Bolshoi's Giselle provides romantic highlight of festival

The performances are one of the highlights of the 6th Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

In their second performance of the festival, following the widely acclaimed Divertissement ballet gala on Monday night, the breathtaking Bolshoi Ballet entranced as they took to the stage. The audience was enthralled by the graceful elegance of the ballerinas, stunning costumes and the soaring music of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra,

The Bolshoi Ballet performed a modern interpretation of the Giselle ballet by Bolshoi choreographer, Yuri Grigorovich, who is considered to be the greatest ballet choreographer in the world today. The Bolshoi Ballet was last night accompanied by the renowned Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra.

The music for Giselle was composed by Frenchman, Adolphe Adam, who was a prolific writer for the stage. He composed 39 operas and 14 ballets, with Giselle considered to be his greatest work. The ballet was first staged in Paris in 1841 and has been described as "having perfected the romantic formula in ballet".

Act 1 of Giselle sees Albrecht, the young Duke of Silesia, living in disguise in the forest as a peasant (calling himself Loys). In the cottage opposite lives Giselle, a seamstress passionate about dancing and the two have fallen in love. Hans, who is also in love with Giselle, is deeply suspicious of Loys. When a royal hunting party arrives in the village, Giselle is so excited she dances before a visiting noblewoman who is, unbeknown to her, Albrecht's official fiancée. Giselle's dance marks her last moment of true happiness as Hans reveals Loys' true identity after which Giselle loses her mind and dies.

Act 2 sees Hans mourning his loss at Giselle's tomb when he is chased away by the Wilis, who by night seek revenge by forcing every man they meet to dance until he dies. The Queen of the Wilis, Myrtha, summons Giselle from her tomb and they confront Albrecht. While the Wilis hound Hans to his death, Giselle is profoundly moved by Albrecht's grief and when Myrtha demands she wreaks her revenge on him, Giselle saves him by dancing in his stead. As the sun rises, the Queen's power evaporates, Albrecht is saved and Giselle is finally allowed to rest in peace.

The role of Giselle is one of the most sought after in ballet and calls for near perfect technique, acting ability and enormous grace. At last night's performance Giselle was played by principal ballerina, Anna Antonicheva, who joined the Bolshoi Theatre dance group in 1991 and was given her first main role in her 5th season. Ruslan Skvortsov, who took the role of Hans, joined the company in 1988 and was rapidly promoted to the position of a solo dancer. Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, was played by Maria Aleksandrova joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company in 1997 upon graduation from the Moscow Ballet School.

The other leading cast members were:
- Berthe, mother of Giselle - Elena Bukanova
- Bathilde, betrothed to Albrecht - Olga Suvorova
- Duke of Courland, father to Bathilde - Alexander Fadeechev
- Wilfred, sword-bearer to the Duke - Maxim Oppengeym
- Hans, a Gamekeeper - Ruslan Pronin
- Two Wilis - Victoria Osipova, Anna Okuneva
- Pas de Deux - Chinara Alizade, Denis Medvedev
- Friends of Giselle - Victoria Osipova, Irina Fedotova, Anna Okuneva, Anastasia Meskova, Anna Tikhomirova, Sofia Lyubimova

Tickets for both performances of the renowned Giselle by the Bolshoi Ballet sold in a matter of days after release. An enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience was enchanted by the first night's performance and rose to their feet to give the company a well-deserved standing ovation as the final curtain call brought the night to a close.

The 6th Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival is presented by ADMAF with executive producer IMG Artists, the world's leading performing artist Management Company. The title sponsor of this year's Festival is the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and the other festival sponsors are Mubadala and Etihad Airways.

The first few performances of the 6th Festival have received unanimous praise from audiences and critics alike. Already Abu Dhabi has witnessed performances by superstar soprano Angela Gheorghiu, renowned tenor Jonas Kaufmann and maestro Ion Marin at the opening Opera Gala and a rich and varied Ballet Gala presented by the Bolshoi Ballet.