(2013-06-18 13:54:01)

Excellent

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) Audio and visual aspects of the DVD are excellent and of course both the ballerina and ballerino are of top class.

(2013-06-18 08:51:46)

The Great GISELLE EVER!!!!!!!!!!

How could i ask for more!!! Alina is the best role for Giselle. Superb performance and outstanding! Marianela Nunez, I like her portrayal of Myrtha, very strong no mercy for men! and all the Cast where excellent!!!! A five star for the The Royal Ballet! Bravo!

(2013-06-17 16:54:32)

Beautiful performance of this great romantic ballet

This review is from: Giselle [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Giselle was the first truly great romantic ballet and the music by Adam is gorgeous. This performance is outstanding and does full justice to this ballet masterpiece -- enhanced by this Blu-ray presentation. Very highly recommended.

(2013-06-17 13:25:03)

A Giselle of exception

Adolphe Adam wrote the music for this Romantic libretto (Saint-Georges and T.Gautier)and choreographers Perrot and Coralli created this 2 act ballet for Carlotta Grisi,in 1841.She had been his pupil,and having become his mistress, gave him a daughter,in 1837.They were never to marry.Later on,Coralli would say that he alone had choreographed it...! One of the most celebrated ballets ,perhaps the best known and represented one,suffered various revisions - Marius Petipa,as in the present Giselle, (he was the elder brother to Lucien Petipa who had also been the first Albrecht),Nureyev,Grigorovich,etc., but never lost its luminous aura with the ingredients so dear to Romanticism(Death,the Night ,Fate ,doomed Love and Madness (Walter Scott,GoГ«the,etc). Every ballerina's dream(as in last year poignant documentary on a "corps de ballet" dancer - VГѓВ©ronique Doisneau),has been the glory of several dancers such as Essler, ChauvirГѓВ©, Karsavina, Spessivtseva, Fracci,Ulanova,Markova... This said,romanian Alina Cojocaru,star of the Royal Ballet,brings it a new life.There are two Giselles in this 2 act ballet:In Act 1,Giselle is an innocent,"naГЇf" peasant girl ,full of joy ,who tragically finds a treacherous love and dies.In Act 2 she belongs to the world of the dead,integrating the legion of the Wilis( cruel,translucent virgins ),confined to the magic of the night,under Myrtha's command - their queen. The gracefulness of this portrayed 17 year-old and moving Giselle is completely brought out by this lovely ,highly gifted ballerina.But it is in the complexity of Act 2 coreography that Cojocaru makes all the difference:Slow movements,an extremely beautiful "developpГѓВ©e" (Zakharova's is slightly more impressive ,at la Scala,but totally absorved in her refined technique,expressing in the face either a smile of joy or a rictus of grief throughout the whole performance,thus forgetting to bring out Giselle's inner feelings), her arms being a vehicle of expression as important as the leggs (Russian School). She becomes aethereal ,the perfect illusion of bearing no weight as a spirit would,on "pointes" or when lifted by Kohborg.Her splendid techique,used with intelligence makes this Giselle deserving to be remembered along with the best ones.Kohborg is a wonderful Albrecht ( his variation beautifully executed) Marianela NuГѓВ±ez a haughty ,convincing Myrtha and Marin Harvey a very good Hilarion.The "corps" bears the recognised quality of The Royal Ballet,live from Covent Garden,Boris Cruzin conducting with "panache".A most brilliant event.

(2013-06-17 20:25:37)

wonderful ballet

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) This is a very good video of Giselle. I enjoyed the beautiful costumes and the talented ballerinas very much. I would recommend this to any balletomaine.

(2013-06-17 05:55:34)

Buy it.

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) Our older ballet dance group is working on dancing part of Giselle. Our instructor suggested that we buy the whole ballet so we could see what it really looks like. So I bought this one and the next one so that we could compare. The dancers are all soooo good. We are not going to look like them.

