✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Dance

The Royal Opera House streams Giselle ★★★★★

03 Dec 21 – 01 Jan 22, Stream available on demand from 3 December at 19:30

The Royal Ballet streams its memorable production of Giselle, the Romantic ballet par excellence

By Teresa Guerreiro on 2/12/2021

10 CW readers are interested
Natalia Osipova as Giselle, Reece Clarke as Albrecht in Giselle ˙© ROH 2021. Photo: Alice Pennefather
Natalia Osipova as Giselle, Reece Clarke as Albrecht in Giselle ˙© ROH 2021. Photo: Alice Pennefather
The Royal Opera House streams Giselle 5 The Royal Opera House streams Giselle Teresa Guerreiro
Giselle will be streamed on Friday 3 December 2021, 19:30 – 21:45 (performed on Saturday 20 November), as part of the ROH Autumn streaming programme. Available for a month. Cast: Yasmine Naghdi as Giselle, Matthew Ball as Albrecht, Marianela Nuñez as Myrtha.
Tickets: £16
To access the ROH streaming platform click here
Below is CW's ★★★★★ review of the first night of the current run


Let’s be absolutely clear: Natalia Osipova’s Giselle Act II simply cannot be bettered. As the spirit of the dead and betrayed peasant girl Giselle, she is ethereal, no longer human, almost feral, until in a brief reunion with her lover Albrecht she recaptures her humanity for just long enough to forgive and save him from the vengeful wilis.


In the eerie, monochromatic, moonlit, mist-enveloped forest where Giselle’s grave lies, Osipova uses her exceptional elevation to convey weightlessness, an impression reinforced by arms that unfold softly like wings, and feet that bourrée as if she’s floating above the ground.


As she gradually gains corporality so that she can meet the repentant Albrecht one last time, her body melds into his and yet at the same time it conveys the pull of what she’s about to become: pure spirit, devoid of all humanity like her sister wilis.


It’s an unforgettable performance that burrows straight into your heart; and in Reece Clarke, debuting in the role of Albrecht, Osipova has picked a remarkable partner.



Reece Clarke as Albrecht, Natalia Osipova as Giselle, Mayara Magri as Myrtha. ˙© ROH 2021. Photo: Alice Pennefather
Tall, supremely elegant, the epitome of the danseur noble, and possessed of a strong technique, Royal Ballet first soloist Reece Clarke was mesmerising: his Albrecht intelligently characterised, his dancing superbly detailed, his partnering safe and deeply attentive.


His tour-de-force dancing as commanded by the Queen of the Wilis took your breath away, his long sequence of entrechats so sustained and perfect it earned its own enthusiastic applause.


Albrecht’s entrance into a sunlit farming village gets Act I going. As Clarke sets the scene with the clearest of mimes, there's a predatory glint in his eye, the dashing nobleman who’s out for a bit of harmless fun with a pretty peasant girl. So meticulous is his characterisation we immediately know that Reece Clarke is making Albrecht very much his own.


Osipova’s Act I Giselle is perhaps not so indisputable as her Act II reading of the character. She dances Giselle as a boisterous young girl, feverishly burning with young love, seemingly bursting with life, yet already sensing intimations of death. There's a touch of excess in all her gestures, and at times her dazzling speed cuts across the music. Clarke’s initially callow Albrecht is humanised by her intense adoration. They dance together as true lovers, which makes the revelation of his betrayal, leading to her mad scene, utterly devastating.


The Royal Ballet brings this atmospheric Peter Wright production intensely to life, with glorious designs by John Macfarlane, the massed ranks of wilis in the white Act II impressive in their beautifully coordinated ensemble dancing, just as the corps and soloists in Act I tackle their jollly choreography with joy and aplomb.


As Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, newly minted principal Mayara Magri showed the required technical prowess, but her interpretation was surprisingly under-characterised – you never sensed the character’s absolute authority and cold implacability.


No matter: the night belonged to the perfect, vital partnership of Osipova and Clarke who made this a Giselle to remember..


by Teresa Guerreiro

What The Royal Opera House streams Giselle
Where Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD | MAP
Nearest tube Covent Garden (underground)
When 03 Dec 21 – 01 Jan 22, Stream available on demand from 3 December at 19:30
Price £6-£125
Website https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/giselle-by-marius-petipa-dates



Most popular

Best London Exhibition to see now
Top exhibitions on now in London
Things to do in London this weekend: 9–11 June
Things to do in London this weekend: 9–11 June
Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher in My Brilliant Friend season 4, HBO/Sky Atlantic (Photo: HBO)
My Brilliant Friend, season 4, Sky Atlantic: first-look photo, release date, plot, cast
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Parsons

    Parsons is a thoroughly old-fashioned spot, with a maroon-tiled facade, a white tiled interior and antique mirrors on which are written their daily changing selection of fresh whole fish which make up most of the mains. We love it.

    Book Map
  • Sushisamba, Covent Garden

    Housed at the Opera Terrace, within the central Market Building, Sushisamba comes to Covent Garden. This is its second location in London after opening at Heron tower in Liverpool street. Expect Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian fusion sushi and a truly unique culinary experience.

    Read more...
    Book Map
  • Mamie's

    Make everyday pancake day. Serving exquisite savoury and sweet crêpes, from childhood favourites like lemon and sugar to more sophisticated combinations, Mamie's may well be the home of the best pancakes and galettes in London.

    Read more...
    Book Map
10

The Royal Ballet

Giselle

Peter Wright

Natalia Osipova

Reece Clarke

Mayara Magri

Joh Macfarlane

You might like

  • Edward Watson and Sarah Lamb in The Dante Project © ROH 2021 Photo: Andrej Uspenski

    The Royal Opera House streams The Dante Project ★★★★★

  • The Royal Ballet, César Corrales and Francesca Hayward © ROH 2021 Photo: Helen Maybanks

    The Royal Ballet, Romeo and Juliet review ★★★★★

  • Sergei Polunin as Romeo, Alina Cojucaru as Juliet.  Photo: Jack Thomson

    Review: Polunin/Cojocaru/Kobborg, Romeo and Juliet ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×