Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents American Ballet Theatre’s Giselle this July, marking ABT’s first Orange County summer engagement in over 15 years.
With choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa and music by Adolphe Adam, and staged by Kevin McKenzie, America’s National Ballet Company® will give five performances of the beloved classic from July 24 – 27, 2025. Tickets are on sale now at scfta.org.
A ballet in two acts, Giselle masterfully conveys the heartbreaking story of unrequited love, devasting loss, and triumphant forgiveness.
A heart-wrenching saga of love and mercy, Giselle tells the story of a young peasant maiden in love with a handsome villager named Albrecht.
What Giselle does not know is that her new paramour is a young nobleman in disguise and is already betrothed to another. When the truth is revealed, she dies of a broken heart but ultimately returns from the grave to forgive her lover and save him from a vengeful death by the forest-dwelling Wilis.
In this universally acclaimed production, ABT’s unrivaled roster of international ballet stars brings Giselle’s mystery and ethereal beauty to vivid life.
For The New York Times, Alastair Macaulay wrote “Onstage love, death and dance all come together in an engrossingly beautiful vortex … this one still takes us deep into the classically Romantic heart of what ballet itself is all about. [This is ABT’s] best production of a 19th century ballet classic.”
The world premiere of Giselle, one of the oldest continually performed ballets, occurred at the Theatre de l’Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on June 28, 1841, danced by Carlotta Grisi as Giselle and Lucien Petipa as Albrecht.
This ballet is in the repertoire of almost all of the major ballet companies in the world and was first presented by American Ballet Theatre (then Ballet Theatre) at the Center Theatre in New York City on January 12, 1940 with choreography by Anton Dolin and scenery and costumes by Lucinda Ballard.
The leading roles were danced by Annabelle Lyon and Anton Dolin.
American Ballet Theatre’s second production of Giselle occurred on October 15, 1946 at the Broadway Theatre with choreography by Dimitri Romanoff and scenery and costumes by Eugene Berman. The leading roles were danced by Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch.
The third production of Giselle, directed by David Blair, received its first performance at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre, Washington, D. C. on July 4, 1968 with scenery by Oliver Smith and costumes by Peter Hall.
The leading roles were performed by Lupe Serrano as Giselle and Royes Fernandez as Albrecht.
The production’s New York City premiere was given at the Metropolitan Opera House on July 10, 1968 with the same cast.
Using the Smith/Hall scenery and costumes, Mikhail Baryshnikov staged both the fourth and fifth productions of Giselle for ABT after choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa.
The first premiered at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC on December 16, 1980, with Marianna Tcherkassky as Giselle and Baryshnikov himself as Albrecht; while the second, which featured additional staging by John Taras and Elena Tchernichova, received its first performance at the Filene Theatre at Wolf Trap Farm in Vienna, Virginia on Aug. 28, 1985, danced by Miss Tcherkassky and Fernando Bujones.
American Ballet Theatre’s sixth production featuring scenery by Gianni Quaranta and costumes by Anna Anni, was created for the film Dancers, produced in 1987 by Cannon Films.
The film incorporates Giselle into its storyline.
This production’s first public performance was given on March 20, 1987 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Miss Tcherkassky as Giselle and Kevin McKenzie as Albrecht. The current staging is by Kevin McKenzie, using the Quaranta and Anni designs.
For tickets, Phone – Monday – Friday 10am to 5pm (714) 556-2787, Oline – SCFTA.org
Group Sales – (714) 755-0236. More info, visit scfta.org.