(2013-06-10 08:21:54)

Performance values

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) All the previous reviews are thorough and have no need for additions except for a single observation: Johan Kobborg seems to be one of those CORRECT dancers whose every gesture is a pose. This makes for wonderful statues but detracts from any human feeling. I have seen him only in this DVD and this might be unfair but I thought future buyers deserve a warning. Top notch dancing, but for a ballet that has so much opportunity for trully moving acting, the lead male disappoints.

(2013-06-09 18:19:31)

Cojocaru is Giselle

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) Alina Cojocaru gives an outstanding performance. She dances with such grace and beauty that it is hard to imagine anyone else in this role. She alone would makes this a DVD worth owning. But of course there is much more to praise in this performance. I very much liked the sets but they seem to overly stretch the capacity of the stage. Marianela Nunez is very fine as Myrtha. My one complaint is the camera work at the end of Act 1 - R.Nicholson covers it well. I am very pleased with this Giselle and highly recommend it.

(2013-06-08 11:50:55)

The best version of Giselle on DVD

If you like the Giselle story, or if you like ballet at all, I recommend this DVD. Alina is the best Giselle I have ever seen and her performance will be talked about for a long time. You're really missing out if you don't see her in this performance, she will make you cry.

(2013-06-07 21:55:28)

Wonderful

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) This ballet is wonderful. The Royal Ballet knows how to do a first rate performance. As such, one would watch this over and over. I recommend it heartily.

(2013-06-06 14:02:56)

Excellent dancing - boomy sound

This review is from: Giselle [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) This is the first review of the blu-ray version but there are many reviews of the DVD version. All the reviews justifully praise the performance and I won't add to that. I just want to worn you that the music if far from ideal. I have several CDs of this ballet with far better sound. If you listen to it through your TV then may be you don't mind or probably the music will sound good. On the other hand if you listen through high quality stereo then you will hear the boominess.P.S. I didn't have a home theater system and I cannot say how it would sound there.

(2013-06-06 04:15:09)

Giselle stops here!

Giselle would have to be my favourite ballet of all time. It was the second ballet I was involved in back in the 60's. This production from Covent Garden would have to be the definitive version on disc to date. I have just finished viewing this Blu-Ray presentation and it has left me spell-bound. What a tour-de-force with the choreography, set design, costumes, dancing and music. The staging is the best I have ever seen and the music is so alive and attentive to Adam's scoring. Boris Gruzin brings breadth and depth to the score without making it heavy and stodgy. He manages to bring out something extra from the Covent Garden Orchestra I have not heard from them before. Their playing is exceptional; it's like a completely new score. In act one, the role of Berthe (Giselle's mother) has been extended to fill out the mime about the Willi's. Giselle, danced by Alina Cojocaru have NEVER been danced with such grace and poise. She is like a floating piece of paper across the stage assisted by her acting ability. Her extensions and centre core are so stable, not a wobble anywhere. The role of Albrecht is dance by Johan Kobbog. This is no prince to be messed with, his extensions and scissor actions have to be seen to be believed and his straight arm presses leave one spellbound. He holds Alina aloft as though she weighs nothing. Marianela NuГѓВ±ez dances the role of Mytha, queen of the willi's, like I have never seen before. The roar of the audience is evidence of that. Martin Harvey does justice to the role of Hilarion (I am only sorry he doesn't get to dance more. He only gets to dance his dance of death in act two. What a shame). The remainder of the cast are all exceptional. What a magnificent Giselle and kudos to Opus Arte for providing a magnificent colour booklet to accompany this Giselle of Giselle's. If you have other recordings of Giselle or if you have never seen or heard it at all, I urge you to purchase it immediately, you won't be sorry. Thank you Covent Garden in association with the BBC and Opus Arte for bringing us your production of Giselle.

(2013-06-05 02:04:43)

Giselle

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) Alina Cojocaru IS Giselle. No other active ballerina, including my first love, Tamara Rojo, could play it better. The tenderness and vulnerbility she brings to the role is incredible.

