★★★☆☆ Beautiful production, not exactly groundbreaking, harks back to golden age of ballet.

Concourse Theatre, Chatswood
October 4, 2016

A transparent scrim frames the stage with curtains recalling a 19th-century theatre, a nostalgic touch that sets the scene for a very traditional reading of Giselle. Using the original choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, as revived by Marius Petipa, The Australian Ballet’s Regional Tour of New South Wales kicked off, appropriately, on World Ballet Day with a performance in Chatswood’s Concourse Theatre.

Karen Nanasca as Giselle, photo © Jeff Busby

The painted set, a house on the left and a hut on the right, is simple yet elegant, Peter Farmers’ set and costumes blazing with autumnal oranges and browns in the first act, the earthy tones bringing to life the medieval German village. The story centres on a peasant girl, Giselle, a caricature of innocence, who loves to dance but is plagued by a weak heart. Seduced by a passing Count, Albrecht (who disguises himself as a peasant boy), she dies – literally and metaphorically broken-hearted – when she discovers he is already engaged.

The production features artists from the Australian Ballet and graduating students from the Australian Ballet School. Karen Nanasca, an AB coryphée, is a disturbing yet powerful Giselle. A wide-eyed, eyelash-batting Disney character, naively fascinated by the fabric of Princess Bathilde’s robe, her descent into grief-fuelled madness at the end of Act 1 is harrowing, her gaze held by distant visions as she plucks at an invisible flower and drags Albrecht’s sword across the stage by the blade.

Australian Ballet principal artist Andrew Killian’s Albrecht is more carefree rich kid than predatory philanderer, his behaviour that of someone for whom consequences have never been much of an issue rather than deliberately malicious. His shock and grief when everything goes horribly wrong feels genuine even if it doesn’t elicit a whole lot of sympathy. He also wrings plenty of comedy from the role – his surprise when he remembers he is unarmed and his reaction to his fiancée’s unfortunately timed reappearance provoked laughs from the audience.

Karen Nanasca and Andrew Killian, photo © Jeff Busby

Jackson Fisch’s Hilarion – a forester in love with Giselle – is a highlight, his organic movements an elegant counterpart to Killian’s regal gestures and his pantomime effective and understated. The ensemble work of the peasants in the first act was a little ragged at times in this performance and felt claustrophobic, sandwiched between the two buildings, but Killian and Nanasca played off each other wonderfully, driving the narrative forward.

The ballet blanc of the second act, however, is where the piece really catches fire. A luminous moon bathed the stage in eerie light, the forest – Giselle’s grave the only landmark – is open space bathed in a spectral blue-green. The Wilis – the spirits of women jilted before their wedding days – float across the stage en pointe in white veils reminiscent of cobwebs. Isobelle Dashwood is the highlight of the second act as Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis. Tall and imperious, her arm span extended by white feathers, she conjures magic from the air, a graceful and terrifying puppetmaster – spritely in every sense of the word.

The Wilis, photo © Jeff Busby

More dance than mime, the second act sees Albrecht and Hilarion tormented by the Wilis, Hilarion danced to death and Albrecht saved by the love of Giselle’s now bold and potent spirit. The dancing here is more athletic, Killian’s physique is slight and wiry but his effortless lifts allow Nanasca to soar wraith-like above the stage, her poise now forceful as well as delicate. The ensemble work in this act was flawless, the Wilis swirling to fill the space of the stage, their movements well synchronised. Killian and Fisch are both spectacular as they dance to the point of collapse, Killian temporarily, Fisch for good.

Using a pre-recorded soundtrack of Adolphe Adam’s score makes for a leaner touring party, but it’s an inflexible accompaniment that can’t adapt to any change of pace on stage – Hilarion’s horn blowing didn’t quite sync up – and the sense of aural and musical depth created by a live orchestra is absent. Overall, though, the Australian Ballet’s touring production is beautiful if not exactly ground-breaking, with fine performances from the leads and a simple yet effective visual aesthetic harking back to the golden age of 19th-century ballet.


The Australian Ballet’s Regional Tour presents Giselle until October 19

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