City Ballet of San Diego presents its first ‘Giselle’

Ariana Samuelsson in "Giselle." (Photo by Dale Stokes)

American Ballet Theatre had such legendary ballerinas as Natalia Makarova and Gelsey Kirkland. New York City Ballet had greats including Maria Tallchief and Suzanne Farrell.

And City Ballet of San Diego?

It has Ariana Samuelsson.

She performed the title role in “Giselle” for the first time on Friday, during the opening of the weekend’s three-performance engagement at downtown’s Spreckels Theatre. There could be no doubt that she is prima ballerina assoluta, the troupe’s top star in toe shoes.

With a solid command of both dancing and acting, she persuasively conveyed Giselle’s transformation from village girl to forest ghost while displaying a supple technique that served her well in everything from rapid kicks to prolonged balances.

Some of her best moments came in the ballet’s famous “mad scene,” when Giselle discovers that her beloved Albrecht is engaged to someone else. She was a mesmerizing mess who dragged his sword with circular motions that were a little scary.

And nowhere was her dancing more impressive than in the final act, where Giselle joins the Wilis, the spirits of jilted women who seek their revenge by making men dance to death. Looking like a ghostly ballerina bride in a gauzy white tutu, Samuelsson – the daughter of City Ballet artistic director Steven Wistrich and resident choreographer Elizabeth Wistrich — danced with such airy finesse that she seemed almost weightless.

That and more contributed to the company premiere of the classic that’s opening City Ballet’s first full season at the Spreckels, a desirable ballet venue. The  traditionally designed costumes and sets come from Sacramento Ballet and Elizabeth Wistrich’s choreography is based on that by Jules Perrot, Jean Coralli and Marius Petipa.

If you’ve never seen “Giselle” before, or even if you have, you may find yourself beguiled and moved by this often lovely production.

As for the musical accompaniment, I admit to feeling conflicted. Unable to afford a professional orchestra, and unwilling to use a recorded version of Adolphe Adam’s score, the company is relying on the City Ballet Orchestra, a 37-member ensemble that’s largely made up of high school and college students. Though ably conducted by John Nettles, who had a firm grasp of rhythm and tempo, the orchestra was regrettably uneven in quality, faring best in solos and brass fanfares and not so well in terms of overall accuracy and cohesiveness.

Live music is important to ballet, providing a vital element that can’t be duplicated by a recording, no matter how excellent. So what’s City Ballet to do?

The best solution would be to have the kind of financial resources that would allow the company to hire local professional musicians. If that’s not possible, given these difficult financial times, it’s logical to continue using the City Ballet Orchestra. It’s a wonderful learning opportunity for the young musicians, and audiences should support live music, even if the playing doesn’t always match the quality of the dancing.

Ariana Samuelsson and Gerardo Gil in "Giselle." (Photo by Chelsea Penyak)

The strength of City Ballet’s corps de ballet was pleasingly evident in the peasant dances and the Wilis achieved admirable unity.  As Albrecht, Gerardo Gil was rather dashing though he pursued Giselle with almost stalkerish intensity. His leaps weren’t particularly high but he hoisted Samuelsson with a panache that seemed nearly effortless.

Others in the commendable cast included Leo Goykhman, who summoned powerful anger as Giselle’s jealous boyfriend; Summer Jones as Berthe, Giselle’s worried mother, and long-limbed Tara Formanek, who was unmistakably elegant as Albrecht’s royal fiancée.

Yet none of the performers looked more regal than the two Afghan Hounds that appeared during the hunting party. Give them an extra treat. They deserve it.

Event info: City Ballet of San Diego’s “Giselle” will be repeated at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 7, and 2 p.m. Sunday, November 8 at the Spreckels Theatre, 121 Broadway, in downtown San Diego. Tickets/information: (858) 272-8663; www.cityballet.org

Valerie Scher is the SDNN Arts & Entertainment editor. You can reach her at valerie.scher(at)sdnn.com; follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/vscher

Tags: Afghan, Afghan hound, Ariana Samuelsson, City Ballet of San Diego, City Ballet of San Diego review, Elizabeth Wistrich, Giselle, Giselle review, review City Ballet of San Diego, review Giselle, Sacramento Ballet, SDNN, Spreckels Theatre, Steven Wistrich, Valerie Scher

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