Previews: CLEVELAND BALLET IN GISELLE at Connor Palace

A woman gone mad, a deceiving man, and a band of forest-dwelling murdering ghost brides-to-be. No, these aren’t characters in the latest horror flick, but in Giselle, an 185-year-old story ballet Cleveland Ballet will perform this weekend at Playhouse Square’s Connor Palace.

One of ballet’s “Big Five” classic story ballets that are foundational pillars of the traditional classical repertoire, Giselle, with music by Adolphe Adam, was originally choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot in 1841, with libretto by poet and ballet critic Théophile Gautier, and French playwright Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges.

This two-act romantic tragedy tells of Giselle, a peasant girl who falls in love with the deceitful Prince Albrecht and dies of a broken heart. She then, in death, joins the Wilis, murderous ghosts of betrayed brides-to-be, and ultimately forgives and saves Albrecht from their power to dance him to death.

As with most of the “Big Five” story ballets, the art form’s most influential choreographer Marius Petipa’s later versions are the ones that live on today. Cleveland Ballet’s production uses Petipa’s choreography, with additional choreography by the company’s Artistic Director, Timour Bourtasenkov.

“It’s traditional classical ballet at its finest,” says Bourtasenkov.

Danced to recorded music with lush sets and costumes rented from Sarasota Ballet, the 2-hour production will feature dancers Svetlana Svinko (Fri., Oct. 23 & Sat., Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.) and Anna Cole (Fri., Oct. 23 at 10:30 a.m. & Sat., Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.) alternating in the role of Giselle; Johan Mancebo and Lorenzo Pontiggia doing the same for Prince Albrecht; and Madison Campbell and Gabriela Checo, doing similarly for the role of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis.

Emmanuel Martirosyan will portray gamekeeper Hilarion (all performances), the first victim of the Wilis, whose only crimes in the ballet seem to be unrequited feelings for Giselle and exposing Albrecht as a fraud.

Beyond the ballet’s principal roles, audiences will want to watch out for one of the most technically demanding roles: Act One’s Peasant Pas de Deux, a vibrant dance dense with jumps, leaps, and graceful partnering that packs the full array of classical steps into one 7-plus-minute powerhouse performance. Alternating in the Peasant Pas de Deux will be Nashializ Gomez Orengo with Alexander Guzmán (Fri., Oct. 23 & Sat., Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.), and Alexandra Veronese-Milin with Bruno Palheta (Fri., Oct. 23 at 10:30 a.m. & Sat., Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.).

More than one of ballet’s great love and ghost stories, Giselle is one of Ballet’s iconic female roles, combining adroit acting skills with a full range of artistic and technical skills as a dancer.

“One of the biggest challenges in portraying Giselle is the duality of her character throughout the ballet,” says Cole, about her debut in the role. “In Act One she is a lively young girl full of love, and in the second act she is a ghost under the control of the Wilis, but she’s also working to protect Albrecht. So there is this difficult situation of being under a spell and a ghost and still showing her love for him.”

New faces will also be taking the stage this weekend. In addition to Cleveland Ballet’s 23 company members, the organization has nearly doubled its apprentice dancers to 13, allowing Bourtasenkov to fill the stage with 24 Wilis dancers in the second act’s iconic scene.

Regular company supporters will also notice the absence of veteran company stars Albina Ghazaryan and Narek Martirosyan, along with rising star Sydney Henson, who have moved on from the company this season.

Since taking the reins as Artistic Director in 2023, Bourtasenkov has steadily molded and grown the company, improving its repertoire and production values to rival Ohio’s other anchor ballet companies, Cincinnati Ballet and Columbus’s BalletMet. With this production of Giselle, the company takes another big step along that path.