New Giselle edition returns to roots of a classic

(May 2007)

Boosey & Hawkes is pleased to announce a new performing edition of Adolphe Adam’s much-loved ballet Giselle.

After over a century of inaccurate and overblown reorchestrations, David Garforth’s Giselle edition commissioned by the Fondazione Teatro alla Scala provides a welcome return to Adam’s exquisite soundworld. Adaptable for existing and new choreographies, the edition is available on hire, with the noteset orchestral score and parts being supplied with a fully compatible piano score for rehearsals.

In researching the sources for a production of Sylvie Guillem’s Giselle in Helsinki in 2000, David Garforth consulted manuscripts at the Bibliothéque Nationale de France and La Scala Milan which provided the basis for the new edition. He realised that returning to Adam’s original, lighter orchestral palette could recapture the atmosphere and charm of the French Romantic ballet and the Giselle that Adam intended more than 150 years ago. His edition includes previously unheard music for optional insertion in new choreographies, as well as the traditional added variations for Giselle and the Bergmüller Peasant Pas de Deux.

“…the real interest of the evening is to hear Adam’s score on Adam’s terms. The admirable conductor, David Garforth, has returned to the original orchestration: it is lighter in texture than we hear nowadays, touchingly dramatic, absolutely of its period.” Financial Times

“Adolphe Adam’s music can rarely have sounded better… an imaginative new reading that gives the ballet freshness and truth.” The Independent

Performing materials are now available from Boosey & Hawkes hire libraries and agents.

For further information about the new Giselle edition, please download a PDF.

> Further information on Work: Giselle

Photo: The La Scala production of Giselle (Andrea Tamoni)

> News Search