(2013-06-04 14:46:35)

Captures a great Giselle forever

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) Ballet on video is like the fossil record: fascinating and informative, but frustratingly incomplete. Isadora Duncan, Vaslav Nijinsky were never filmed at all, and many artists were never filmed in their trademark roles (Lynn Seymour as Juliet, Erik Bruhn in Sylphide). Therefore it's always a delight when a portrayal as wonderful as Alina Cojocaru's Giselle is preserved on video. Alina Cojocaru, as I mentioned earlier in a review of her Sleeping Beauty, is not particularly glamorous looking, and her feet are wide and without much of an instep. But these aesthetic complaints are quickly forgotten the minute she starts dancing. In the first act, her Giselle is a shy but vivacious girl, and her fragile look adds a poignancy to her portrayal. One can believe that she does indeed have a weak heart. Her Spessivtseva solo, with its hops on pointe across the stage was not the smoothest I've seen, but her Mad Scene was heartbreaking.In the second act, Cojocaru uses her beautifully airy jump and uniquely soft style to give the illusion of a true spirit. She is not technically perfect. When Giselle is first "initiated" as a Wili she is supposed to turn as if she were demented. Cojocaru's hopping turns don't have that feverish, demented energy that some Giselles can bring to the moment. They are somewhat slow and deliberate. (To see how it's done, watch Natalia Makarova, Diana Vishneva or even Carla Fracci.) But it's the overall beauty of movement that separates Cojocaru's Giselle from the "rest of the pack," as they would say. She is able to create a sense of a gentle, forgiving spirit. I particularly love the calm, effortless way she raises her leg in developpe. It seems to symbolize Giselle's sense of inner serenity.As Albrecht, Cojocaru's offstage partner Johan Kobborg is not quite the dancer Cojocaru is. He goes the somewhat unconventional route and makes Albrecht an ardent and sincere young man from the start. I personally prefer Albrecht's to start off as cads, so their redemption is more dramatic and moving. He also is visibly extremely tired during Act 2. Unfortunately the close-ups expose the sweating. He and Cojocaru have a wonderful partnership -- you can see it in the gentle way he lifts her in the second act. Marianela Nunez is the Myrtha, and she seems to me an odd choice for Myrtha, other than being tallish and a strong technician. She's too inherently warm of a dancer to pull off Myrtha. She's not for a minute terrifying. Peter Wright's production thankfully restores some mime passages that are often omitted in productions, such as when Giselle's mother tells the story of the Wilis. I found the sets overly fussy and thought they crowded the already-small Royal Ballet stage. I also disliked the dowdy brown dress Giselle wears in the first act. But these are minor complaints in an excellent video of my favorite ballet.

(2013-05-28 01:55:03)

Very Worth Having

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) I also love Giselle and have waited for a Royal Ballet production. This is worth waiting for. I am not a ballet expert as are some who review but I love this DVD. The whole cast is outstanding and one of the things I really like is that the mime is really good. Giselle's mother tells us her worries about her daughter and what may happen to her. I also like the fact that after the introduction and dance of Myrtha in Act 2 she is not just left to stand there, look cold and direct her Wilis (as in almost every other production). Nunez is given a chance to dance her role when possible and she does it well.I love Cojocaru in the role and think she is better in this than in Sleeping Beauty.My favorite production of this is the ABT one with Makarova,Baryshnikov and Van Hammel but it's only on VHS and I dispair of it ever coming out on DVD (does anyone know why?). Absolutely no regrets about buying this DVD

(2013-05-27 02:23:43)

Cojocaru as Giselle...maybe one of the finest interpretations ever!

