Giselle digital resource book

GISELLE
RESOURCE WORKBOOK
2021/22
- Generously supported by The Taylor Family Foundation and
The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation

YOUR VISIT
We are really excited to welcome you and
your students to the Royal Opera House for
the Schools’ Matinee of Giselle on Friday 5
November 2021.
Film: Welcome to the Royal Opera House
Click on the thumbnail below to view this film, which introduces
you and your students to the Royal Opera House – guiding them
through the spaces they will visit, introducing them to some of
the people they will encounter and some of the exciting things
they might see.
Cover: Artists of The Royal Ballet in Giselle ©ROH/Bill Cooper, 2014
Left: Alexander Campbell as Albrecht and Francesca Hayward as Giselle in Giselle ©2018
ROH. Photograph by Helen Maybanks

THE STORY
ACT I
The village
Giselle is a free spirit, much loved in her village in the forest. She has
an innocent soul and loves life, but suffers from a weak heart. She has
fallen in love with a young man called Loys, who has recently come to
her village.
Her mother Berthe wants Giselle to marry Hilarion, a forester from the
village. She does not trust Loys, and warns Giselle by telling her the
legend of the Wilis. Deep in the forest, she explains, the Wilis are ghosts
of abandoned women who died before their wedding day and take
revenge on men by forcing them to dance to their death.
Berthe is right to be suspicious of Loys. Although she doesn’t know
it, Giselle has actually fallen in love with Count Albrecht, who has
disguised himself in order to get close to Giselle. In reality, he is
engaged to Bathilde, the daughter of the Duke of Courland.
A hunting party arrive at the village, including the Duke and Bathilde.
Albrecht knows they will recognise him, so he hides. Giselle dances
for the nobles and, when she tells Bathilde that she too is engaged,
Bathilde gives her a necklace.
When the hunting party leaves, Hilarion appears. He has broken into
Albrecht’s cottage and found a sword which proves that Albrecht is a
nobleman. Albrecht returns and Hilarion reveals his discovery to him.
The hunting party returns and Bathilde claims Albrecht as her fiancé.
The shock, heartbreak and betrayal is too much for Giselle and she loses
her reason. Seizing Albrecht’s sword, she takes her own life.
ACT II
The forest
Giselle has been buried deep in the forest, far away from the graves in
the churchyard. Hilarion, heartbroken at Giselle’s death, watches by her
grave. The ghostly Wilis arrive at midnight and Hilarion flees. Myrtha, the
Queen of the Wilis, draws Giselle from her grave to make her join their
group.
Albrecht also searches the forest for Giselle’s grave to lay flowers on the
earth where she is buried. Giselle’s spirit appears to Albrecht and leads
him deep into the woods.
The Wilis chase Hilarion through the woods and make him dance until,
exhausted, he falls into a lake and dies. Next, they find Albrecht, and
Myrtha commands him to dance to his death. Giselle tries to save
Albrecht but he cannot resist Myrtha’s command to dance. Giselle
gives him strength by dancing with him, but as the night wears on he
becomes weaker and weaker.
Just as Albrecht is about to die, the sun rises. Daylight destroys the
Wilis’ power and they fade away. Giselle, too, must return to her grave.
Exhausted but alive, Albrecht realises that Giselle’s love and forgiveness
have saved him. He fully realises how wrongly he treated Giselle. At the
end of his strange and terrifying journey, Albrecht is alone at Giselle’s
grave.

THE CHARACTERS
GISELLE
ALBRECHT
HILARION
BERTHE
A young woman who lives with her
‘Loys’ is not everything he seems: he is,
A young man who lives in the village. He
Giselle’s superstitious mother, who is
mother, Berthe, in a small village deep in
in fact, a young count called Albrecht. He
does not trust Loys, and loves Giselle.
suspicious of Loys. She worries about
the forest. She loves to dance, but suffers
has disguised himself in order to get to
her sickly daughter, and would like her to
from a weak heart. She has fallen in love
know the beautiful Giselle.
marry Hilarion.
with Loys, a young man she believes to
be a fellow villager.
Akane Takada as Giselle in Giselle ©2016 ROH. Photograph by Tristram
Kenton
Vadim Muntagirov as Albrecht in Giselle ©2016 ROH. Photograph by
Tristram Kenton
Tomas Mock as Hilarion in Giselle ©2016 ROH. Photograph by Tristram
Kenton
Elisabeth McGorian as Berthe in Giselle ©2018 ROH. Photograph by
Helen Maybanks

THE CHARACTERS
BATHILDE
The haughty daughter of the Duke of
Courland, who she joins in a hunting
expedition in the forest. She is engaged
to be married to Albrecht.
THE WILIS
Beautiful, deadly ghosts of unmarried women who died after being mistreated by
the men they loved. They take revenge on men who cross their paths in the forest
by forcing them to dance themselves to death.
MYRTHA
The terrifying Queen of the Wilis, who
discovers Hilarion and Albrecht in the
forest.
Christina Arestis as Bathilde in Giselle ©ROH/Tristram
Kenton, 2011
Artists of The Royal Ballet in Giselle ©ROH/Tristram
Kenton, 2011
Claire Calvert as Myrtha in Giselle ©2018 ROH. Photograph
by Helen Maybanks

