Adam: Giselle - Ballet de l'Ópera National de Paris Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Adam: Giselle - Ballet de l'Ópera National de Paris Blu-ray Movie Review

One of the most demanding roles in classical dance receives an uneven interpretation by Laëtitia Pujol in this Paris Opera Ballet production of 'Giselle'.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 3, 2010

Over thirty years before Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky premiered his ballet about a doomed love affair featuring a magically transformed heroine, Frenchman Adolphe Adam trod much the same territory with his most famous contribution to classical music and dance, Giselle (Christmas carol lovers will recognize Adam’s name as the composer of the beautiful evergreen “O, Holy Night,” probably his best known piece to the public at large). Adam’s Giselle was a cause célèbre from its first performance, unlike (perhaps surprisingly) Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which took a while to catch on critically and with audiences of the day. The fact that Adam’s creation met with almost universal acclaim, if some attendant confusion and even shock, is all the more remarkable when one considers how innovative and indeed revolutionary it was in 1841. Never before had a plot-based ballet utilized compositional leitmotifs the way that Adam incorporated them into his writing, something that Tchaikovsky himself admired and emulated in his first ballet score. But the title role itself set a new standard for both basic physical and perhaps more importantly expressive demands of the prima ballerina called upon to create a character who starts as a country naïf and ends as a valiantly self-sacrificing spirit who literally dances so that her lover may live.

Wilfried Romoli dances Hilarion.

Giselle has long been one of the most sought after roles for ballerinas wanting to prove they have both the technical skills to sustain sometimes insane amounts of en pointe dancing, and, perhaps even more importantly, the acting chops to portray the immense changes the character of Giselle undergoes. Pujol does best here in the opening act, with a winsome appeal as the country "bumpkinette" Giselle falls in love and meets her tragic fate as the act comes to a close. Pujol's wide eyed innocence is perfect here, and her delicate athleticism fits the Act One Giselle to a tee. Unfortunately, Act Two requires a rather pronounced change in demeanor, and Pujol never musters the ferocity that's required of "this" Giselle. Throughout the ballet, she seems a bit unsteady at times, especially in the longer en pointe segments.

Much better in this production are the design elements and the corps work, both of which support the story and offer wonderfully calibrated performances. This is a fairly traditional presentation (as most Giselles usually are), but the production design helps to create the sylvan countryside and, later, the spirit world with some evocative sets and especially lighting. The corps work, especially in Act Two, is regimented yet expressive and shows why many people consider this a sort of balletic prequel to Swan Lake. The choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot is just slightly tweaked from Marius Petipa's celebrated version for the (Russian) Imperial Ballet, the version which helped elevate Giselle into the balletic repertory some years after its debut. (In a sidebar, it's interesting to note that Petipa's brother, Lucien Petipa, played Albrecht in the premiere of Giselle in 1841).

Giselle's music is one of the ballet's biggest calling cards, and the Paris Opera Ballet's orchestra gives it a splendid reading here, under the able direction of Paul Connelly. Strangely, classical (orchestral) music lovers seem to be quaintly unaware of a lot of Adam's music, and that's really a shame, as this lush and gorgeous score amply demonstrates. While Adam perhaps never rises to the hyperbolic emotionalism that Tchaikovsky would make his stock in trade a few decades later, there's a surging warmth and energy to a lot of Giselle that makes it a very involving listening experience, aside from the dance element.

Ballet lovers have luckily had their choice of Giselles on Blu-ray, with both a BBC Royal Ballet and a Dutch version on Kultur (which I reviewed here). While the Royal Ballet version is probably still the best all around choice, both of the other alternatives have their individual charms. The Dutch version has a Giselle that most ballet lovers will probably prefer to Pujol, but it unfortunately has no lossless audio options. This Paris version offers a sumptuous physical production, outstanding playing (in lossless audio), but Pujol never quite conquers the role the way it needs to be. The good news in all of this is that fact that ballet lover do have high definition choices. This "niche" market is proving to have "legs" (pun of course intended), and that bodes well for not only Giselle, but classical ballet generally.

Adam: Giselle - Ballet de l'Ópera National de Paris Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Giselle arrives on Blu-ray with a very nice looking AVC encoded 1080i "live" image in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This is a very traditional, yet lush, production, which the high definition filming supports extremely well. The first act is a little less remarkable than the second, though detail is exceptional in several shots, with everything from the thatched roofs to Giselle's laced bodice revealing excellent nuance. Colors are bright and well saturated, though tilted (purposefully) toward the green side of things. Act Two is decidedly more surreal, especially in the opening scene at the graveyard, which has some extremely expressive lighting effects, with dim shafts of light penetrating an eerie mist. It's all spectacularly presented on the Blu-ray, with really remarkable shadow detail and very fine, subtle gradations of gray scale.

Adam: Giselle - Ballet de l'Ópera National de Paris Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

By far the best thing about this particular production is the robust playing of the Paris Opera Ballet orchestra under the direction of Paul Connelly, which is spectacularly reproduced on both the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. Adam wrote a bright, colorful score, full of everything from heraldic brass pronouncements to some delicate string work, and it's all presented here in crystalline clarity and some great "oomph" on the low end. I was especially struck by the glorious brass playing throughout this Giselle, which gave this particular production a bit more propulsion than the ballet sometimes offers. Separation between sections is very well handled, and interior lines are quite clear. Hall ambience is pretty much perfect, and surprisingly the LPCM 2.0 fold down also offers a fair amount of hall ambience.

Adam: Giselle - Ballet de l'Ópera National de Paris Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No extras are included on the disc itself. The insert booklet contains a decent essay.

Adam: Giselle - Ballet de l'Ópera National de Paris Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Blu-ray ballet lovers have their pick of Giselles. This is a sumptuous physical production, and the corps work is uniformly excellent, but Pujol seems a bit unsteady on her feet and not quite fierce enough in the Act Two transformation. The orchestral playing is superb, meaning this is a "glass half empty" situation and you can make your viewing (and especially purchasing) decisions accordingly.