Revised review Dec 02/08. (see P.P.S.)Let me start off by saying that Giselle is my favorite ballet; I love the story, the music and the dance.This performance was recorded in 2006 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Gardens, London and stars Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobberg in the principal roles.This is probably the best danced and finest interpretation of this magnificent ballet I've ever seen. I initially saw this at a movie theater with about 200+ people; you could have heard a pin drop during many of the pas de deux between Cojocaru and Kobberg, they were that stirring to watch.There was so much to like about this performance...let me elaborate, the Pros:1.)The costumes for the peasants, the Royal hunting party and Wilis were sumptuous; the sets for both acts were nicely conceived to display the rustic theme for the village in Act I and then the marsh scene in Act II.2.)The principal dancers, Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg gave the performance of a lifetime. Cojocaru has such skill and grace...an easy effortlessness that holds her audience spellbound. Kobberg attains such height with his leaps and jumps that it appears as if he can defy gravity.3.) The emotion displayed, through facial expression and body language, by both leads was perfect for the situation; their dancing techniques and skills when together, were simply breath taking. Some of the famous lifts in the Act II were, without a doubt, the best I've ever seen in any performance of Giselle. 4.) The conductor, Boris Gruzin, interpretation of Adophe Adam's music was beautifully rendered, complimenting the tone and mood of this ballet that covered both ends of the emotional spectrum. The Cons: About the only concern (albeit minor) for this interpretation of Giselle was with regards to the Corps de ballet. Although the dancing through out the entire ballet was excellent, some of the timing of movement and dance steps was slightly off between some couples, particularly in Act I. Conclusion:Simply the loveliest Giselle I've ever seen; a Giselle that literally moved me to tears. The emotions shown and skills displayed by Cojocaru during this performance were as close to perfection as anyone could ask.5 Stars.Ray NicholsonP.S.Interestingly, the program accompanying the theater performance I saw stated, 'Legend has it that she (Cojocaru) was promoted to principal at the end of the first performance'. You'll understand why when you've seen this DVD.P.P.S. I must admit to a grievous error on my part with my initial review, in which I criticized some of the camera shots and angles. This initial review was based on my viewing of this performance in a movie theater. The home DVD video was much better visually than the performance seen in the movie theater; better because of a much sharper picture as well as less 'close-up' camera shots. I suspect the enlargement that took place to fill an entire movie screen caused some distortion in perception of size and movement, giving the movie house performance a less than perfect visual presentation.My apologies go out to the producers and editors of this fine DVD for my initial review based on my movie theater experience. Ray Nicholson

(2013-05-25 12:06:26)

Giselle, DVD

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) This ballet was wonderful in both the dance and the music. I was spellbound from the overature to the finale. The camera positions and the overall technical production provided wonderful perspectives of the performance.I highly recommend this production.

(2013-05-24 13:37:33)

Giselle - A. Adam - Ballet - Royal Ballet - A. Cojocaru

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) Alina Cojocaru es una Giselle soniada, como uno la imagina, con esa frescura de la juventud, tan eterea como las fantasticas Ghislaine Thesmar y Eva Evdokimova en sus momentos de plenitud.Johan Kobborg con impecable tГѓВ©cnica, un poco frio en su actuacion. Detalles originales en la coreografГѓВ­a de Peter Wright. Buena version para coleccionar.

(2013-05-21 23:01:53)

A common man's point of view.

