Since its Paris premiere in 1841, the powerful story and music of Giselle have continued to draw in audiences around the globe. In 2016, Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch premiered his own choreography, expanding the dancers’ roles to give them more depth.
Now, on the 10th anniversary of Welch’s version, Houston Ballet is once again returning to the story of a young peasant girl who falls in love with Albrecht, a noble passing himself off as a commoner. And making matters worse, he is already betrothed to another royal.
Houston Ballet Principal Jessica Collado is dancing two different roles in the ballet’s run which starts this Thursday. On Opening Night she is Berthe, Giselle’s mother, who is suspicious of Albrecht from the start. She would rather her daughter be involved with Hilarion, a fellow peasant, who also loves Giselle.
“She almost can see the future and I think is the most wary of Giselle falling in love because she senses something bad in Albrecht. I think she sees before anyone else the doom that lies ahead of her. Because of that she suffers the most because of her death.”
Collado also dances the role of Bathilde, the royal Albrecht is betrothed to marry. ”That was actually a role that was created on me when Stanton made the ballet years ago.
“She comes from wealth but has a tender heart. I think she almost sympathizes with Giselle.”
By the end of Act I after Hilarion exposes Albrecht’s deception, Giselle goes mad, tries to stab herself and ends up dying in Albrecht’s arms.
Act II is where the magic enters with the Wilis, a group of maidens betrayed by their lovers who compel men to dance until they die. Hilarion suffers such a fate – dancing until he’s exhausted and then flung from a cliff by two of the Wilis.
The same fate lies ahead for Albrecht, but Giselle already risen from her grave, is able to save him by the force of the couple’s love for one another and her own determination and forgiveness of the man she loves.
“It definitely falls into one of those iconic traditional ballets, the ones that you think of when you think of ballet,” says Collado. “It has equal parts of real life, a human story between two people who fall in love and the consequences that that love has.
“And Act II kind of takes you to a more fantastical place, a little more imagination, more ethereal. It touches a lot of different aspects in our ballet world, portraying creatures who are not real.
Besides composer Adolphe Adam’s music, “[Audiences] like the magic. And the story itself is heartbreaking. You want to root for Giselle and her finally falling in love with someon. In Act II you see the other side of Albrecht and you see his remorse. Him trying to make up for his terrible decisions,” Collado said..
“I think Act II is so powerful because of the Corps de Ballet and the beauty of all of those girls dancing in unison and the formations that they make and the power they have together. That’s also something that’s very special and intriguing.”
Welch’s expansion of the story in the first act is “a wonderful opportunity because it allows a lot of dancers to shine,” Collado said.
Houston Ballet dancers have just finished up An Evening With the Stars, a mixed rep program, and when asked how they rehearse for one while performing for another, especially with the different styles called upon in the dances, Collado said it was precisely this that drew her to Houston Ballet to begin with.
“I’ve been in the company for a long time and this is why I’ve stayed here for so long – the b broadness and the range of the repertory. One night is Giselle and the weekend before that I was doing a very contemporary ballet this weekend with socks and kneepads on, rolling around on the floor.”
Asked what she hopes sudiences get from attending this ballet, Collado said: “I would hope that they’ve really been been transported to somewhere magical . In Act II especially. It’s very unique – a collection of these women who’ve all died by having their heart broken. It’s so powerful. “
Performances are scheduled for June 11-21 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturdays; 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 20; and 2 p.m. Sundays at Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For more information, call 713-227-2787 or visit houstonballet.org. $25-$230.
