Off tutu the Ballet! – Giselle

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Yes, it’s that time again, and we’re off to the Ballet – courtesy of a live-stream to The Savoy Cinema in nearby Corby.

Beamed live to the cinema, from none other than the famous Royal Opera House, for those who don’t live close to the Royal Opera House, this is the smart way to enjoy a Ballet! 👍

Last time we were here was to see La traviata back in January – and it didn’t disappoint. This time, it’s Peter Wright‘s production of ‘Giselle’. It’s running from 14 February until 20 March 2026, and tickets for the Opera House range from £35 to an eye-watering £224. Not for us though – less than £35 in total, courtesy of the Savoy!

Official Synopsis

The peasant girl Giselle has fallen in love with Albrecht. When she discovers that he is actually a nobleman promised to another, she kills herself in despair. Her spirit joins the Wilis: the vengeful ghosts of women hell-bent on killing any man who crosses their path in a dance to the death. Wracked with guilt, Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, where he must face the Wilis – and Giselle’s ghost.

Yikes! That all sounds depressing… and apparently, it’s a bit spooky too! Still, for variety, it’s also a tale of infatuation, betrayal and redemption, so it sounds like a little like Eastenders where a box of tissues will be obligatory! 🤔.

We found our ‘posh’ seats and settled in. As the countdown on screen approached zero, the lights went down and up popped the silky smooth Petroc Trewlawny and ever-smiling Dame Darcy Bussell who were hosting the evening for those of us about to watch it at one of the 1000 cinemas streaming the performance.

The Savoy by now was about 95% full, and the views via the live stream showed that it was a full house at the Opera House too! With our hosts helping us to understand ballet as an art form, it was ‘every day, a school day’, as we learned that mime is a very important factor in ballet! 🤔

We’ve not seen Giselle before, and apart from the rather depressing storyline, we weren’t familiar with the plot nor the music. We’d pre-booked our usual super-comfy seats (that also recline), and Ann had helpfully brought along drinks and snacks for the interval! 😀

Curtain up! And with the anti-depressant tablets close by, we settled down for this new experience. With Akane Takada playing the part of Giselle and Matthew Ball as a very athletic Albrecht. The music, with the score by Adolphe Adam, turned out to be very agreeable – somewhat Tchaikovsky-like in places, with musicians from the ROH at the top of their game (as usual). The set design by John Macfarlane was deliberately dark and sinister, and complemented the storyline perfectly (lots of dead trees – Monty Don would have had a fit!).

Act 1 (55 minutes ish) was all about the young lovers and the pursuit of young love (Awww!) but by the end, our heroine – Giselle – had died of a broken heart whilst her beau, Albrecht, was now in desperate need of some counselling! Yikes! Where are my pills? After a very short 6-minute local interval, Act 2 (also 55 minutes) began, and we were introduced to ‘the Wilis’ (stop sniggering at the back!), it’s pronounced Vilis anyway!! 😮

Yes, those Wilis were definitely a scary bunch of women, where the final Act was all about Albrecht taking them on, in his search for Giselle who was now in full Marty Hopkirk mode. The choreography was superb and the lead dancers especially, redefined ‘supple’ in every possible way! 👍

Plot aside, even if ballet isn’t your thing, you have to marvel at the physical fitness of the performers. The benefit of seeing it at the cinema is that the camera closeups really capture extra detail that would be simply lost watching it at the Opera House. It amplified the complex choreography and the punishing dance routines that are a ‘normal’ part of ‘ballet thing’. I hadn’t realised that ballet dancers were so muscular! It made me reflect on my recent Pilates classes and how inflexible my body is!

At just before 10pm, it was all over, and we’re both convinced that this is THE way to enjoy Ballet (especially ones that are unfamiliar). And, it was a happy ending too (sort of!) 👍

The background information provided by Petroc and Darcy put it all into context, whilst the camera work brought out the best in the production. Add to that the sound quality and the super-comfy seats made it all an easy and very enjoyable watch. Did I mention that the ticket price was a lot more attractive too!? 😉

The only downer? Attempting to master the car park machine on arrival took the combined talents of two other ‘parkees’ and me to eventually work out how to actually pay for a ticket! Still, not paying (the 20p) for the privilege wasn’t an option!! 😉 – I’m not made of money!

Our next cultural event here at the Savoy is The Magic Flute (another LiveStream from the ROH) on the 26th April.