Guest Post: Swan Lake, Shwan-lake!

By Alanna Gluck

Tchaikovsky is wonderful, don’t get me wrong.  But seriously, why is everybody all up in P. Ilyitch’s ballet biznyitch? Almost any classical music aficionado can identify excerpts from both “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker”. It’s as if Tchaikovsky was the ONLY composer of great ballet music and as if there is no great ballet scores that pre-or-post-date the “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake” in 1877 and 1892, respectively.

Thus, as the classical music enthusiast and balletomane that I am, I am happy to introduce “Giselle”, composed in 1841 by Adolphe Adam. Here are a few reasons you should add this score to your classical music library:

1)    “Giselle” predates “Swan Lake” by 36 years (premiered in 1841) and became the archetype of romantic ballet and the reason we have Swan Lake today.

2)    Adam is an obscure composer; prolific and popular in his time, not much of his work survives.

3)    Giselle features a crew of ultra-scary virgin-ghosts called Wilis (brides who died of a broken heart before their wedding day...can you think of a worse purgatory?) who take their revenge on any man that crosses their path, forcing him to dance to his death. SCARY.

4)    Tchaikovsky himself regarded Giselle as “a gem of music and dance” (according to Karolynne Gee)

Here is a quick sketch of the Finale to the ballet:

A church bell tolls 4 am in the distance (listen for it!) and the ghost of the devastated Giselle has protected Albrecht, who had promised love but was engaged to another, from impending death by Wilis (turns her back on her Wilis sisters for a player!). As the sun rises, she is called back to her earthbound tomb.  Albrecht is left alone in the churchyard, haunted by the revelation that it is not love that conquers all, but forgiveness.

Adam, Adolphe - Giselle, ou Les Wilis - Ballet-pantomime in 2 acts: Finale
(1992: Ermler, Royal Opera House Orchestra)

*For 10 P&P Points: Which popular Christmas carol is credited to Adam?