Search - Adam - Giselle / Karen Kain, Frank Augustyn, National Ballet of Canada on DVD

A common man's point of view.

Richard Rawls | Dublin Ga USA | 07/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, DON"T believe everything you read in these reviews, because they are ALL debatable points of view. As an example of how ridiculous some reviews are, read the 2 star review written by "Slava", on Coppelia by the Australian Ballet.....The Australian Ballet - Coppelia



I now have SIX versions of this ballet, which I consider the best of all

the romantic ballets. This Canadian version, the Bolshoi version with Natalia Bessmertnova, the La Scala version with Svetlana Zakharova, the Bavarian version w/Nureyev and Lynne Seymour, the Royal Ballet version w/Cojocaru,and now the Australian Ballet version w/Christine Walsh. Of the six, the Canadian version with Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn still has the edge over the others because of the acting ability of Karen. In this ballet, acting is just as important as dancing. Karen convinced me her character was going mad. Only Cojocaru and Christine Walsh came close to Karen as an actress. Remember this is a common man's opinion. Here the sets are much better and the lighting is superb in both acts. The costuming of the peasants and the Regal party were spectacular. Princess Bathilde, Albrecht's fiance, was one of the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She was simply gorgeous. So why did he need to tomcat around? He's a cad, that's why.



Of the five versions I have, Karen Kain was a bit more convincing in her portrayal of a mind gone mad than any of the others. There was no need to show Giselle stabbing herself with the sword (she didn't in the Aussie version), although I thought that was carried out well. She could have convinced anyone that Giselle COULD have died of heart failure. The way Karen pulled the necklace from around her neck and with the same motion remove that which held her hair in place was perfect. The others struggled with that motion. When Karen had her hair in her face and the camera went in for a closeup her eyes were in perfect focus and they were the wild eyes of girl going mad with grief.

This is an extremely emotional scene as she relives her happier moments and then runs wildly through the crowd into the arms of Hilarion whom she seems now to detest. There is a lump in my throat just thinking about it, and I usually cry a little when I view the scene. Well you might as well know it, I'm a sentimental old fool. I also cry when Giselle goes back to her grave.



This story seems to give Hilarion a bad rap since he did not deceive anyone. He was not brutish or mean even though a strange man just showed up out of nowhere and started flirting with who he thought was his girl and future bride. It was Albrecht who was deceitful. Not only did he deceive Giselle but also his fiance Bathilde. Yet poor Hilarion dies and Albrecht lives. Seems unfair. By the way, the death of Hilarion was done better in this version than any of the others mentioned above, two of which show him just running off the set. The idea is that the Wilis force him into the lake to drown.



The costumes of the Wilis in this Giselle are much nicer than the others. They have texture and glitter and look like they might have been a bride in her wedding gown come back to haunt the living. The look on their faces conveys the same haunting message. The unyielding expression on Myrtha (Meer-ta, the Wili Queen) is enough to freeze anyone to death. However, I think she does soften just a little in the end and seems to condescend toward Giselle and Albrecht or perhaps to love itself. She may have remembered that SHE, too, once loved someone. The violin solo at the end is hauntingly beautiful.



If you want ballet with emotional impact then buy this one."