Giselle

Giselle, a peasant girl, has fallen in love with Count Albrecht, who tells her that he is a villager named Loys. Her superstitious mother, Berthe, hopes that Giselle will marry the forester Hilarion and warns her against Loys. To discourage Giselle, Berthe recounts the legend of the Wilis, ghosts of young women who dance to death any man who crosses their path between midnight and dawn. Giselle disregards her mother and joins in the harvest celebrations with Loys.

Wilfred, Albrecht’s squire, warns him that a hunting party is approaching, led by the Duke of Courland and the Countess Bathilde (Albrecht’s future bride). Albrecht hides, but Hilarion has witnessed this meeting and decides to discover the secret of his true identity. The hunting party arrives. Giselle dances for the nobles and tells Bathilde that she too is engaged. The Countess gives her a necklace and asks to rest in Berthe’s cottage. The Duke decides to continue the hunt and leaves a hunting horn so that he and the rest of the party can be recalled when Bathilde wants to rejoin them.

Hilarion now appears from Loys’s cottage, having found Albrecht’s sword. It bears the same crest as the hunting horn – this is the evidence he needs. Albrecht returns and Hilarion reveals the truth: that Loys is really Albrecht. He sounds the horn, the hunting party returns and Bathilde, coming out of the cottage, claims Albrecht as her fiancé. The shock is too much for Giselle. In her madness she relives her love for ‘Loys’ and, seizing his sword, she kills herself.

Hilarion keeps vigil by Giselle’s grave, which lies deep in the forest. It is midnight and the Wilis materialize, causing Hilarion to flee in terror. Myrtha, their queen, arrives and summons her Wilis. She initiates Giselle into their rites. Albrecht approaches and lays flowers at Giselle’s grave. When her spirit appears, he follows it into the forest.

Hilarion, pursued by the Wilis, is forced into an endless dance. Exhausted, he is driven into the lake and drowns.

The Wilis now seek out Albrecht. When Myrtha commands him to dance, Giselle urges him to the safety of the cross. But Myrtha orders Giselle to entice him away by dancing with him, rendering him powerless. Giselle tries to sustain him, but he becomes weaker and weaker as the night progresses. Just as he is about to die, dawn breaks. Daylight destroys the Wilis’ power and they fade away. Giselle returns to her grave, leaving Albrecht sorrowful and alone.
— Peter Wright