About This Show
The world-renowned Kirov Ballet, which garnered tremendous critical accolades when the company performed in Chicago in 2006, returns to the Auditorium Theatre with Giselle. This classic nineteenth century ballet tells the magical story of a dashing nobleman Albrecht’s ill fated romance with the peasant girl Giselle, and the redeeming power of love and forgiveness.
Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot’s original choreography, revised by Petipa for the ballet’s 1884 Kirov debut, will be performed by the company’s peerless dancers as the 66-piece Kirov Orchestra fills the acoustically perfect Auditorium Theatre with Adolphe Adam’s sumptuous score.
Founded in St. Petersburg in 1783, the Kirov (officially known as St. Petersburg Maryinsky Ballet after its home theater) is under the artistic direction of Valery Gergiev. The company’s history is inexorably linked with the entire history of the development of Russian choreographic art. The Kirov’s alumni list reads like a roster of Russia’s finest dancers, and includes Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
"When it comes to grand and glorious, the Kirov Ballet may well rank atop the world," according to the Chicago Tribune.