Rating: 
Summary: This La Scala "Giselle" is truly divine.....
Review: ..beautifully danced, handsomely costumed...supremely romantic..
there is not much more one could want from "Giselle". All the
principals are excellent...and both Albrecht and Hilarion are
warm interesting men. Giselle is love's young dream...and Act II
has enough ladies in white dresses dancing on their toes in the
moonlight to fill everyone's dreams. If you want ONE lovely ballet to enjoy at home...this is it...the divertisements are
charming and it is well worth many watchings. I hope that you
enjoy it as much as I have.
Rating:
Summary: Ferri and Murru... both stellar in Giselle
Review: A spectacular, stunning Giselle!This DVD version of Giselle was recorded live at La Scala. It stars Alessandra Ferri as Giselle and Massimo Murru as Albrecht: both give stellar performances. There are the many wonderful moments in this production: I'll touch briefly on a few.... -Ferri is breathtaking in her interpretation of the main character: her dancing is vibrant and her acting and expressions capture the essence of the naive, love-stuck young girl in Act I, and then, as the protective Wili for the final Act. -The costumes and sets are beautiful. For example, in the village scenes of Act I, the corps de ballet wear gold and rust colored outfits , while Ferri,as Giselle, wears a sky blue skirt with a navy blue top that makes her stand out from the other performers. She is simply stunning, your eye cannot help but be drawn to her in this setting. -There is something about ballet done before a live audience. This "Giselle" is so enchanting, you could really appreciate the reaction of the audience: enthusiastically clapping and cheering, almost before some of the scenes ended. - And last but not least, there is the music by Adolphe Adams: melodies so beautiful and haunting that when combined with the choreography for this work, have resulted in a ballet that has become an ageless masterpiece. What a thrill it must have been to have been there that night. Technically, I thought the cameras were well placed and film editing was, for most parts, well done. The DVD has superb video and audio, and the menu allows you to go to any scene you like. All in all a recording of Giselle of the highest quality. P.S. If I had to pick a Giselle to buy, this is the DVD I'd recommend. The other notable offering of Giselle is the movie version by the American Ballet Theatre starring Carla Fracci and Eric Bruhn. The dancing is excellent in the ABT production but the film editing is poor. (to the point of distraction at times)
Rating:
Summary: Ferri and Murru... both stellar in Giselle
Review: A spectacular, stunning Giselle! This DVD version of Giselle was recorded live at La Scala. It stars Alessandra Ferri as Giselle and Massimo Murru as Albrecht: both give stellar performances. There are the many wonderful moments in this production: I'll touch briefly on a few.... -Ferri is breathtaking in her interpretation of the main character: her dancing is vibrant and her acting and expressions capture the essence of the naive, love-stuck young girl in Act I, and then, as the protective Wili for the final Act. -The costumes and sets are beautiful. For example, in the village scenes of Act I, the corps de ballet wear gold and rust colored outfits , while Ferri,as Giselle, wears a sky blue skirt with a navy blue top that makes her stand out from the other performers. She is simply stunning, your eye cannot help but be drawn to her in this setting. -There is something about ballet done before a live audience. This "Giselle" is so enchanting, you could really appreciate the reaction of the audience: enthusiastically clapping and cheering, almost before some of the scenes ended. - And last but not least, there is the music by Adolphe Adams: melodies so beautiful and haunting that when combined with the choreography for this work, have resulted in a ballet that has become an ageless masterpiece. What a thrill it must have been to have been there that night. Technically, I thought the cameras were well placed and film editing was, for most parts, well done. The DVD has superb video and audio, and the menu allows you to go to any scene you like. All in all a recording of Giselle of the highest quality. P.S. If I had to pick a Giselle to buy, this is the DVD I'd recommend. The other notable offering of Giselle is the movie version by the American Ballet Theatre starring Carla Fracci and Eric Bruhn. The dancing is excellent in the ABT production but the film editing is poor. (to the point of distraction at times)
Rating: 
Summary: Boring Ferri
Review: After you have seen Alicia Alonso, Makarova and Fracci is not very probable that Ferri will be able to impress you. She is too 'dead' in the first act, and too 'material' in the second. The dancing is five stars -the acting is three. Albretch should go back to "La Scala" dancing class before the next season. In a piece where the music means nothing by itself (Adam was not the brightest composer of his time), the choreography is the most important element. Well, here is boring -to say the least- in the first act (they even kept the peasants pas de deux!), but gets better in the second. The Myrtha is powerful and understands her character much better than the rest of the stars. I would recommend La Scala to hire Cuban Alicia Alonso to stage her version before she dies (she should be 180 by now but, still, is the living person who better knows this ballet): The dedicated army of willies deserves it. The sound and technical quality of the DVD is excellent.
