The poet Heinrich Heine tells the legend of the mysterious Wilis, young women who must die before their wedding day because their love has been betrayed. In their dead hearts, an untamed lust for dancing continues to beat. As spirits, they leave their graves at night – and if a living man comes near them at this time, they will dance him to death. In 1841, Adolphe Adam composed a ballet score on this subject for the Paris Opera Ballet which has become one of the main works of the Romantic period. It can be seen with the Wiener Staatsballett in a version created for Vienna in 1993 by Elena Tschernischova, based on a distinctive and original colour concept: against a backdrop of grey tones, the dancers stand out in signal colours. The first performance, given by Brigitte Stadler and Vladimir Malakhov with an outstanding ensemble, counts as one of the high points of the Wiener Staatsballett’s more recent history – and with over 80 performances, it is still a »calling card« for the company today. CAST 28.09.2017 Conductor-Valery Ovsyanikov Choreography and Direction-Elena Tschernischova Set design-Ingolf Bruun Costume Design-Clarisse Praun-Maylunas Giselle-Nina Poláková Herzog Albrecht-Masayu Kimoto Hilarion-Masayu Kimoto Myrtha-Rebecca Horner