58 replies to this topic

[doug]

PNB's Giselle scenario, based on the original and translated and adapted by Marian Smith, is now up on the company's website.

[Helene]

Wow, this is going to be great!  

Those who are waiting for an Albrecht-Bathilde reconciliation at the end will not be disappointed.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Ah...great news...! Now, THAT is something worth a trip...

Also, interesting that the scene of the men being saved from the willis by the old villager happens AFTER Giselle's initiation...(I had seen it before, but right before Myrtha's first appearance...)

[sandik]

Such amazing detail -- this is going to be astonishing!

[Helene]

Marian Smith's program notes are now up on the PNB site; thanks to doug for the heads up:
http://www.pnb.org/S...ls-ProgramNotes

[little-junkie]

wish I can attend the performance...thanks for the links.

[doug]

Thanks, Helene. We've also got a timeline up that helps give context to the source material we're using.

Rehearsals begin again in earnest on April 12.

[Helene]

Excellent article by Philippa Karaly in "The Gathering Note" on the restaging effort:

http://www.gatheringnote.org/?p=13721

Some highlights:

Quote

The fount of gestures used in “Giselle” have been drawn by former PNB dancer Uko Gorter and will be in the program guide, though the meanings of many will be clear from the attitude or stance of the performer.

I'm so glad to see this -- Uko Gorter was a wonderful dancer turned illustrator and, when we're lucky, character artist with PNB.

Quote

“We are using the score as our script,” says Fullington. “Most 19th century ballet scores were not published, maybe a piano reduction was made and sent with the ballet, for instance to St. Petersburg, and then someone there would orchestrate it. It’s so nice to have the original score from the Biblioteque Nationale de France. It’s so light and flavorful, where Russian orchestrations are much heavier.” It was another stroke of luck that a British cellist, Lars Payne, had been editing the Paris score, and completed it in time for PNB to use it.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Quote

“We are using the score as our script,” says Fullington. “Most 19th century ballet scores were not published, maybe a piano reduction was made and sent with the ballet, for instance to St. Petersburg, and then someone there would orchestrate it. It’s so nice to have the original score from the Biblioteque Nationale de France. It’s so light and flavorful, where Russian orchestrations are much heavier.” It was another stroke of luck that a British cellist, Lars Payne, had been editing the Paris score, and completed it in time for PNB to use it.

Wonderful! That's how a serious staging should always be...with the right approach to the music.  

[Helene]

PNB has released a video in which Marian Smith speaks briefly about the two musical scores being used and Doug Fullington speaks about the Stepanov notation; there are stills of the scores themselves:



In the video you'll see the same cast as in the Guggenheim presentation -- James Moore as Hilarion, Carla Korbes and Seth Orza as Giselle and Loys/Albrecht, and Carrie Imler as Giselle's mother and then as Myrtha.  In the middle of the video there are two young, Liora Reshef and Eric Hippolito, Jr.; is that Peasant pas de Deux?  It's great to see Reshef again who was back in the cast lists in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"after a long absence: she will shine in a Romantic ballet like "Giselle".

Here's a great look at the two lost scenes from Act II that are being restored:  "Hilarion and the Hunters", with Peter Boal standing in for Hilarion and then Jeffrey Stanton as Hilarion, and Kiyon Gaines, Josh Spell, Barry Kerollis, joined by William Lin-Yee, Eric Hippolito, Jr., then Andrew Bartee, then Sean Rollofson (?), and then "Old Man and the Villagers", with Ryan Cardea as the Old Man (with the green hat), and I think PD students as the villagers.  




Other videos:

The Photoshoot, with Amanda Clark, Eric Hippolito, Jr. (doing the lifting), and Angela Sterling, formerly a fantastic soloist at PNB, now a fantastic dance photographer:



The evolution of the poster by Ben Kerns:

[Helene]

The TV spot from rehersal:



Some casting hints:  Carla Korbes looking gorgeous as Giselle with Karel Cruz as Albrecht, and glimpses of William Yin-Lee as Wilfrid to Cruz's Albrecht, Eric Hippolito, Jr. as Wilfrid, I think, to Lucien Postlewaite's Albrecht.  There's also a quick shot of Lesley Rausch with children.  Cruz and Postlewaite will be heartbreaking heart breakers as Albrecht.  I'm getting all verklempt thinking about it...

