The Paris Opéra was “Giselle’s” birthplace. He wrote the libretto, collaborating with an experienced playwright, Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges Adolphe Adam was completed the score, with its tuneful leitmotifs and pretty waltzes, in less than three months and Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot conjured the choreography.
Théophile Gautier recalled in his book, Histoire de l’art dramatique, that after reading Heine’s description of the mystical young creatures “who cannot rest peacefully in their graves” for “in their stilled hearts and lifeless feet, there remains a love for dancing which they were unable to satisfy during their lifetimes,” he immediately proclaimed: “What a pretty ballet this would make!” Consumed by his idea of bringing the story of the Wilis to the stage, Gautier didn’t procrastinate. They laugh with a deceptive joy, they lure you so seductively, their expressions offer such sweet prospects, that these lifeless bacchantes are irresistible. Their faces, though white as snow, have the beauty of youth. When German poet Heinrich Heine wrote De l’Allemagne (“On Germany”), which was published in Paris in 1835, he couldn’t have imagined that two short paragraphs from his book, where he so evocatively and vividly described an ancient Slavic legend of the Wilis, betrothed young maidens who perished before their wedding day, would inspire “Giselle”-one of the most enduring and popular ballets ever made-the quintessential Romantic-era classic.ĭressed in their wedding gowns, with wreaths of flowers on their heads and sparkling rings on their fingers, the Wilis dance in the moonlight like elves.
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