Giselle (French: Giselle ou les
Wilis) is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de
Saint-Georges and Theophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by
Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem
by Heinrich Heine. The ballet tells the story of a lovely peasant girl named
Giselle who has a passion for dancing, and when she finds out the man she loves
is engaged to someone else she dies of a broken heart.
Libretto: Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Theophile Gautier and
Jean Coralli World premiere: 28 June 1841, Theatre de
l’Academie Royal de Musique, Paris Premiere in St
Petersburg: 18 December 1842, Bolshoi Theatre Premiere
Marius Petipa’s version: 5 February 1884, Bolshoi Theatre,
St’Petersburg