On 25 November 2022, the romantic ballet masterpiece ‘Giselle’ by Coralli and Perrot with music by Adam returns to the stage of the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw after an absence of 25 years. The ballet was realised by the eminent British ballerina and ballet master Maina Gielgud.

‘Giselle’ was conceived by the poet Théophile Gautier, inspired by a legend written down by Heinrich Heine, the libretto was written by the playwright Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, the music was composed by Adolphe-Charles Adam, and the creators of the exemplary choreography were the ballet master Jean Coralli and the supporting dancer Jules Perrot. Together they created a work widely regarded as the quintessential work of balletic romanticism.

The ballet has been shown in Warsaw many times, starting in 1848, when it was first staged according to the Parisian original by Roman Turczynowicz.

The last two productions (1968 and 1976) were accompanied by stylish scenery and beautiful costumes by the late Andrzej Kreutz Majewski, who was exceptionally apt in conveying the romantic atmosphere of the French masterpiece.

The Polish National Ballet decided to draw once again on the painterly vision of the great Polish stage designer, realising its new Giselle in his recreated artistic staging.

The artist left behind meticulously detailed designs for decorations and costumes, and even his remnant decorations have been preserved in the warehouses of the Grand Theatre. On this basis, the theatre workshop has now recreated Kreutz Majewski’s set design, meticulously adapted by Małgorzata Szabłowska (decorations) and Katarzyna Rott (costumes).

“Giselle” reappears on the Warsaw stage according to Marius Petipa’s canonical choreographic adaptation in an original version by Maina Gielgud, once one of the stars of European ballet and later head of the Australian Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet.