If you want the complete score, Richard Bonynge recorded Giselle twice, both for Decca. The earlier recording with the Monte Carlo Orchestra (analog) does not seem to be currently available, the later digital recording with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra is currently available as a midprice entry. Another complete Giselle with Andrew Mogrelia leading the Bratislava Slovak Radio Symphony is available on Naxos. Mogrelia's act I runs about four minutes shorter than Bonynge's; act II is nearly seven minutes shorter. Tempos and inclusion of repeats explain much of the difference in timings. Both Bonynge and Mogrelia offer interpretations that are quite balletic, very dramatic, and keep in mind this score is an accompaniment to dancers. Karajan, however, stresses the symphonic elements. The Vienna Phil plays Adam's music as if it were a Beethoven symphony. This is not a criticism, but an acknowledgement of a different way of interpreting Adam's score.

Adam's music for Giselle is somewhat deceptive. The melodies, especially the peasant dances in act I with the beats accentuated, sound pleasantly simple. But listen to the ingenious orchestrations: many plot elements, such as Alberecht knocking at Giselle's door and the "loves me, loves me not" picking of the flower petals are woven into the score. Adam's use of leitmotivs, his ability to capture the flirtations in act I, Giselle's heartbreak when she learns that Loy is really Albrecht, a nobleman engaged to Bathilde, and the horror depicted in the final crescendo when Giselle dies at the end of the first act raises this score above the ordinary. Adam's music for the second act is in turns ethereal, mysterious, and sinister, all in contrast to the simple tunes for the peasants and the regal music for the nobles in act I.

This album is a more-or-less extended symphonic suite derived from Adam's score to Giselle. It's beautifully played, the 1962 recorded sound is full and rich, and at Decca's midprice, it makes a welcome addition to either Bonynge's or Mogrelia's recordings of the full score.

FANFARE: David L. Kirk