Davis,Sammy Jy. - Sammy Davis JR - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Giselle is based on a legend according to which the ghosts of unmarried girls return to seek revenge on the living. The Wilis had already been described in a story in Heinrich Heine's de l'Allemagne, although Heine received no credit for Giselle. The immediate inspiration for the ballet came from Théophile Gautier, spurred by his infatuation with the dancer Carlotta Grisi. Elements from Victor Hugo were to be incorporated in a libretto that was realized by the writer Jules Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges in three days, while Adam took a week to sketch the music and three to complete it, making some use of earlier material. The choreography was devised by the Paris Opéra ballet-master Jean Coralli, with Giselle's dances choreographed by Carlotta Grisi's teacher and lover Jules Perrot. Designs were by Pierre Ciceri, who had also designed the sets for La Sylphide. The ballet was first produced on 18th June 1841 at the Opéra, the Théâtre de l'Académie royale de musique, when Grisi danced Giselle, Lucien Petipa Albrecht and Adèle Dumilâtre the Queen of the Wilis, Myrthe. Various changes have been made in the ballet since 1841, not least in a number of versions given in Russia, with an early re-staging there by Perrot with Fanny Elssler, a rival Giselle, and Marius Petipa. The latter later made his own choreographic contribution to the ballet in later productions. The score includes interpolated scenes by Friedrich Burgmüller, who is best known for the peasant pas de deux in Act I of Giselle. Album Tracks 1. Coppelia, Act I Prelude 2. Coppelia, Act I Valse 3. Coppelia, Act I Mazurka 4. Coppelia, Act I Ballade 5. Coppelia, Act I Theme Slave Varie 6. Coppelia, Act I Czardas - Danse Hongroise 7. Coppelia, Act II Valse de la Poupee 8. Coppelia, Act III Marche de la Cloche 9. Giselle, Act I Scene D'hilarian 10. Giselle, Act I Andante 11. Giselle

Recorded June 1986 at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church NYC and September 1987 at Middle Tennessee State University. This recording made possible in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Charles Ives Society, Inc. From the series American Classics A Continuum Portrait, Vol. 3. Previous released on Musical Heritage Society. Album Tracks 1. The Housatonic at Stockbridge 2. Soliloquy, or a Study in 7THS and Other Things 3. On the Antipodes 4. The Gong on the Hook and Ladder (Original Version) 5. Hallowe'en 6. In Re Con Moto Et Al 7. Sunrise 8. Remembrance 9. Aeschylus and Sophocles 10. The Seen and Unseen? (Sweet and Tough) 11. Rough and Ready Et Al. And/Or the Jumping Frog 12. Song Without (Good) Words 13. Scene Episode 14. Bad Resolutions and Good Wan! 15. Largo 16. Allegro 17. Chorale

Album Tracks 1. Piano Pieces (4) 2. Hard Cuts 3. The Housewife's Lament