“Giselle ou Les Wilis” – now known as “Giselle” – was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 28 June 1841 to a rapturous reception, and it remains today a popular fixture in the international ballet repertory. Yet the idiosyncratic way its score has been handed down to us in the twenty-first century has caused many of its striking and meaningful elements to be obscured.

Some versions of “Giselle” were, for practical reasons, orchestrated from piano reductions. Others drew more closely from the Paris Opéra’s sources but have been altered over the years. Still others have relied on a scribally copied orchestra score at the Opéra (apparently a reference copy not used in performance) that requires scrupulous cross-checking with the autograph and orchestra parts because of its many copying errors.

Thus, conductors today have been obliged to rely upon versions of “Giselle” derived from problematic sources, often with unattributed and anachronistic orchestrations, mistakes, altered dynamics, and altered notes. No authentic edition of the score has been produced until now.
Drawing from all available source material, including heretofore unexamined original orchestra parts used at the Paris Opéra from 1841 to 1868 and Adolphe Adam’s autograph composing score, Doug Fullington and Marian Smith have produced a practicable score intended for stage productions, both traditional and otherwise, as well as concert performances and recordings. Traditional interpolations, such as the now-standard Act I variation for Giselle, the so-called "Peasant" pas de deux by Friedrich Burgmüller, and the now-standard Act II waltz variation for Giselle, are included.

The sixth volume of the OPERA series consists of the cloth-bound volume and the Edirom on a credit card USB flash drive. Further information on the work and the OPERA series can be found at: Takte online.