International guest artists Vadim Muntagirov, Tatiana Melnik and Brandon Lawrence join the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and the dancers of Cape Town City Ballet for the season of Giselle.
The performance is choreographed by the internationally renowned Maina Gielgud and backed by a superb creative team. Giselle will run from 18 March until 9 April 2022 in the Artscape Opera House.
Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, Giselle presents a romantic story of innocent love and betrayal. Giselle, a naive and beautiful peasant girl who loves to dance, unsuspectingly falls in love with a philandering nobleman, Albrecht.
He disguises himself as a peasant while pursuing her affections and when the deceit is revealed Giselle is inconsolable. In discovering that he is already betrothed, she dies of a broken heart. The story continues in the moonlit land of the Wilies, a mysterious landscape inhabited by the vengeful spirits of virgin brides who never reached their wedding day. The ghostly Wilies torment Albrecht as he searches for the spirit of Giselle.
Maina Gielgud, former dancer turned choreographer, was trained by the great Russians including Tamara Karsavina and Lubov Egorova, and later Rosella Hightower. She has had an incredibly successful career creating works with Maurice Bejart’s XXth Century Ballet, dancing as a principal with London Festival Ballet and Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, as an international guest artist, and being partnered by Rudolf Nureyev. She then directed The Australian Ballet (1983-1997) and the Royal Danish Ballet (1997-1999).
Maina says that Giselle is a whole adventure, as well as the epitome of romanticism. People fall in love and it goes wrong. Maina says that this ballet has stood the test of time and will continue to be performed for as long as there are dancers on stages due to the universality of the story, “I think when the story is really well told people feel concerned because its happened to all of us.”
Russian dancer Vadim Muntagirov trained at Perm Ballet School before moving to The Royal Ballet Upper School. He joined the Company from English National Ballet as a Principal in March 2014. Vadim’s many awards include the 2013 and 2018 Benois de la danse and the 2021 Dance Europe Outstanding Dancer Award.
Tatiana Melnik is the female principal at Hungarian National Ballet. She has been a member of the Hungarian State Opera since 2015. She trained at the Academy of Choreography, Perm. Her professional work includes being a soloist at Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre and work with the Russian State Ballet (2006-2013).
Brandon Lawrence trained with Penny Murray and Andie Nydza before attending the Royal Ballet School where he graduated to join Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2011 to then reach the rank of Principal Dancer in 2019. Brandon has been nominated for two National Dance Awards in the ‘Best Classical Male Performance Category’.
“It is fitting that we are able to mark the start of a new, post-pandemic era by bringing international guest artists to Cape Town,” says Debbie Turner, CEO of Cape Town City Ballet. “We are honoured to once again be presenting some of the world’s best ballet dancers on the local stage.”
Performances dates
March:
- 18 March @ 19h30 (With International UK Guest Artist, Brandon Lawrence and Leanè Theunissen with the CTPO)
- 19, 21, 23, 25 March @ 19h30 (With International Guest Artists, Vadim Muntagirov and Tatiana Melnik with the CTPO)
- 22 and 31 March @ 19h30 (TO RECORDED MUSIC with Chanté Daniels and Gabriel Ravenscroft)
- 24 and 30 March @ 19h30 (TO RECORDED MUSIC with Kirstel Paterson and Lêusson Muniz)
- 26 March @ 15h00 (TO RECORDED MUSIC with Chanté Daniels and Gabriel Ravenscroft)
- 26 March @ 19h30 (With International Guest Artist, Brandon Lawrence and Leanè Theunissen TO RECORDED MUSIC)
April:
- 1 and 7 April @ 19h30 (TO RECORDED MUSIC with Kirstel Paterson and Lêusson Muniz)
- 2 April @ 15h00 (TO RECORDED MUSIC with International Guest Artist, Brandon Lawrence and Leanè Theunissen)
- 2, 6 and 8 April @ 19h30 (TO RECORDED MUSIC with Chanté Daniels and Gabriel Ravenscroft)
- 9 April @ 15h00 (TO RECORDED MUSIC with Kirstel Paterson and Lêusson Muniz)
- 9 April @ 19h30 (With International Guest Artist, Brandon Lawrence and Leanè Theunissen with CTPO)
Bookings can be made at Artscape Dial-A-Seat 021 421 7695 or through Computicket.
Ticket Prices:
- Tickets cost from R350 to R750 for performances featuring International Guest Artist/s and accompanied by Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Tickets cost from R250 to R395 for performances to recorded music.
- Tickets to matinee performances cost from R175 to R295.
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Picture: Michael Groenewald