BW, No, I had not seen Giselle before, this was my first time. To answer your questions, Tamara 's portrayal of Giselle gone mad was just that. She wasn't mearly a heart broken character, she had complelty lost her mind.One could sense that a tragedy was forthcoming without knowing the story. Zeniada Yanowsky danced Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, she was hypnotizing in the role, and the power she posessed over both Albrecht and Hilarion as they danced to exhaustion was relentless. The corp who danced the wilis were equally enchanting in their role. Their slow ghostly movements dew me right into their spiritual world, it was wonderful!