The Royal Touch

Deirdre Newman

When The Royal Ballet was looking for U.S. cities to tour for its

productions of “Cinderella” and “Giselle,” it chose only two: the

city of the arts and New York City.

The esteemed company that hails from London will present three

performances of “Giselle” tonight and tomorrow in Segerstrom Hall at

the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

“We consider it a prestigious theater, and the stage is wonderful

for our huge costumes and also gives us lots of room for the

dancers,” said Kevin O’Hare, manager for The Royal Ballet. “Because

of the size of the theater and auditorium, and because of the

companies that do come and perform here, it really has become sort of

a ballet theater.”

The company first performed Peter Wright’s production of “Giselle”

in 1985. A ballet of the Romantic era, “Giselle” is about a peasant

girl who kills herself after she discovers that her lover has

deceived her.

She joins the ghostly ranks of betrayed women who rise from the

dead to prey on the men who have destroyed their lives. But instead

of seeking vengeance, Giselle protects her lover, who has shown

remorse when he visits her moonlit grave, and she defends him from

the macabre touch of her phantom sisters until dawn breaks.

“The audience can expect to see a classic, beautifully staged and

costumed version of the most famous ballet of the Romantic era,

sensitively and imaginatively portrayed in Peter Wright’s

production,” Assistant Director Jeanetta Laurence said.

The title role is challenging technically and emotionally for a

classical ballerina, Laurence said. Three different ballerinas will

dance the part of Giselle in each of the three performances this

weekend.

“Each ballerina tries to find their own interpretation, and of

course, there have been many very different, but equally great,

interpretations over the years, including those of Tamara Karsavina,

Alicia Markova and Margot Fonteyn,” Laurence said.

Not only will the ballerinas change for each performance, but the

entire cast will as well, O’Hare said.

“You’ll see quite different interpretations within all three,

which makes it worthwhile to see them all,” O’Hare said.

Earlier this week, The Royal Ballet presented the new production

of Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Cinderella” at the performing arts center.