“Giselle,” and What to Do with the Problematic Past – Part II

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

News, David, Books, Arts, Storytelling, Wnyc, New, Remnick, News Commentary, Yorker, Politics

4.2 • 5.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2023

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When the renowned choreographer Akram Khan was commissioned to update the classic “Giselle” for the English National Ballet, he couldn’t simply put new steps to a Romantic-era plot. Beautiful as it is, “Giselle” has a view of ideal womanhood that is insupportable in our century—and it didn’t reflect the women he knew. In Khan’s 2016 “Giselle,” the title character doesn’t chastely expire from a broken heart; she is a strong woman victimized by more powerful men. The story still culminates in an act of forgiveness, but in a way that resonates with the era of #MeToo. Vincenzo Lamagna composed the production’s new score. The producer Ngofeen Mputubwele describes the production as not simply a great modern ballet but a model for how to reimagine a story that doesn’t work anymore.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:15.2	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour.
0:16.8	I'm Glefain and Gle-Toubelle.
0:18.9	I'm hosting today's episode.
0:23.1	Is it possible to take an old story and make it new?
0:28.8	Someone who listens to music or watches TV or reads novels has some story they love
0:35.1	that just doesn't fly today in some way or another.
0:39.5	One of those works for me is my favorite ballet, Giselle.
0:45.3	It is in the 1840s when Europe is in the Romantic era.
0:50.4	You know, Boa Romantic era gives us Beethoven and Verdi and like it's all about emotion
0:55.0	and passion.
0:56.3	And Giselle comes on as this like it's the Romantic ballet.
1:01.4	It's got ghosts and death and nature, pastoral and the supernatural and like all these elements.
1:12.0	And it influences the shows like The Nutcracker and Swan Lake that we all think of when
1:17.9	we think of ballet.
1:20.0	Okay, Giselle.
1:24.7	Here's a basic story.
1:28.0	We start the show with the peasants.
1:30.0	This peasant girl, Giselle, she meets this peasant boy, Albrecht and she's like, ah,
1:35.5	he's cute.
1:36.5	You know, meet cute, fall in love, great, actually, except turns out Albrecht is not a peasant.
1:49.6	He is a noble in disguise.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios and The New Yorker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.