Rating:
Summary: It's La Scala's "Giselle" not Baryshnikov's "Dancers"
Review: I ordered what I thought would be "Dancers" since the reviews are all of that movie and so is the cast list. Was I ever pleasantly surprized!! This DVD is actually by the Teatro alla Scala with Alessandra Ferri as Giselle. It is like being there. Fantastic photography. You are in a box seat, best in the house. The main performers -- Alessandra Ferri, Massimo Murru, Isabel Seabra, and Maurizio Vanadia -- are often better than the Bolshoi video I have. The staging and costumes are wonderful. The music was by the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala under the direction of Paul Connelly. I was happy to see that the dancers looked happy and healthy, unlike the anorexics at ABT and NYCB. The corps de ballet, on the other hand -- while generally very good -- looked like some of its members had been shanghai-ed from classes. My wife studied at the San Francisco Ballet Company and she thinks it is the best Giselle she has ever seen. The live audience went wild, and I have to agree completely with them. If you enjoy good ballet, you won't want to miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: It's La Scala's "Giselle" not Baryshnikov's "Dancers"
Review: I ordered what I thought would be "Dancers" since the reviews are all of that movie and so is the cast list. Was I ever pleasantly surprized!! This DVD is actually by the Teatro alla Scala with Alessandra Ferri as Giselle. It is like being there. Fantastic photography. You are in a box seat, best in the house. The main performers -- Alessandra Ferri, Massimo Murru, Isabel Seabra, and Maurizio Vanadia -- are often better than the Bolshoi video I have. The staging and costumes are wonderful. The music was by the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala under the direction of Paul Connelly. I was happy to see that the dancers looked happy and healthy, unlike the anorexics at ABT and NYCB. The corps de ballet, on the other hand -- while generally very good -- looked like some of its members had been shanghai-ed from classes. My wife studied at the San Francisco Ballet Company and she thinks it is the best Giselle she has ever seen. The live audience went wild, and I have to agree completely with them. If you enjoy good ballet, you won't want to miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: The most beautiful Giselle
Review: Of the recorded performances I know, this one is easily the best looking -- not only the production, which is lovely, but also the picture quality. The superb new DV tape is really something, giving in-theater recordings almost the same picture quality as film. Sharp and razor clear imagery and with beautiful color saturation too.
The dancing is of a exceptionally high quality. All three leads are excellent -- they have great talent founded on firm classical technique. The LaScala ensemble work is marvelous -- virtually a match for that of the Kirov and much superior to the often slovenly ensemble seen in ABT performances. The Peasant Pas is the best I've ever seen -- the two kids are wonderful -- terrific dancers, full of life and spirit, and the best looking too.
Additionally, the score is performed without the hideous cuts that totally ruin the ABT production (also on DVD) with Fracci and Bruhn. The LaScala orchestra, of course, is sensational. I totally agree with Riccardo Muti that the LaScala orchestra is one of the two best in the world. It's very nice to hear Adam's lovely score performed on such a high level.
The only recorded performances of Giselle I know that are on the same level as this one are the ABT one with Makarova and Baryshnikov (the best dancing, and an uncut performance) and the Kirov, which, besides the expected superb dancing, is a wonderful old production complete with flying Willis (also uncut).
Beware of the Fracci/Bruhn performance -- the cuts are brutal and the TV style direction is so tacky it is close to sickening.
For a Giselle that truly reflects the chaste and delicate nature of the work -- get this wonderful LaScala performance.
Rating:
Summary: The most beautiful Giselle
Review: Of the recorded performances I know, this one is easily the best looking -- not only the production, which is lovely, but also the picture quality. The superb new DV tape is really something, giving in-theater recordings almost the same picture quality as film. Sharp and razor clear imagery and with beautiful color saturation too.
