ACT ONE

A Village in the Rhineland

Giselle, a delicate young girl who is adored by her fellow villagers, lives with her watchful mother, Berthe. Count Albrecht is bored with his noble duties and obligations and, as a distraction, he disguises himself as a villager named Loys. Albrecht has noticed Giselle and is attracted to her youthful, innocent beauty. He enjoys the simplicity of being just another villager, and as each day passes Albrecht grows fonder of Giselle. In the meantime, Wilfred, Albrecht’s squire reminds the Count that he is betroth to the noblewoman, Bathilde. Albrecht refuses to be distracted by this commitment and determines he will resolve that situation later.

Unaware of Albrecht’s noble birth yet enamoured with him, Giselle is at first overwhelmed by his zeal and persistence. He expresses to Giselle his eternal love and vows he will always be faithful to her. In her joy and enthusiasm she pauses, her frail heart interrupting her. Berthe pleads with Giselle to rest and calm her excitement, reminding her that her frail heart may fail.

Hilarion, the village gamekeeper who is deeply in love with Giselle, discovers Albrecht’s disguise and is consumed with jealousy. He proceeds to reveal his rival’s true identity to the village. At first, Giselle refuses to believe Hilarion, but when Bathilde claims Albrecht as her fiancé, Giselle loses her mind. Overwhelmingly distraught and horrified, Giselle dies of a broken heart.

ACT TWO

Night in the Forest

As midnight approaches, Hilarion keeps vigil by Giselle’s grave. This is the hour when the Wilis, the ghosts of young girls who were jilted and died before their wedding days, materialize. They exact revenge upon men they encounter in the night by dancing them to their deaths. Hilarion’s destiny with the Wilis is realized as he is overcome with exhaustion. He succumbs to his fate as he is thrown into the lake.

Later, Count Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, laden with feelings of guilt and remorse. He sees a vision of Giselle and follows her deeper into the forest. Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, discovers them together, and orders the Wilis to enact the same revenge on Albrecht as they did on Hilarion. Giselle tries to protect Albrecht and implores Myrtha to reconsider his fate. Myrtha is firm and orders the Wilis to pursue Albrecht in the dance of death. As the morning bells chime announcing the arrival of dawn, the Wilis vanish into their graves. As Giselle disappears, Albrecht recognizes her true love and is forever touched with the memory of his beloved – the delicate and beautiful village girl.

RANDALL G. CHIARELLI, Lighting Designer

Randall G. Chiarelli has devoted a career to lighting for dance, much of it with Pacific Northwest Ballet. He has also done works for American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, among other companies. This is Mr. Chiarelli’s second program with Atlanta Ballet. At the end of the 18|19 Season, he designed lighting for Kiyon Ross’ Sum Stravinsky. His collaborators include choreographers Glen Tetley, Kent Stowell, Susan Stroman, Justin Peck and Christopher Wheeldon. In addition to lighting for dance, Mr. Chiarelli has created lighting for musical artists Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles.

TARA SIMONCIC, Conductor

Tara Simoncic’s multi-genre career spans from ballet to opera, classical to contemporary, and pops to educational, making her one of the most versatile conductors of her generation.  She is thrilled to be joining Atlanta Ballet once again as guest conductor for their production of Giselle. Ms. Simoncic has a passion for the ballet which led her to guest conduct with some of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies such as the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and Ballet West where she served as Music Director from 2015-2018. This season, she will make guest conducting appearances with New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Atlanta Ballet, and the Rochester Philharmonic with Rochester City Ballet. Most recently, Ms. Simoncic conducted the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Bridge Musik Chamber Orchestra, and Camerata Nova at the Manhattan School of Music.  She has been a guest conductor with the Piccolo Opera Festival in Trieste, Italy and the Slovenian National Opera Ballet Theatre in Maribor where she conducted Pier Francesco Maestrini’s renowned production of The Barber of Seville. In 2018, Ms. Simoncic joined the Louisville Ballet as Music Director and has been the conductor of the Flexible Orchestra, an ensemble dedicated to performing and commissioning new works since 2003. Her enthusiasm for music education led her to conduct the Greenwich Symphony’s Young People’s Concerts from 2010-2020 and the William Patterson University Orchestra in 2020. Ms. Simoncic holds a Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance from New England Conservatory, a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, and a Professional Studies Certificate in conducting from Manhattan School of Music. She has had the honor of studying conducting with Victor Yampolsky, Iloh Yang, Zdenec Macal and George Hurst.