeeper who is deeply in love with Giselle and is very jealous of Albrecht, discovers Albrecht's disguise and true identity. When Hilarion reveals this, Giselle becomes so distraught that she loses her reason. Uncontrollable and inconsolable, Giselle attempts to kill herself with Albrecht's sword, hears the Wilis summoning her, and dies in her mother's arms.

At the beginning of the second act, Hilarion goes to mourn at Giselle's grave. She has been buried deep in the forest and has become one of the Wilis, the ghostly apparitions of girls who were betrayed by their lovers and died on the eve of their weddings. They avenge themselves by dancing to his death any man passing by during the night. Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, summons the maidens and they force Hilarion to dance until he dies. When Albrecht, now full of remorse, comes to mourn at Giselle's grave, the Queen commands Giselle to rise from her grave and entice him to dance. Giselle is obliged to obey the Queen and dances with Albrecht through the night. She still loves him despite his betrayal, and manages to keep him alive until daybreak. With the arrival of dawn, Giselle and the other Wilis lose their power and vanish. From beyond the grave, the power of Giselle's selfless love has saved Albrecht's life.