CONTENT WARNING
Although Giselle is one of the most famous works in the ballet
repertory, the story deals with some issues that you may want
to explain and discuss with your students ahead of their visit.
In Act I, we see that Giselle is happily in love with Loys.
However, ‘Loys’ is actually Count Albrecht in disguise. He is a
nobleman who has infiltrated the village community in order
to take advantage of Giselle.
Believing him to be genuine, Giselle has professed her love to
Loys, but he has no intention of upholding his committment
to her. He is already betrothed to Bathilde, daughter of the
Duke of Courland, who passes through the village with a noble
hunting party.
Giselle discovers who Albrecht really is in a very public way
– in front of the rest of her village community, and also the
visiting nobles. The humiliation, shame and distress cause her
to lose her reason and take her own life with Albrecht’s sword.
Act II features the ghostly Wilis, but Giselle’s love and
forgiveness allow her to save Albrecht’s life and return to her
grave to rest in peace.
The story juxtaposes love and betrayal, life and death,
vengeance and forgiveness. This production of Giselle has
moments of tension and violence, although this is inferred
through dance.
Federico Bonelli as Albrecht and Lauren Cuthbertson as Giselle in
Giselle ©2016 ROH. Photograph by Tristram Kenton

MIME IN GISELLE
In ballet, we tell stories and express emotions through
movement and without words. In Giselle, this is done in two
ways: through dance and through mime.
Act I in particular is made up of short mimed scenes
interspersed with episodes of dancing. The character of
Berthe (Giselle’s mother) expresses much of the story through
mime. This is like a kind of sign language. We’ve provided a
gallery of images of a section of mime where Berthe tells the
story of the Wilis, their Queen, Myrtha, and what they do to
men who come across them in the forest. See if you and your
students can understand from the images how she expresses
the following text through mime:
In the dark forest, beneath the leaning trees, there is a grave.
Here spirits rise from the ground – Wilis! – and, leading them,
their Queen.
What’s that? A man strolling in the forest. A noble gentleman.
He is stopped in his tracks by the Queen of the Wilis.
‘You,’ says the Queen to the gentleman, ‘shall dance and die
here.’
‘Have mercy, please’, begs the gentleman, offering his pleas
to the Wilis gathered there. But as he dances he tires, he
becomes exhausted. His heart begins to fail him and he dies.
Kristen McNally illustrating the mime performed by Giselle’s mother Berthe
in Giselle Act I ©ROH/Andrej Uspenski, 2013

THE COMPOSER
ADOLPHE ADAM (1803–56)
Adolphe Adam was a French composer,
mostly of ballets and operas. Giselle is
the best known and most performed of
his stage works today.
Adam’s father was also a musician
– a pianist and teacher – but he was
strongly against the idea of his son
pursuing a career in music. So when
he began to compose and play music,
he did so secretly, and was only
allowed to study formally at the Paris
Conservatoire under the promise that
he would not pursue a career in music.
During his study, he specialized in
playing the organ, the harmonium (a
small reed organ which is powered
by bellows) and timpani (large, tuned
drums that are a crucial part of the
sound of the orchestra).
He made a living mostly by playing the
organ, teaching composition at the
conservatoire at which he had studied,
and putting on his ballets and operas.
In 1847 he opened his own opera house,
although it was closed a year later due
to the French ‘February Revolution’ of
1848.
You may have already heard Adam’s
music without realising it, in the
Christmas carol ‘O Holy Night’.
TIMELINE
1803 Born in Paris, France
1820 Learns organ, counterpoint and
composition
1829-32 Moves to London, composes
works for the Theatre Royal, Covent
Garden (on the site of what is now the
Royal Opera House)
1841 Composes music for the ballet
Giselle
1848 Loses all his money in a
disasterous bid to open a new theatre
1856 Dies in Paris

POST-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - MAKE YOUR OWN HAUNTED FOREST
Act II of Giselle takes place in the forest. It is night time, and both
Albrecht and Hilarion have come to the forest to look for Giselle’s
grave. The Wilis – ghosts of women abandoned before their
wedding day – arrive under the moonlight at midnight.
In this activity, your students are going to make a tiny haunted
forest in a little box. Ask them to imagine that the frame of the
box is a bit like the proscenium arch of the Royal Opera House.
What kind of enchanted forest will be hiding inside waiting to be
discovered? Will it be glittery and magical? Or will it be dark and
scary?
TIME GUIDELINE
45 minutes
YOU WILL NEED
• A small box. It could be a match box, cosmetics packaging or
an unwanted jewellery box. The smaller the better!
• Paper
• Coloured pens
• Glue stick
Artists of The Royal Ballet in Giselle ©ROH/Bill Cooper, 2014

