Giselle: The beautiful and terrifying Myrtha
Giselle (Lisa Macuja Elizalde) offers lilies to Myrtha (Zaira Cosico) in this 2010 staging, imploring the Queen of the Wilis to spare her beloved Albrecht’s life. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
There is a reason why the second act of the ballet Giselle is especially haunting. It is dominated by the wilis – spirits of brides wronged by their partners and are exacting the ultimate revenge on the men who stray into their territory by forcing them to dance until they die of exhaustion. Leading these beautiful and terrifying spirits is Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis.
Melanie Motus steps into the shoes of the ruthless Myrtha, unheeding of Hilarion (Jeffrey Espejo) as he pleads for his life. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Librettist Théophile Gautier first encountered the wilis from Slavic mythology. There were various versions of these ghostly brides but the one thing consistent in all the stories is that they all died before their time.
Like the roles of Giselle and Duke Albert (later Albrecht), who were choreographed on specific dancers, Myrtha was specifically created for French prima ballerina Adèle Dumilâtre. Often cited for the lightness and airiness of her dancing as well as the elegance of her bearing, she was an easy choice to take on the role of the Queen of the Wilis.
The result was a success and Adolphe Adam, who wrote the music of the ballet, described the performance as such: "... in spite of her coldness, (Dumilâtre) deserved the success she achieved by the correctness and the 'mythological' quality of her poses: perhaps this word may seem a little pretentious, but I can think of no other to express such cold and noble dancing as would suit Minerva in a merry mood, and in this respect (Dumilâtre]) seems to bear a strong resemblance to that goddess."
In a show at Star Theater, Myrtha (Eileen Lopez) is at the grave of Giselle, ready to initiate the peasant girl as a wili. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Deanne Bergsma, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Lyubov Yegorova, Marjorie Tallchief, Rosella Hightower and Diana Adams were among those who succeeded Adèle Dumilâtre as Myrtha.
In Ballet Manila, Elline Damian was the first to perform the role and had the added honor of performing it in Russia when the company went on tour. Aileen Gallinera was the first dancer to perform Myrtha with BM in the Philippines. Other ballerinas who became Myrtha include Eileen Lopez, Melanie Motus, Gabby Quinto, Zaira Cosico, Sarah Abigail Cruz, Dawna Reign Mangahas, Akari Ida, Rissa May Camaclang and Marinette Franco.
Rissa Camaclang (center, foreground) is Myrtha in a 2019 production, leading the wilis in forcing trespassing men to dance to their death. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz
