[Ballet in Cinemas] Royal Ballet's 'Giselle' Extended at TOHO Cinemas Nihonbashi until June 11! Sold-Out Screens as Fans of 'Étoile Blooming in Paris' Flock to See World-Renowned Japanese Prima Akane Takada's Giselle

The 'Royal Ballet & Opera in Cinema' series brings the world-class performances of the UK's Royal Ballet, staged at the Royal Opera House, to cinemas for an immersive experience. It showcases selected popular works from their vast repertoire, allowing audiences to enjoy innovative and dramatic productions on the big screen with powerful sound.

The new season, 'Royal Ballet & Opera in Cinema 2025/26', is currently being released nationwide from December 19, 2025 (Friday) to July 9, 2026 (Thursday), featuring a total of 9 performances, each screened for a limited one-week run. Audiences can enjoy a luxurious and blissful time in cinemas, a different experience from live theater.

Akane Takada weaves a story of love and death beyond – the pinnacle of romantic ballet, 'Giselle'.

Many fans of 'Étoile Blooming in Paris' experience ballet for the first time in cinemas.

Since its creation at the Paris Opera Ballet in 1841, 'Giselle' has been performed worldwide as the pinnacle of romantic ballet, with renowned ballerinas delivering legendary performances. It depicts the contrast between two completely different worlds: the pastoral tragedy unfolding in Act I's village, and the moonlit graveyard in Act II where the ghostly 'Wilies' dance.

Giselle, a village girl who loves to dance but has a weak heart, is betrayed by her lover Albrecht, a nobleman disguised as a peasant, and dies of despair. After death, she becomes one of the Wilis, spirits of women betrayed before marriage, but she remains faithful to her love and protects him when he becomes their target. This masterpiece masterfully combines narrative and spectacle, exploring love, betrayal, and forgiveness. Through choreography and mime, reality and fantasy merge, and its spirituality and drama have been loved across the ages.

In the popular anime film 'Étoile Blooming in Paris', released in March of this year, the heroine Fujiko is captivated by ballet after watching a performance of 'Giselle' in 1910s Yokohama. The other heroine, Chizuru, trains hard in Paris to become a ballerina and finally performs as a member of the corps de ballet, one of the Wilis, in the Paris Opera Ballet's 'Giselle'. The ballet 'Giselle' captivated both heroines.

Many audience members who became fans after watching 'Étoile Blooming in Paris' flocked to cinemas to see the Royal Ballet's 'Giselle'.

At TOHO Cinemas Nihonbashi, screenings have been sold out since the first day, Friday, May 29, with full houses every day. Originally scheduled for a one-week limited run, the cinema decided to extend the screening for one week. It will now be shown until Thursday, June 11.

Principal Akane Takada, who performed the title role of Giselle with great presence, was joined in Act I's Harvest Festival Peasant dance by six soloists, including young Japanese dancers Sae Maeda and Daichi Igarashi. The fact that Japanese dancers are now actively performing in overseas ballet companies, a setting that is no longer a fantasy, also captured the hearts of many audience members.

Screening at TOHO Cinemas Nihonbashi until Thursday, June 11.

Official website: http://tohotowa.co.jp/roh/
Official X (Twitter): https://x.com/rbocinema
Distributor: Toho-Towa

#RBOGiselle

[STORY]

Act I

A village in the Rhineland, Germany. Giselle, a sickly village girl who loves to dance, falls in love with a young man who calls himself Loys, a villager, but is actually the noble Count Albrecht. Her superstitious mother, Berthe, wants Giselle to marry Hilarion, the gamekeeper, and tells her that Loys cannot be trusted. Berthe tells Giselle the legend of the Wilis: young girls who died before their wedding day become spirits who force any man they meet between midnight and dawn to dance until he dies. Giselle ignores her mother's words and joins the harvest festival celebrations with Loys.

Wilfred, Albrecht's squire, warns Albrecht that a hunting party led by the Duke of Courland and his daughter, Princess Bathilde, Albrecht's betrothed, is approaching. Albrecht hides, but Hilarion, who is secretly in love with Giselle, spies on them and decides to expose Albrecht's true identity. The hunting party arrives, and Giselle dances for them, telling Bathilde that she too has a fiancé. Bathilde gives Giselle a necklace as a token of blessing and retires to Berthe's cottage to rest. The Duke decides to continue the hunt, leaving a hunting horn so Bathilde can summon them when she wishes to join.

Hilarion emerges from Loys' cottage, having found Albrecht's sword. The sword bears the same crest as the hunting horn, providing the evidence. When Albrecht returns, Hilarion reveals the secret that Loys is actually Count Albrecht. He blows the horn, the hunting party returns, and Bathilde emerges from the cottage, telling Giselle that she is betrothed to Albrecht. This truth is unbearable for Giselle; driven mad with grief, she takes her own life with Albrecht's sword, still professing her love for Loys.

Act II

Hilarion spends the night at Giselle's grave deep in the forest. At midnight, the Wilis appear, and Hilarion flees in terror. Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, summons the Wilis. Myrtha welcomes Giselle as one of them. Albrecht comes to lay flowers on Giselle's grave. Her spirit appears, and he follows her into the forest.

Hilarion is pursued by the Wilis and forced to dance until he is exhausted. He is driven into a lake and drowns.

The Wilis set their sights on Albrecht as their next victim. Myrtha commands him to dance, but Giselle draws him to a cross, trying to protect him. However, Myrtha orders Giselle to dance with him, intending to make him dance to his death. Giselle tries to protect him, but as the night deepens, he grows weaker from dancing. Just as he is about to collapse from exhaustion and death seems imminent, dawn breaks. The morning light neutralizes the Wilis' power, and they vanish. Giselle also returns to her grave and disappears, leaving Albrecht alone in his grief.

'Giselle'

Choreography: Marius Petipa
Original Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot
Music: Adolphe Adam
Libretto: Théophile Gautier (after Heinrich Heine)
Production and Additional Choreography: Peter Wright
Design: John Macfarlane
Lighting: David Finn (after an original design by Jennifer Tipton)
Staging: Christopher Carr, Samantha Raine
Senior Répétiteur: Samira Saidi
Répétiteurs: Jean Atimtaev, Sian Murphy
Principal Coaching: Alexander Agadzhanov, Lian Benjamin, Darcy Bussell, Stuart Cassidy, Olga Evreinoff, Monica Mason, Isabel McMeekan, Christopher Saunders, Edward Watson

Cast

Giselle: Akane Takada
Albrecht: Matthew Ball
Hilarion (Gamekeeper): Valentino Zucchetti
Act I

Wilfred (Albrecht's Squire): Joshua Junker
Berthe (Giselle's Mother): Kristen McNally
Duke of Courland: Bennet Gartside