Talk:Giselle

First presented in St.-Petersburg (Mariinsky theater) or Moscow (Bolshoï theater)?
In the article it is written that it is first presented in St-Petersburg at Bolshoï theater but there is NO Bolshoï theater in St.-Petersburg, it is located in Moscow. It is possible that it was presented by the Bolshoï theater's troop in St.-Petersburg (the Mariinsky theater) or it was presented in Moscow at Bolshoï theater. Could somebody check this? 144.85.138.231 (talk) 23:58, 22 November 2010 (UTC) (Emilia A.)

There is a Bolshoi theatre in St Petersburg, with its own Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshoi_Drama_Theatreh(Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshoi_Drama_Theatre. In "The Ballet Called Giselle" (2nd edition 1945, reprint by Dance Books, London, 1996, p.128) ("The Ballet Called Giselle", 2nd edition 1945, reprint by Dance Books, London, 1996, p.128) Cyril W. Beaumont confirms that the first St Petersburg performance was at "the Bolshoy Theatre" in 1842.

Beaumont (p.127) also notes a performance of Giselle at the Empire Theatre, London on 26th December 1884, reported in The Times. So the ballet did not disappear from the west for as long as the article states.Peterkirk (talk) 11:28, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Who is assessing these articles?
I do not see how an article on one of the most influential ballets in history can have so-called "mid-level" importance. The gentelman who is assessing these article needs to give the job to an expert. --Mrlopez2681 02:07, 11 September 2007 (UTC)


 * You know, as well as I, that the inmates are running the asylum! Robert Greer (talk) 19:46, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

This ballet is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. Choreography and structure of the stage and actors themselves are beyond this world. Whoever has a chance to go see it, please do. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tpintaric (talk • contribs) 16:55, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

removal of infobox
This was Coarlli & Perrot's ballet orignally. But the version performed today is Petipa's, & were it not for this fact the ballet would not exist any more. With all of this in mind, the petipa infobox must remain.

--Mrlopez2681 (talk) 06:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)


 * The Petipa 'infobox' was not removed but just placed lower down in the text. The primary importance of the ballet infobox is to highlight the original form of the ballet - not the most commonly danced today. --Cazo3788 (talk) 08:02, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
 * the infobox is fine here, completely un-needed, but fine. The original production of the ballet is discussed at the beginning of the article. My removal of your unecessary infobox was certainly not vandilism, and please don't post such a rude comment in your edit summaries in the future. --Mrlopez2681 (talk) 08:23, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

ALAN DOFMK VKV VJFGN JGV VJVG VJ FGIOKMGIMBIB GJUGNGJUG GISELLE TPOOVMVKG  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.213.0.184 (talk) 00:57, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Merge from Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis
Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis would be well merged into Giselle, much as Rothbart was into Swan Lake, — Robert Greer (talk) 20:56, 22 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Sounds right to me. Myrtha seems to have no existence outside of "Giselle".  The legend of the Wilis is described in connection with Giselle. Zaslav (talk) 19:54, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

St. Vitus Dance
The article contains the sentence; "...St. Vitus's dance, the dancing mania of the Middle Ages."

"St. Vitus Dance" was never a dance mania - it was the name given to a disease, identified in the middle ages though pre-existing before that time, that causes uncontrollable limb movement and trembling that we now know as Sydenham's Chorea.

This strange idea that it is the actual name of a "medieval dance craze", which seems to have emanated from this very article, is now in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/arts/dance/american-ballet-theaters-giselle-at-the-met-review.html

I have not made an edit, preferring to wait for a dance expert or a medical expert to do so. Hubertgrove (talk) 08:40, 30 May 2011 (UTC)

Sydenham's chorea
Wikipedia itself contains the correct description of St. Vitus Dance as Sydenham's chorea (perhaps a letter to the editor of the Times is in store.) — Robert Greer (talk) 21:12, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Critique of current edit
The new edit seems to have drawn mostly on Beaumont's "A Ballet Called Giselle", which is dated & contains some incorrect information (no fault of Beaumont, it is merely all that was available when the book was first written). For example the passage in the music section pertaining to the edition of Burgmuller's so-called "Peasant pas de deux" states that it is unknown who added the music, which is not true. The entire is pas de deux is drawn from the composer's "Souvenirs de Ratisbonne", not simply a waltz, & was added for the ballerina Nathalie Fitz-James not long after the premiere.

I am curious why the introductory paragraph was edited to remove the fact that entire ballet's traditional choreographic text, as performed today, is derived from choreographic notation created ca. 1901 while Marius Petipa took Anna Pavlova through rehearsals.

Also, the list of dances & who composed what is gone...why? --Mrlopez2681 (talk) 04:06, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

edits by mrlopez2681, April 11, 2015
I have added a section that discusses the additional pieces added to Giselle, notably the so-called "Peasant pas de deux" by Burgmuller, the 3 extra variations, as well as a pas de deux by Ludwig Minkus and a pas de cinq by Cesare Pugni that are no longer performed. Unfortunately most sources that contain any information concerning the history and authorship of these pieces tend to be obscure (no surprise to any historian of ballet), & many of the sources are from books that do not even have ISBN numbers. The composer Riccardo Drigo's modest biography from 1929 contains a list detailing all of the additional pieces he added to every ballet in the Imperial Russian Ballet's repertory. The list mentions Giselle's famous solo in E-Major from act I (often erroneously credited to Minkus in several modern sources, such as theatre programs & CD liner notes) and another solo he composed that today turns up in the Mariinsky's production of Giselle as a female variation in the Peasant pas de deux.

It is important to note that every ballet historian must approach all sources that discuss the history & authorship of any of the ballets that make up the classical repertory with caution, as incorrect information & misconception are rampant in most published sources.

On a technical note, I have done my best with the citations, something I'm not very good at. I attempted to add the ISBN for the Russian Petipa book listed in the references section, but it turned out with a "check isbn" in red, even though the ISBN was correct -



--Mrlopez2681 (talk) 09:17, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Strange quote in music section
The music section contains the following quote -

One dance historian writes:

It begins by stating that "By no stretch of the imagination can the score of Giselle be called great music...", & yet the author's proceeding sentences go on to describe just why he thinks that it IS great music. Very odd indeed. ---Mrlopez2681 (talk) 09:57, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 16:20, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

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ballet article
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