Colorado Ballet will welcome patrons back to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House for its celebratory opening of the 2021/2022 Season with eight performances of Giselle, October 8 – 17, 2021. Experience this romantic tragedy that continues to inspire audiences worldwide. The stunningly skilled athletes of Colorado Ballet bring the beauty and heartbreak of Giselle to the stage.
Returning to the stage for the first performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House since before the pandemic, this production will mark an incredibly special moment for all of the dancers, staff, patrons and supporters of Colorado Ballet.
“Friends and supporters, Colorado Ballet is back,” stated Artistic Director Gil Boggs. “We wouldn’t be here without the tremendous support of our community.”
“During the pandemic, we forged forward together, steadfast in our love for this wonderful art form that has the power to uplift, to heal, to feed our souls and bring us together even when we’re apart. We emerged stronger, full of hope, and above all, ready to dance. Colorado Ballet is incredibly grateful to everyone who made our return possible. Thank you to our incredible community of supporters, to our stalwart staff and board, and to our very talented dancers, whose resilience and commitment to their craft is truly inspiring.”
Now, Colorado Ballet is ready to welcome audiences with open arms to the first production of its celebratory 60 years +1 season. A jewel of classical repertoire, Giselle remains one of today’s most frequently performed ballets, featuring choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot (as revised by Marius Petipa) with music by Adolphe Adam, performed live by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra. Romantic style and ethereal elegance pair with challenging choreography to bring Giselle’s heartbreaking tale of enduring love (back) to life.
Giselle is a story of love, death and forgiveness. Giselle is a young woman who unwittingly falls in love with a nobleman disguised as a peasant, Count Albrecht. Upon learning of his duplicity, Giselle falls into despair and dies of a broken heart. The Wilis, vengeful spirits whose love was unrequited, appear in a forest near Giselle’s grave site to initiate her into their sisterhood and make any man who enters their domain dance to his death. Albrecht arrives to place flowers on Giselle’s grave and is trapped by the ruthless Wilis, but Giselle resolves to save him.
This production of Giselle is staged by Sandra Brown, Lorita Travaglia and Maria Mosina, with lighting design by Todd Elmer. Scenic and Costume Design by Peter Farmer, with scenery and costumes courtesy of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
PERFORMANCE DATES AND TIMES
Friday, October 8, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 10, 2021 at 2 p.m.
Friday, October 15, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 17, 2021 at 2 p.m.
TICKETS
Tickets range from $40 to $160. Visit COLORADOBALLET.ORG or call Patron Services at 303-837-8888 ext. 2 to purchase tickets.
To continue to reduce the number of ticket resellers, please purchase directly through Colorado Ballet via the website or phone number listed above. Tickets purchased through resellers may not be valid.
Performance Attendance Policy
To protect audiences and the community from illness and to slow transmission of COVID-19, Colorado Ballet has joined the resident companies of the Denver Performing Arts Complex in implementing a COVID-19 performance attendance policy that will go into effect on October 1, 2021 for all performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. For more information and to read the full details of the policy, please visit our website.
SPONSORS
The 2021/2022 Season presenting sponsors are PNC Bank, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), MidFirst Bank and Denver Ballet Guild. Supporting sponsors include Colorado Ballet Auxiliary, Genesee Mountain Foundation, Avenir Foundation, The Anschutz Foundation, Colorado Athletic Club, The Shubert Foundation, The Nichols Family Foundation, The Denver Foundation, Bonfils Stanton Foundation, Sherwin Williams, National Endowment for the Arts and Colorado Creative Industries.
EVENT LISTING FOR GISELLE
Colorado Ballet presents Giselle
October 8 - 17, 2021 | Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Tickets start at $40 at COLORADOBALLET.ORG
Experience this romantic tragedy that continues to inspire audiences worldwide. Will the Wilis succeed in dancing Count Albrecht to death? Will Giselle be able to save her true love? The stunningly skilled athletes of Colorado Ballet bring the beauty and heartbreak of Giselle to the stage.
MORE UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS
The Nutcracker | November 27 – December 24, 2021
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Romeo and Juliet | February 4 – 13, 2022
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
The Wizard of Oz | March 11-20, 2022
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Ballet MasterWorks | April 15 – 24, 2022
Featuring George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Jirí Kylián’s Petite Mort,
and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
ABOUT COLORADO BALLET
Presenting exceptional classical ballet and innovative contemporary dance through performances, training, education and community engagement, Colorado Ballet continues to inspire and grow an increasingly diverse audience base in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1961 by Lillian Covillo and Freidann Parker, Colorado Ballet is a non-profit organization celebrating 61 years of excellence. As a world-class professional company serving over 100,000 national and international patrons, Colorado Ballet presents 55 performances annually to sold-out audiences in the 2,000 seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The Company’s 32 professional dancers and 20 studio company dancers come from all over the world. Colorado Ballet’s The Armstrong Center for Dance, a 35,000 square foot building, boasts eight state-of-the-art professional dance studios and amenities for the professional Company. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet performs classical ballet masterpieces, full-length story ballets and its critically acclaimed repertory production Ballet MasterWorks, featuring varied works from neoclassical ballets to world premieres. The Raydean Acevedo Colorado Ballet Academy serves over 1,200 students from toddlers to seniors each year. Colorado Ballet’s Education & Community Engagement offers programs to students and community members, making over 25,000 contacts and reaching over 200 schools and organizations annually. Participants come from a variety of backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses including youth, families, teachers, and people with and without disabilities. For more information, please visit coloradoballet.org.