[Helene]

Casting for "Giselle" is up, and an exception was made to show casting -- always subject to change -- for both weeks.  Not only that, PNB took pity on us and published the weekly casting in .pdf form by week to show all principal casting in grid form. Links are on the Casting page.   (The drop-down format is still displayed.)   to Gary Tucker for making this possible!

In addition, I've attached an Excel spreadsheet provided by Mr. Tucker; I combined two so that both weeks' grids are side by side, and it can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this post.

The four main role combinations (Giselle/Albrecht-Loys/Myrtha) are:

Korbes/Cruz/Imler (Friday, 3 June; Saturday eve. 11 June)
Foster/Orza/Gilbreath (Saturday mat., 4 June; Sunday mat. [1pm] 12 June)
Nakamura/Postlewaite/Chapman (Saturday eve., 4 June; Friday 10 June)
Rausch/Bold/Dec (Thursday, 9 June; Saturday mat., 11 June)

PNB Alumni and Artistic Staff who will be performing are:

Melanie Skinner-Berthe:  Friday, 3 June; Saturday mat., 4 June; Thursday, 9 June; Saturday mat. and eve. 11 June
Uko Gorter-Prince of Courtland:  Friday, 3 June; Saturday mat., 4 June; Saturday eve., 11 June; Sunday mat. (1pm) 12 June
Otto Neubert-Prince of Courtland:  Saturday eve., 4 June; Thursday, 9 June; Friday 10 June; Saturday mat., 11 June

Dancers who are leaving at the end of the season will be featured as follows:

Jeffrey Stanton:  
Hilarion: Saturday eve., 4 June; Thursday, 9 June; Saturday mat., 11 June

Stacy Lowenburg:
Bathilde:  Saturday mat. 4 June; Friday, 10 June

Chalnessa Eames:
Peasant PDD (with Jonathan Porretta):  Friday, 3 June; Saturday mat., 4 June
Moyna:  Friday, 3 June; Thursday, 9 June
Berthe:  Saturday eve. 4 June; Friday, 10 June; Sunday mat. (1pm), 12 June

For my fellow ballet goers for whom our first thought after the company announced "Giselle" for this season was "Ariana Lallone = Myrtha", and hoped she'd do Bathilde, too, I offer a virtual weep-fest.


Please remember:

• Sunday matinees start at 1pm
  
• There's an extra non-subscription matinee on Saturday, 10 June
  
• Review it here, please, please, please

Attached Files

•  Giselle performance casting PRINCIPALS ONLY.xls   31.5KB   13 downloads

[Helene]

One week and counting down until the premiere!

PNB has published two new videos.  In the first Karel Cruz, who will dance Albrecht next Friday, opening night, to Carla Korbes' Giselle, discusses the role and what it means to him; there are some shots of the notation in the video, too:



The second is "Myrtha and the Wilis".  As Myrtha Lindsi Dec is wearing the blue leotard, Maria Chapman the black leotard, and Laura Gilbreath the aqua turtleneck no sleeve leotard.  There are a couple of shots of Kylee Kitchens (light gray leotard and black tights) and Leslie Rausch (light blue leotard and gray sweats) as Moyna and Zulme.

[cubanmiamiboy]

I just watched the clips posted by Helene, and I just can't get enough of them...Yes...Giselle is such a wonderful ballet, and this lovingly made reconstruction is just a well deserved, long due homage.  

Now, in regard to the "lost" scenes, particularly the one with the old villager man advising the group of youngsters to quit their nocturnal fete...where is this scene placed, before or after Myrtha's first Entree...?

[Helene]

According to the very detailed synopsis, after:

Quote

Myrtha, the queen of the Wilis, arrives on the scene, mysteriously radiant and piercing the shadows of the night. She summons the other Wilis to join her in a fantastic ball. The Wilis, including Moyna and Zulma, present themselves to their sovereign, and soon all of the Wilis are waltzing with abandon, gratifying their love for dancing which they were unable to fulfill in life. Before long, at a sign from the queen, the dance comes to an end, and Myrtha announces the arrival of a new Wili. Giselle appears, rising from her grave, wrapped in a shroud. When Myrtha touches her with her rosemary branch, the shroud falls off and Giselle is transformed into a Wili. She dances with fervor until a sound is heard in the distance. The Wilis disperse and hide themselves.

Some youths are returning from a festival in a neighboring village. The Wilis seek to detain them and try to force them to dance. However, an old man throws himself in their midst warns them of the danger; they barely escape, with the Wilis in hot pursuit.