Arts Management at College of Charleston

Giselle 3D is described as the world's first 3D ballet

3D cinema last year was dominated by animation and fantasy blockbusters such as Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland – but now arthouse films are getting in on the act.  Last week the world of ballet took its first delicate and perfectly-poised steps into the world of 3D cinema.  Giselle 3D – which was shot almost a year ago at Russia’s historic Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg – received its big screen premiere in London and will be shown in selected cinemas around the UK in April.  It’s not just ballet which is seeking to entice arthouse audiences to don 3D glasses. Opera entered the fray earlier this year with 3D cinema screenings of Bizet’s Carmen and Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia.

Giselle was filmed at the historic Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.  The premiere screening of Giselle 3D last week was introduced by the Mariinsky Theatre’s energetic artistic director Valeriy Gergiev.  The 3D ballet stars Natalia Osipova as Giselle and Leonid Sarafanov as Count Albert. It tells the story of a simple village girl who falls in love with a prince disguised as a peasant.  The production was shot in St Petersburg last year by British company Can Communicate.  According the Gergiev, Giselle 3D is just the beginning. “We have a list of productions that we want to film in 3D and there will be unusual choices, not only classical or traditional.”  But he said there was more work to be done with the format.  ”I have to be honest with you – some of it looks even better than it does in the theatre, but some of it doesn’t… but it is altogether a positive experience and an important major step.”

So will 3D help bring in new audiences to opera and ballet? One of its selling points is that it opens the door to expensive artforms for the price of a cinema ticket.  Valeriy Gergiev: “Some will come because they are fans of 3D, some will come because they love ballet and they will be curious about what difference 3D makes.”  Joe Dives of Can Communicate said the goal of Giselle 3D was to give audiences a sense of being in the auditorium.”This will give people the opportunity to see this beautiful and timeless content in areas of the world where they would never have the opportunity to see it.”