An Opera Lover's First Ballet Experience: "Giselle" by The Royal Ballet

My First Ballet Experience

The Royal Ballet is one of the world's premier ballet companies, and this is their first visit to Japan in three years.

I have always loved opera, but I have long had a desire to see a ballet someday.

That said, I knew nothing about ballet companies or ballet works, and I was unsure where to start.

I happened to learn about this performance while going to see an opera, and when I consulted some ballet-loving acquaintances, they strongly encouraged me, saying I absolutely had to see it, so I decided to take the plunge and buy a ticket.

It is a great luxury to be able to see my first ballet ever performed by a top-tier company. Since I went to the trouble of getting tickets, I decided to do a little preparation beforehand.

The Royal Ballet's "Giselle"

The synopsis and other details are also included.
For a beginner, the explanation of the mime was also very helpful.

Music

About NHK Hall

NHK Hall is a very rare venue that serves as both a "broadcasting hall" and a "concert hall." The current hall opened in 1973. It is a large-scale multi-purpose hall with over 3,000 seats.

It is famous as the venue for the "Kohaku Uta Gassen," but that is not all. It has a history of hosting world-class performing arts, including famous ballet companies, opera houses, and orchestras.

And for classical music lovers, it is, above all,the home of the NHK Symphony Orchestra (N-Kyo)regular concerts.

Impressions of ballet from an opera fan, with a tendency to focus on the music

The first thing I felt upon entering the venue was that there were many women and younger people, and that the audience demographic was quite different from that of opera.

For a while after the performance began, because the atmosphere on stage was similar to opera, my brain automatically had the sensation of "waiting for the singing to start."
(It didn't start.)

And, because I was too drawn into the music, there were times when the dancing felt like background music.
(What am I saying?)

People like this should not sit in a position where they can see the orchestra pit well. It is almost impossible to listen to the orchestra as mere accompaniment.

The orchestra as accompaniment...?
People like this need training to focus their attention in a balanced way between their eyes and ears.

Entering the second act, the story's progression settled down a bit, and I was able to focus on the dancing.

There was a bit of a surprise in the ending, but the depth of Giselle's love is immeasurable...

Adam was a Romantic composer in terms of his era, but in this "Giselle," one can also feel the clarity and lightness of classical melodies. And there was also a power that made the crucial scenes shine.

What left the biggest impression on me was the scene where Giselle falls into despair, where music plays that seems to intentionally distance itself from her state of mind. That strange dissonance highlights Giselle's madness even more, and it sent a chill down my spine.

And the scene where Giselle loses her life, combined with the music, truly took my breath away.

The charm of ballet as felt by a beginner

I have talked only about the music, but it was a very happy time to be able to see the ballet I had longed for in such a wonderful performance.

Opera is also a story, but in ballet, the charm of a fairy-tale worldview is even stronger... it is very fantastic and beautiful, and especially in the second act, I felt as if I had seen real spirits.

It is truly mysterious that a story can be expressed to this extent through dance, gesture, and music without words. I felt that this production of Giselle is a work where these characteristics come to life even more.

Royal Opera House

Someday, I would like to go to the Royal Opera House in London.

It is the home base for The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera.

The next work I want to see is...

Romeo and Juliet!

Because it's Prokofiev...
By the way,


Is it true that there are Prokofiev fans and Tchaikovsky fans?