SFB: First Full-Evening Ballet Returns This Month

The 90th anniversary season of the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) will include three full-evening “story” ballets. The first of these, Giselle, will be presented in a run of ten performances beginning in three weeks. Having been given its first performance by the Paris Opera Ballet in 1841, Giselle is also one of the oldest full-length narratives in the current repertoire. The only other ballet given regular performances that is older is probably the two-act La Fille mal gardée (the wayward daughter), first performed with choreography by Jean Dauberval on July 1, 1789. (These days Frederic Ashton’s 1960 version may have little resemblance to the original, but it is probably the most engaging option.)

The supernatural Willis in the second act of Giselle (photograph by Erik Tomasson taken in Beijing during the 2015 China Tour, courtesy of SFB)

During his tenure as Artistic Director of SFB, Helgi Tomasson choreographed six full-length ballets. Giselle was the fourth of them, created in 1999. The ballet was last performed in 2015. The first act leads the title character through a narrative of love, betrayal, and ultimately death. In the second act she returns in a supernatural world but can still engage with the man who betrayed her in the first act. This makes for a departure from conventional story lines, and ballet provides an ideal setting for that departure.

Giselle will be given ten performances with dates and times as follows:

• Friday, February 24, 8 p.m.
• Saturday, February 25, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Sunday, February 26, 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 28, 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 1, 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, March 2, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, March 4, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Sunday, March 5, 2 p.m.

All performances will take place in the War Memorial Opera House, which is on the northwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and Grove Street (across Grove from Davies Symphony Hall). Ticket prices start at $29, and a single Web page has been created for purchasing tickets for all of the above dates and times. Casting information for the leading roles has not yet been finalized. Usually, a hyperlink is added to the Web page for tickets after that information becomes available. Tickets may also be purchased at the Box Office in the outer lobby of the Opera House or by calling 415-865-2000. The Box Office is open for ticket sales Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.