Vietnamese artists to perform Giselle ballet in August

Vietnam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) will entertain audiences in Hanoi next month with the ballet "Giselle," one of the world's top 10 most famous ballets.

The ballet Giselle will be performed at the Hanoi Opera House on August 2 and 3 at 8 pm. Photo: VNOB

Giselle is considered one of the most extraordinary ballets ever written by French dramatist and novelist Theophile Gautier and playwright Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges to music by composer Adolphe Adam, and was first performed in France in 1841.

The ballet conveys the message of love and forgiveness, whose power can dissolve all the grudges and hatreds of human beings.

One of the most interesting factors that make Giselle ballet outstanding is its extremely contrasting structure of two acts.

The first takes place in a medieval village in southern Germany at harvest time. Giselle is a shy, innocent girl who is likely to be chosen as the harvest queen.

The second act, however, takes place in an afterlife after Giselle's death. It is almost devoid of scenery, instead being a visual world of drifting fog and menacing ghosts eager to recruit Giselle into their company.

The ballet Giselle is the creative crystallization of choreographer Jean Corali and composer Adolphe Adam.

In the Vietnamese version, which will be performed by artists from the VNOB, Giselle will be danced by Thu Hang and Albert by Duc Hieu. Meanwhile, other roles will be performed by talented young artists who will hopefully bring a fresh breeze to the ballet.

The performance will also feature elite artists such as Phan Luong, Nhu Quynh and Ngoc Can, as well as talented young dancers such as Lan Nhi, Khanh Bang and Lan Chi.

Through the performance, VNOB hopes to give the audience a real feeling of classical ballet technique and the artists' acting skills. The ballet can partly meet the public's increasingly demanding expectations in enjoying the arts.