By Malini Nagpal
“Segerstrom Center for the Arts will host American Ballet Theatre’s Giselle this July, which will be ABT’s first summer engagement in Orange County in over 15 years. Featuring choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, and Marius Petipa with music by Adolphe Adam, and staged by Kevin McKenzie, American Ballet Theatre will perform the production five times from July 24 to 27, 2025. Tickets are currently available at scfta.org.
Giselle is a two-act ballet that adeptly portrays themes of unrequited love, profound loss, and eventual forgiveness. The narrative centres on a young peasant woman, Giselle, who falls in love with Albrecht, believing him to be a fellow villager. Unbeknownst to her, Albrecht is actually a nobleman already engaged to another. Upon discovering the truth, Giselle succumbs to heartbreak and dies, yet she later returns as a spirit to forgive Albrecht and protect him from the vengeful Wilis.
In this highly regarded production, American Ballet Theatre’s distinguished ensemble of international ballet artists presents Giselle with compelling nuance and artistry. Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times observes, “Onstage love, death and dance converge in an engrossingly beautiful display… this performance continues to embody the quintessentially Romantic essence at the core of ballet. [This is ABT’s] strongest interpretation of a nineteenth-century ballet classic.”