A spellbinding new Giselle for the National Ballet of Japan

Kosuke Okumura (Albrecht) and Ayako Ono (Giselle)

Ayako Ono (Giselle)

The Wilis, Act 2

By Naomi Mori, 26 October 2022

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“the title role was danced by Ayako Ono, a delicate and versatile dancer”

Reviewed at New National Theatre, Tokyo: Opera House, Tokyo on 21 October 2022

Giselle (Alastair Marriott, Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa)

National Ballet of Japan

Alexei Baklan, Conductor

Misato Tomita, Conductor

Miyako Yoshida, Director

Dick Bird, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Rick Fisher, Lighting Designer

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

Ayako Ono, Dancer

Kosuke Okumura, Dancer

Keigo Fuduku, Dancer

Asako Terada, Dancer

Risako Ikeda, Dancer

Shogo Hayami, Dancer

National Ballet of Japan’s Giselle: a triumphant London debut

Graham Watts, 24th July

National Ballet of Japan offer a 21st-century remake of this 19th-century Romantic classic with impeccable performances.

*****

National Ballet of Japan's revival of Giselle: a dramatic return

Naomi Mori, 10th April

National Ballet of Japan has revived their production of Giselle, ahead of their tour to the Royal Opera House in London, replicating the triumphant success it had in 2022.

*****

The Unknown Soldier: a poignant tribute

Alexandra Desvignes, 22nd November

Audio and film permeate Marriott's new work for The Royal Ballet, recounting the tale of Ted Feltham, a British Soldier uuring World War 1, and his fiancée, Florence Billington.

***11

Peter Wright's Nutcracker

Graham Watts, 5th December

Sir Peter Wright's enchanting vision of The Nutcracker continues to delight

****1

Birds of a Feather: portraits of women

Tatiana Rathelot, 6th October

With a programme inspired by neuroscience and fairytale, the Royal Ballet shows that one is not born, but rather, becomes a woman.

***11

Solo for Two

Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn, 7th August

The superstar pairing of Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev lost some luster on this trip to New York with some weak material.

**111

More reviews...

Naomi Mori

Naomi is a blogger living in Tokyo and travels frequently to see ballet. She is a law graduate of Waseda University and a former film publicist, film critic and IT business researcher/strategist. She blogs at La Dolce Vita in Japanese. She tweets about ballet as @naomip_86. and takes ballet class regularly