This review is from: Giselle (DVD) Giselle is one of my favorite "Romantic" ballets. You probably already know that this version stars the perpetually young and very accomplished ballerina Alina Cojocaru as the beautiful Maiden/Wili "Giselle". Even the title of this ballet is beautiful, when pronounced the French way (zhee-zel).Sir Peter Wright is in charge of the production of this version by the Royal Ballet. That, in itself, guarantees you of an authentic version of the ballet, since Peter Wright researches his productions to their very origins, to give you the product the authors meant for you to have. The original was apparently shot in Hi-Definition, but the DVD is NOT Hi-Def, although the DVD has exceptionally good quality resolution.Giselle is a beautiful, but naive maiden whose mother has a wayside inn where passers-by may stop and refresh themselves. Hilarion, the local gamekeeper, is in love with Giselle, and considers her his future bride. However, his love is not returned by Giselle. Count Albrecht has seen Giselle and wants to romance her, but he is already engaged to Bathilde, a member of Royalty. Albrecht deceives Giselle by dressing himself as a peasant, and calling himself "Loy", buys a house close to hers. As the romance blossoms, Giselle is very happy and shows her happiness in her dancing. Because Giselle has a weak heart, she overexerts herself and becomes feint. On seeing this, her mother forbids her from dancing. Her mother, Berthe, has had a dream, in which she has seen her daughter die to become a "Wili", the ghost of a virgin who has died of a broken heart before her wedding, because of the treachery of an unfaithful lover.Trouble begins when a Regal Party, including Bathilde, enters the village for refreshments. Hilarion, having discovered Albrecht's deceit, exposes him to everyone, and Giselle literally goes mad in her grief, and the most heart-wrenching "mad" scene in all of ballet or opera takes place on stage. Giselle, in her deranged state of mind picks up Albrecht's sword and stabs herself. She dies, and I cry.Giselle is buried in a forest glade, with a simple wooden cross to mark her grave. Hilarion has come to her grave-site to mourn for her, but is scared out of his wits by ghostly apparitions, and runs off into the forest. The apparitions are Wilis who appear at midnight to haunt the forest. Their leader or Queen is Myrthe. She summons all the Wilis to the glade, and some of the most beautiful "white" dancing in all ballet takes place there, after which Giselle is summoned from her grave to join the Wilis. In the meantime, Albrecht enters looking for Giselle's grave, and while he is praying, she appears to him as a ghost.The Wilis will kill any man they "catch" in the forest, by forcing him to dance himself to death. But, what do you do with a dead body on the stage?So, they usually force him into a lake to drown. Hilarion is the first victim of the Wilis. Then they catch Albrecht and command him to dance himself to death, but Giselle, in defiance of her Queen, intervenes, and has Albrecht seek sanctuary at the cross on her grave. The Wili Queen daren't go near it because it is sacred. The Queen then commands Giselle to dance with Albrecht, and because of her undying love, she is able to support him until dawn, when the Wilis lose their power. In one last act of defiance, Giselle comes between Myrthe and Albrecht. One wonders why Hilarion has to die when the real Cad, Albrecht lives. Seems unfair, doesn't it? Buy this ballet and see why it has such an appeal to the masses. Ballet masses, that is. Good viewing, Richard.

(2013-05-21 02:31:46)

Fine, possibly definitive, performance but compromised sound in the bass department

This is a very fine performance of Giselle. I prefer it marginally to the more recent Bolshoi version and for me this remains my favourite performance.Cojocaru's dancing in a role that seems to have been conceived for her, portrays the heroine as the lovable but fatally naГЇve country girl that she is and as her mother (excellent portrayal by Sandra Conley) so clearly understands. This fragility carries over convincingly to the second act where Nunez, as leader of the Willis in this act is not as cold-bloodied as some. As a result the element of redemption through love is relatively unimpeded here.The two competing men here are well up to the task required of them although I always personally feel that the morally justified Hilarion is appallingly sacrificed so that the real villain, Albrecht, can escape proper justice. Nevertheless Hilarion as portrayed by Martin Harvey and Albrecht as portrayed by Johan Kobborg do everything that can be done to bring their roles to life on the stage.The corps de ballet are on fine form with involving portrayals of the various crowd scenes in the first act and as the Willis in the second act. The Willis are as ethereally effective in this performance as usual although it must be admitted that those in an earlier Kirov performance were able to move as if on wheels. Astonishing!The imaging is crisp and without movement blur. The colour range is well balanced. The sound is presented in stereo and surround 5.0 and this leads me to the reservations in the following paragraph. These may simply be the result of the recording not having a designated 5.1 sub-woofer channel to specifically take care of the bass frequencies.The problem for me concerns the sound quality heard in surround mode on particularly wide-ranging equipment. This shows the orchestra to be working in the dry acoustic that you would expect in a packed theatre which can be adjusted to in all respects except one. That is the booming and undefined sound of the bass drum. This becomes oppressive and totally out of balance with the rest of the soundstage and is at odds with the delicate nature of the ballet. This is not a problem of the musical scoring but rather that of poor recording. This may not be an issue with less wide ranging reproduction where the bass frequencies are carried only by the main left and right speakers which often have less extended bass. Maybe a case of less giving more in terms of satisfaction!In summary therefore I feel that five stars is richly deserved for the ballet but only three for the sound quality as revealed on my admittedly somewhat extreme equipment. However I am also aware that this may not be audibly significant with most replay equipment so perhaps only a minor adjustment of rating probably needs to be made. An overall adjustment to 4 stars would therefore seem to be fair to accommodate ballet enthusiasts who are also keen on h-fi.