The National Ballet of Canada
Giselle and
Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia
Fri. Sept. 21 (8pm),
Sat. Sept. 22 (8pm)
Royal Theatre
With the National Ballet Orchestra
Choreography: Peter Wright (After Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, and Marius Petipa)
Music: Adolphe Adam
Revised by: Joseph Horovitz
Set and Costume Design: Desmond Heeley
Lighting Design : Gil Wechsler
Giselle was created during the great Romantic Era of ballet and was premiered at the Paris Opera in 1841. This haunting tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness is the story of a young peasant girl who is overcome with grief and madness by here lover's deception and, upoin her death, is transported to the ghostly world of the Wilis, the spirits of betrayed young women. Giselle has been called "the ballerina's Hamlet". Equally, the role of Albrecht provides male dancers with one of ballet's most complex characters.
The National Ballet of Canada's production of Giselle was originally staged in 1970 and in 1975 was made into a film, starring Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn.
Polyphonia
British-born choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has established himself as one of the freshest and most imaginative voices to have emerged in contemporary ballet in the past decade. His 2001 work Polyphonia is in many ways a distillation of his multi-faceted talent. Set to ten stylistically varied piano pieces by Gyorgy Ligeti, the ballet traverses and explores an astonishing array of formal strategies and moods, creating in the process a beautiful, bristling, dynamic tapestry of movement.
"Polyphonia is an elegant work"
- The Washington Post, 2005
"Polyphonia is a seductive, important new ballet....it will take more than one viewing to discover all the mysteries of this beautiful ballet."
- San Francisco Gate, 2003
"Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia is a study in fierce invention. Created for four couples, its choreography shatters and sparkles around the dancers' limbs as Wheeldon seeks out a route through Ligeti's knotted piano music...this is a pure dance piece that tells an intense and multi-layered story"
- The Guardian, 2002
TD Waterhouse is The National Ballet of Canada's Western Tour Partner
Single Ticket Prices: $71 / $63 / $49 / $35
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