The London Coliseum is a beautiful venue with a huge stage, that most seats in the Stalls will have a good view of. The front rows are quite low compared to the stage so will leave you looking up, while the rear can also be overhung by the Dress Circle.
The Dress Circle also gives reasonably good views from most seats, but the curve it has does mean that the ends of rows can be fairly side on. The back rows also have an overhang from the Upper Circle.
The Upper Circle is quite similar to the Dress Circle, but being higher and further away, they are less preferable to their counterpart. The Balcony is even more distant to the stage though and seating quality here tends to be of a lower quality, however the price does often reflect it, meaning you may be able to find cheap tickets.
In January 2017, the London Coliseum played host to Mary Skeaping’s beautiful and enchanting production of Giselle.
This is a classic production of one of the finest Romantic ballets. Giselle is a delightful, yet haunting story of innocence and betrayal. It is an unforgettable and completely timeless story about the redemptive power of love.
The production moves from the joyful positivity of Giselle’s utopian village life, to a night-time world of the unknown and evil, with Mary Skeaping’s legendary production featuring some of ballet’s most gripping scenes and ethereal imagery.
The lush atmosphere is created by Adolphe Adam’s beautiful score. Along with Giselle the French composer is also well known for his last ballet Le Corsaire as well as his operas, including Le Postillon de Lonjumeau. His score was brilliantly brought to life and performed live by the English National Ballet Philharmonic orchestra.
Previous outings of this delightful ballet has seen it receive a huge range of positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, with the Observer describing how it had “the power to hold an audience enthralled and send it home in tears”.
The story follows the beautiful and innocent peasant girl Giselle, with a passion for dance, who falls in love with a grand Duke who has disguised himself as a peasant. When a hunting party come, containing the Duke’s fiancé however, the truth comes out and Giselle dies from grief. We then shift into the supernatural world of the Wilis, who lure young men to their death. When this happens to the Duke however, the spirit of Giselle is there to protect him.
Giselle was first performed by the Ballet du Theatre de l’Academie Royal de Musique in Paris on 28th June 1841, where it was an unrivalled success. Since then its popularity has never diminished, being played countless times over many different continents.
It is with great anticipation that Giselle returned to the London stage on in January 2017, with performances having run through until 22nd January 2017.
This is a beautiful and enchanting ballet that gives the perfect opportunity to see the impact and creativity of the great Mary Skeaping in her production of Adolphe Adam’s breath taking score. With the English National Ballet staging the show and with it playing at the London Coliseum, you know you are in for something special.
Age Recommendations:
No under 5s