The dancing is of a exceptionally high quality. All three leads are excellent -- they have great talent founded on firm classical technique. The LaScala ensemble work is marvelous -- virtually a match for that of the Kirov and much superior to the often slovenly ensemble seen in ABT performances. The Peasant Pas is the best I've ever seen -- the two kids are wonderful -- terrific dancers, full of life and spirit, and the best looking too.
Additionally, the score is performed without the hideous cuts that totally ruin the ABT production (also on DVD) with Fracci and Bruhn. The LaScala orchestra, of course, is sensational. I totally agree with Riccardo Muti that the LaScala orchestra is one of the two best in the world. It's very nice to hear Adam's lovely score performed on such a high level.
The only recorded performances of Giselle I know that are on the same level as this one are the ABT one with Makarova and Baryshnikov (the best dancing, and an uncut performance) and the Kirov, which, besides the expected superb dancing, is a wonderful old production complete with flying Willis (also uncut).
Beware of the Fracci/Bruhn performance -- the cuts are brutal and the TV style direction is so tacky it is close to sickening.
For a Giselle that truly reflects the chaste and delicate nature of the work -- get this wonderful LaScala performance.
Rating:
Summary: Good But Underwelmed
Review: Overall a good performance by Alesandra Ferri in a performance at at La Scala. I did not rate it as highly as some of the DVDs of other full length performances of other ballets currently available for several reasons. First, the corp de ballet and the rest of the cast (including Albrecht) do not deliver the same level of performance as Ferri. This is especially disappointing in Act II with the Wilis. Second, the camera direction is awkward. At various points throughout the ballet, the camera is shooting from an angle that makes the viewer feel as if you are sitting in the orchestra pit rather than in an audience seat. This perspective and the feeling of being forced to "look up" at the dancers at such a sharp angle detracts from the performance at times. Other scenes and sequences are shot from a perspective that is reminescent of the view from the upper balcony. This would be fine and in fact is welcome provided a wide angle shot is necessary to fully appreciate certain parts of the ballet. Unfortunately, this wide angle view is used haphazardly at times throughout the ballet filiming--you wish you had it for the certain scenes and can't understand why you are being "forced" to view the performance from that perspective during scenes that do not require it. Third, there are no special features at all on the DVD. While special features are never a huge part of ballet DVDs, I would think that they could at least put some information about the dancers, the ballet company or the ballet's history itself. Still, the more noteable dance sequences such as the peasant pas de duex, Giselle's solos in Acts I and II and the Act II pas de duex are overall well executed. I enjoyed watching the performance on this DVD but I probably would not reach for it to watch again if it was a part of my DVD ballet collection and I had other ballet options from which to choose.
Rating:
Summary: Good But Underwelmed
Review: Overall a good performance by Alesandra Ferri in a performance at at La Scala. I did not rate it as highly as some of the DVDs of other full length performances of other ballets currently available for several reasons. First, the corp de ballet and the rest of the cast (including Albrecht) do not deliver the same level of performance as Ferri. This is especially disappointing in Act II with the Wilis. Second, the camera direction is awkward. At various points throughout the ballet, the camera is shooting from an angle that makes the viewer feel as if you are sitting in the orchestra pit rather than in an audience seat. This perspective and the feeling of being forced to "look up" at the dancers at such a sharp angle detracts from the performance at times. Other scenes and sequences are shot from a perspective that is reminescent of the view from the upper balcony. This would be fine and in fact is welcome provided a wide angle shot is necessary to fully appreciate certain parts of the ballet. Unfortunately, this wide angle view is used haphazardly at times throughout the ballet filiming--you wish you had it for the certain scenes and can't understand why you are being "forced" to view the performance from that perspective during scenes that do not require it. Third, there are no special features at all on the DVD. While special features are never a huge part of ballet DVDs, I would think that they could at least put some information about the dancers, the ballet company or the ballet's history itself. Still, the more noteable dance sequences such as the peasant pas de duex, Giselle's solos in Acts I and II and the Act II pas de duex are overall well executed. I enjoyed watching the performance on this DVD but I probably would not reach for it to watch again if it was a part of my DVD ballet collection and I had other ballet options from which to choose.
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