Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company to make rare West Coast visit with 'Giselle' in Costa Mesa

July 20, 2017 4 PM PT

It’s a haunting tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness that has mesmerized audiences since its first performance nearly two centuries ago.

“Giselle,” a two-act romantic ballet first performed in 1841 in Paris, will make an exclusive West Coast engagement with the Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company from July 28 to 30 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.

The opening-night cast will feature dancers Misty Copeland and Roberto Bolle as the leads. Bolle will perform with the Royal Ballet’s Marianela Nuñez for the July 29 evening performance and the July 30 matinee.

La Scala principals Nicoletta Manni and Claudio Coviello — recently starring in “Giselle” for La Scala’s tour in China — will dance the lead roles for the July 29 matinee.

The score, by Adolphe Adam, will be performed by the Mikhailovsky Orchestra.

The story follows Giselle, a loving and naive peasant who is betrayed by Albrecht, her aristocrat lover who is betrothed to another.

Giselle dies of grief and is enlisted by the vengeful Wilis, a ghostly army of unmarried maidens who haunt the forests, dancing to death any male mortal who crosses their path. After Albrecht wanders into their grasp, Giselle carries out the ultimate act of love to free him.

Bolle, who is principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and has been resident guest artist at La Scala Theatre since 1998, has danced before as characters expressing emotions such as love, passion and desperation. His repertoire includes Armand Duval in “Lady of the Camellias,” Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” and Onegin in “Onegin.”

The Italian star has performed the role of Albrecht several times.

“It’s one of the characters that I like the most in 19th century ballet,” Bolle said by phone from Italy.

Bolle, 42, discovered his penchant for dance early in his childhood.

His parents were advocates of his dancing and supported him when he left home at age 12 to study at La Scala ballet school.

At 15, he was chosen by Rudolf Nureyev to perform Tadzio in “Death in Venice.”

After his parents’ recent deaths, Bolle explored Albrecht in a different light, identifying with the feelings of loss and grief.

“I relied on how I changed and how as a person and artist I had to bring this emotion from real life into this performance — to make it something more real and deep,” Bolle said. “It’s been very different for me. You discover a lot about yourself playing these range of emotions. I learned a lot about life and had this opportunity to feel emotions in a deeper way.”

Teatro alla Scala Ballet’s upcoming visit to the United States is its first since 2001, when it performed at the Segerstrom Center and the New York State Theater.

Bolle, who first performed for members of the British royal family at age 22, when he danced in “Swan Lake” at the Royal Albert Hall for Princess Diana, has since performed at Buckingham Palace as part of the celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee.