Novel 'Giselle'

(What would "Giselle" look like if the story happened in the 1950s, if Giselle was not a peasant girl but the daughter of an artist, and if she met her lover Albrecht outside a bar instead of a cottage? )

The answers will be given by the Ballet National de Marseille, which is to perform their new version of the classic ballet at Beijing Exhibition Hall Theatre from Saturday to Monday.

On Tuesday, the ballet troupe plans to stage a triple bill consisting of Act III of "Raymonda" choreographed by Marius Petipa, and "Capriccio" and "Tzigane" choreographed by George Balanchine.

This new version of "Giselle" premiered in Marseille in May 2000. It was proposed by Marie-Claude Pietragalla, head of Ballet National de Marseille, who also performs the role of Giselle in the new version.

There are artists who seem to be blessed with every gift, and Marie-Claude Pietragalla is undoubtedly one of these.

Jet black hair, blazing eyes, feline figure and a strong personality: the former star dancer at the Paris Opera is also a choreographer and ballet mistress.

From the moment she entered the Dance School of the Paris Opera in 1973, Claude Bessy, her teacher, noticed the girl's beauty, presence and stage instinct.

There was no doubt that she had the makings of a star. At the age of 16, the girl they had come to call Pietra was accepted into the corps de ballet.

In 1981, after the traditional annual competition, she rose to the rank of "coryphea."

The renowned choreographer Maurice Bejart had no hesitation in casting her in "Bakhi III," in which her slender silhouette, the haughty way she carried her head, the energy with which she chiseled the angular movements in space attracted notice.

In 1984, with her partner Wilfried Romoli, she performed this pas-de-deux at the Paris International Dance Competition and they won first prize for best couple.

The jury of the Association for the Promotion of the Paris Opera awarded her its annual prize in 1989.

A performer of great talent, the dancer ventured into choreography in 1988 with a first attempt called "Boromabile" to music by Hugues Le Bars, known for his collaborations with Maurice Bejart.

Of Corsican origin, Marie-Claude Pietragalla understandably did justice to the island in "Corsica" (1996), a dramatic work inspired by the culture of the Island of Beauty, and called on the composer Petru Guelfucci for the musical accompaniment.

Three years ago, she left the Ballet of the Paris Opera and succeeded Roland Petit, founder of the company, to become head of the National Ballet of Marseilles.

She listed the classic repertoire, but in rejuvenated, updated versions. Thus Rudi van Dantzig presented his "Romeo and Juliet" in 1999 and Eric Quillere, leading dancer at the Paris Opera, was invited to stage a very personal version of "Giselle" last year.

Eric Quillere has transposed the setting of the ballet from 19th century Rhineland to the 1950s, with contemporary sets and costume designed by Rodolfo Natale.

There were no noble persons and farmers, but some girls and boys from working-class families in a small town (called Friends of Giselle in this production) and some young people from bourgeois families. They are called Friends of Albrecht here.

Notable is the replacement of Giselle's mother by her father, who owns an art gallery and employs Hilarion as his staff.

Bathilde, Albrecht's fiancee, remains, and the adage of the peasant pas de deux in the first second is danced here by Bathilde and Albrecht, who does not have an attendant in the squire Wilfred.

In this 1950s setting, there was of course no place for the Prince of Courland and his hunting party.

Giselle's cottage has been replaced in this production by the art gallery, the ground floor of which can be seen by the audience and is a workshop with an easel. And the building opposite is now a bar with a pool table instead of Albrecht's cottage.

Eric undertook a deep study in order to preserve the essence of the work. He replaced the pantomime, which comes from the old-fashioned Comedia dell'Arte, by an adaptation where the psychology of the "second roles" support the drama that leads Giselle to madness.

Eric also abandoned the effects of the traditional machinery on the second act, replacing it with video which enhances the supernatural and magic effect of the "dead land."

In the first act, the video displayed a big flower on the back screen when the two lovers danced together at the beginning. Then Eric adds a pas de deux between Albrecht and Bathilde and a shorter one danced by Giselle and Hilarion.

The mad scene has been retained, but most of the authentic mime has been substituted by a lot of repetitive emphatic emoting by Giselle.

The second act more or less follows the original libretto. The sets consist only of an imposing bare tree trunk and Giselle's monumental tomb.

The traditional white backdrop at the back of the stage occasionally projects the video showing trees and other elements of nature as well as the menacing wilis.

The biggest change in Act II was that Bathilde became Myrtha (and returned to Bathilde at the end).

The beginning of the act sees the repentant Albrecht, visiting Giselle's grave. He falls asleep, and Bathilde finds him and removes his fur-trimmed overcoat.

At the end, after Giselle's final disappearance into her grave, Bathilde returns to cover Albrecht with the overcoat as he awakes.

It's logical if the choreographer has treated Bathilde as one of the girls hurt by the men. So it's quite natural for us to see her become a wili to revenge the guy who cheated her.

The second roles are designed as counterpoints to the main characters. The drama is enhanced by the duality of Giselle and Bathilde, Albretch and Hilarion, Bathilde and Mytha.

Dame Margot Fonteyn (1919-91), one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the last century, was well aware of the dramatic potential of this duality. She suggested that Bathilde and Mytha be performed by the same dancer.