ACTIVITY 1 - MAKE YOUR OWN HAUNTED FOREST
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step One
First, decorate the inside of the box with coloured pencils or pens.
Try to make the bottom or back of the box appear as if the forest is
continuing into the distance.
Step Two
Make three-dimensional layers that you will add into the box. These
could be trees, flowers or long grass.
Cut these out of paper and leave a tiny tab at the bottom to stick
them into the box. Colour them in before sticking them down.
It should end up looking like a pop-up picture book. You could
even gather tiny pieces of twig or leaves from outside to add to
your forest!
Step Three
Now add tiny magical creatures or ghostly figures to your forest.
These could be made of tiny scraps and paper and could be hidden
among the trees.
Step Four
Make sure you decorate the inside of the lid of your box as well. If
the lid is attached to the box, the design could also be attached to
it.
Step Five
When your students have finished decorating their box, ask them
to invite someone to open it and explore the magical haunted
forest inside.
Marianela Nuñez as Giselle and Vadim Muntagirov as Albrecht in Giselle ©2016 ROH.
Photograph by Tristram Kenton

ACTIVITY 1 - MAKE YOUR OWN HAUNTED FOREST
IDEAS TO EXTEND THIS ACTIVITY
Your students can try working together to make a bigger version
of the haunted forest scene by using larger boxes, like a shoe
box or a bigger cardboard box.
They could also experiment with the kinds of materials they
use to create their haunted forest scene. Tissue paper, fabric
or recycled plastic cut out and painted to look like foliage – the
opportunities are endless. Encourage your students to use their
imagination to decorate their boxes!
Ask the students to consider other ways to add atmosphere to
their enchanted forest scenes. How could they play with lighting
to create dramatic effects? For example, they could cut holes in
the top part of their box, cover over with coloured tissue paper
and hold the box under a light source. This will create magical
coloured lighting effects.
Artists of The Royal Ballet in Giselle ©2016 ROH. Photograph by
Tristram Kenton

ACTIVITY 2 - DRAW THE INSIDE OF GISELLE AND ALBRECHT’S COTTAGES
Act I of Giselle takes place outside, in the village in which Giselle
lives. The action takes place in this space; it is here that Giselle
and Albrecht meet, and also where the villagers gather to dance
and celebrate the arrival of the noble hunting party.
You will see in our production that there are two cottages
that feature on either side of the stage. One belongs to Giselle
and her mother, Berthe. The other belongs to Albrecht, who is
pretending to be a fellow villager called Loys.
In this activity, your students will choose one of the cottages
and draw the inside as they imagine it. Ask them to consider
how Giselle and her mother, Berthe, live? What kind of furniture
do they think they would have? How about Albrecht? Would his
cottage be neat or messy? Remember that Albrecht secretly
hides his nobleman’s sword in his cottage. What other items that
feature in the story do you think these characters would keep
inside their homes?
Vadim Muntagirov as Albrecht in Giselle ©2016 ROH. Photograph by Tristram Kenton

ACTIVITY 2 - DRAW THE INSIDE OF GISELLE AND ALBRECHT’S COTTAGES
TIME GUIDELINE
30+ minutes
YOU WILL NEED
• Paper
• Pencil
• Colour pencils, pens or paint
• Any other decorations as necessary
IDEAS TO EXTEND THIS ACTIVITY
Ask your students to think about their own homes, either real or
imagined. They could:
• Describe them to each other using lots of descriptive
words
• Write a story set entirely indoors
Marianela Nuñez as Giselle and Vadim Muntagirov as Albrecht in Giselle ©2016 ROH.
Photograph by Tristram Kenton

NATIONAL PROGRAMMES
We place creative learning at the centre of children’s education,
through certified CPD and online programmes, opening a
window into the world of ballet, opera and theatrecraft.
Our resources, created together with teachers in schools across
the UK:
• Build teachers’ confidence, providing the tools to facilitate
learning through the arts. No previous experience required.
• Develop students’ creativity, resilience, communication and
and other transferable skills.
• Are relevant to current school topics, providing a theme for
cross-curricular work and a springboard for literacy.
WE OFFER:
• Practical training for KS1 to KS5 teachers country-wide.
• Free digital resources offering two-lesson (Taster), five-lesson
(Explorer) and ten-lesson (Immersive) schemes of work.
• Introductory films that inspire and entertain students,
reinforcing the activities and concepts they encounter in the
lessons.
• Programmes schools can use to suppor their ArtsMark
journey. Arts Award Explore or Discover resources also available.

FURTHER PROGRAMMES
CREATE & DANCE
createanddance@roh.org.uk
KS1 to KS3
This programme provides an understanding of dance
by unlocking children’s imaginations and creativity.
CREATE & SING
createandsing@roh.org.uk
KS1 to KS3
This programme develops skills in singing, drama,
storytelling, characterization and music.
CREATE & DESIGN
createanddesign@roh.org.uk
KS1 to KS3
Develop an understanding of stage design and follow
a brief to design sets for a ballet.
CREATE & LEARN
For more information on all of our programmes
visit: learning-platorm.roh.org.uk