The Ballet company of the Brno National Theatre (NdB Ballet) will present a new production of Giselle, one of the pinnacle works of Romanticism in ballet, on 8 May 2026 at the Mahen Theatre. Cuban choreographer Rodolfo Castellanos presents a stage production rooted in the purest tradition of Romantic ballet, with the title role performed by guest principal soloist Ksenia Ovsyanick and the role of Albrecht by principal soloist of the Berlin State Ballet, Alejandro Virelles.
In 1841, ‘Giselle’ had its premiere in Paris, and was met with such enormous acclaim that within a decade it had appeared on all the world’s major stages. The ballet draws on De l’Allemagne, a collection by German poet Heinrich Heine, who captured an ancient Central European myth about Willis, the spirits of girls who died of betrayed love, rising from their graves at midnight to dance straying men to their deaths.
This motif was transformed into a ballet libretto by poet and Romantic theatre theorist Théophile Gautier together with the experienced librettist Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. The deeply melodic music, filled with French charm, was composed by Adolphe Charles Adam, who introduced an innovative approach to the leitmotif principle, a musical theme tied to a specific character or emotion.
Giselle tells the story of a village girl who falls in love with Albrecht, a young man hiding both his noble origins and his engagement to another. When Giselle discovers the truth, she loses her mind and dies of a broken heart. In the second act, the spirits of the Willis summon Giselle from her grave; together they dance by night in a forest clearing, luring the men who betrayed them. Yet Giselle’s love for Albrecht endures beyond death, and she protects him from the vengeance of Myrtha, Queen of the Willis. With the coming of dawn, Giselle fades away, and Albrecht is left alone, crushed by grief, but saved by the power of her forgiveness.
Giselle was first staged in Brno by Miroslav Kůra in 1968. One notable version was the 1983 production by Jiří Blažek, in which Soňa Zejdová and later Jana Kosíková shone in the lead role.
The new version for NdB Ballet has been created by Cuban dancer, choreographer and teacher Rodolfo Castellanos, a former principal soloist of the Cuban National Ballet with an extensive international career. He works alongside his assistant Yolanda Correa, a renowned prima ballerina and principal soloist of the Norwegian National Ballet. Their production draws on the Cuban tradition associated with the legendary dancer Alicia Alonso.
The new staging thus exemplifies the traditions of Romantic ballet, while also striving for a more natural, relaxed style of dance and vivid pantomime. “Giselle reminds us why the Romantic era still speaks to today’s audiences,” said Castellanos. “It reaches our deepest emotions while enchanting us with supernatural beauty.”
The role of Giselle, known as “Hamlet for ballerinas”, demands not only flawless classical technique but also deep psychological experience. “Giselle is a ballet where dancers must work with action and reaction through pantomime, much like in drama,” said Correa. “The music was composed so perfectly to express words through movement, and through it one can feel both the warmth and the pain of an immortal love.”
In the premiere cast, audiences will see guest principal soloist Ksenia Ovsyanick in the title role, a former principal soloist of the Berlin State Ballet who has performed around the world. “Giselle tests you both artistically and technically, and offers space for interpretation,” said Ovsyanick. “The story can be approached in many ways: it can be about forgiveness, selflessness, the naivety of love, or what it truly means to love. No matter how often I return to it, I always feel as though I am beginning a new story.”
Visually, the production is set in the late medieval period. The set was designed by Jaroslav Milfajt, with costumes by designer Ľudmila Várossová.
