Product Details

• Actors: Kirov Ballet, Galina Mezentseva, Gennady Selyutsky, Konstantin Zaklinsky, Angelina Kabarova
• Directors: Preben Montell
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: June 27, 2006
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FII298
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,242 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Adam’s romantic ballet, Giselle, first seen in 1841, was the finest of the ballets staged in Paris during the age of Romanticism. Over the years Giselle disappeared from the repertory outside Russia, and has only survived through the recognition of its quality and the preservation of its traditions by the Kirov Ballet. The role of Giselle has been compared to that of Hamlet. She is a simple peasant girl, driven from joy to madness and death through an unhappy love. She is transformed into a ghost and ordered to help destroy the man who betrayed her, while still seeking to sustain him because of her undying love.

Giselle: Galina Mezentseva. Albrecht: Konstantin Zaklinsky. Bertha: Angelina Kabarova. Bathilde: Anelina Kasherina. Hilarion: Gennadi Selyutski. Wilfred: Valentin Onoshko. Orchestra of the Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet; Conductor Viktor Fedotov. Music: Adolphe Adam. Choreography: Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, revised by Marius Petipa.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, March 15, 2007

By 

Georgios Xenias (Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adam - Giselle / Kirov, Petipa, Mezentseva (DVD)

This is a very classical production of Giselle by the Kirov forces in the early 1980s. Sets and costumes are exactly what one would expect in this kind of production: traditional and beautiful. In the second Act there are some impressive tricks (dancers floating above the stage, etc.), which are perfectly executed and quite effective. The picture and sound quality are good. The performance was filmed live, so you get the audience's responce (which I like), as well as some thumping from the dancers' feet (which I could do without).

I believe there is no need to stress that the corps is great. Anyone who has seen Kirov performances from that era knows that they carried sort of a guarantee of excellence.

Terekhova, who dances Myrtha, the Queen of the ghosts, is pefect. The absolute control of movement combined with an icy expression, gives a spooky and at the same time fascinating feeling to the part. I wish she had more to do -I couldn't get enough of her.

Zaklinski is Albrecht, Giselle's controversial lover. I had seen him before in the Kirov's Corsaire, dancing the slave-trader, which is almost a character role. He was great there too, but what a surprise to see him here. He is an excellent noble dancer, very stylish, very handsome, and a good actor, too. Acting abilities were mandatory in this case, not only beacause of the complexity of the part, but also because he was coupled with such a Giselle!

Which brings us to Mezentseva, the Giselle. She is the main reason I'm writing this review. I've read reviews describing her as "an ancient anorexic" (in the UK Amazon) or even "a bag of bones". True, she is not pretty. She is tall, her shoulders are broad and she is VERY thin. If I were the costume designer, I'd have covered her arms and bust by all means. But a great artist does not need looks. And a great artist she is. One minute after she appears, the "look" issue was forgotten for me. Her dancing is excellent, in the best Kirov tradition. Wonderful, fluid movement, absolute control, perfect form, -everything you'd expect from a Kirov prima ballerina,- but her ACTING is what absolutely took my breath away. What a wonderful Giselle she is! Her Act I finale almost had me in tears. In fact she IS in tears, herself. You can see them streaming down her cheeks as she turns from her mother to Albrecht in despair. Her madness and death-scene are unforgetable. And how naturally she slides into the un-natural state of Giselle in the 2nd Act. She is and is not the village girl anymore. She is gentle, compassionate and detached. A spirit.

This was a very rewarding purchase for me, and, unless what you are looking for is a lovely creature dancing pirouettes, I would definitely recomend it.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful, Complete Giselle With Great Choreography., July 8, 2006

By 

J. M WILINSKY (teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adam - Giselle / Kirov, Petipa, Mezentseva (DVD)

This performance from 1982 features Galina Mezentseva as Giselle and Konstantin Zaklinsky(Altynai Asylmuratova's husband) as Albrecht. You may have seen these two in a Kirov production of Swan Lake from the same period(also available on DVD from Amazon.com). They both dance quite well together and separately. This is a very complete version with all the usual solos and an entire peasant pas de deux, with every variation and very challenging choreography(such as a double prouette from a kneeling position). The Myrtha( danced by Tatyana Terekhova) variation is also complete. At the end of Myrtha's opening adagio, she walks off stage(right) and is then seen flying high in the sky across the stage; she then reappears, walking on stage(left) and continues with her variation. That was unusual. There is also a great deal of mime in this, more than I have ever seen in this ballet. As far as the quality of the dancing is concerned, this certainly is at the highest standards. I should point out that Mezentseva's personality is very quiet and demure and some of you may wonder if this is a good part for her. It is difficult to say. I usually don't like to focus on such things. Furthermore, since this production is more than 20 years old, some may not be satisfied with the quality, although I would say the image(full screen) and sound(Dolby 2.0) are very good. Is this the perfect Giselle for you? I bought it to have another performance by Mezentseva and Zaklinsky and I am very happy with it. Maybe you will be, too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From the Desk of a ballet Ignoramus, May 3, 2011

By 

drkhimxz (Freehold, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adam - Giselle / Kirov, Petipa, Mezentseva (DVD)

I know very little about ballet, have seen only a few seasons of it (Balanchine's NYC Ballet nearly half century ago) and I don't know what I like until I see it. These dancers I liked. They were disciplined, wove beautiful patterns of movement on stage, and created an atmosphere of grace and polish. Mezentseva bore well the starring role. As pointed out by many reviews, she is skinny. Most ballet dancers I have seen are skinny. I saw no difference in her than in the norm. After all, we are speaking of a discipline to which access has been denied to normally endowed women for that fact alone. What I did miss is what a Leon Bakst, Marc Chagall, Eugene Berman, David Hockney, William Kentridge, Bonnard, Picasso, and others of their kind, brought to the stage, costumes and scenery, which inspire immersion by audiences into the world that the dancers create. For my money, they might better have been performing on a bare stage in rehearsal clothes.
All-in-all, though, despite these deficiencies, and the obvious lack of room given for bravura male dancing, most who enjoy dance, without knowing the technicalities of performing, should enjoy this performance. By the way, as is customary, though not without exception, in Kultur discs, there is no additional material of any sort.