Leigh Donlan reviewed the Wed June 25, 2025 matinee performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City
Among the exceptional offerings in American Ballet Theatre’s summer at the Met this year are Gillian Murphy’s final révérences after 29 prolific years with the company. On Wednesday afternoon, I had the pleasure of watching her final Giselle, danced with her long-time partner, James Whiteside, whose Count Albrecht was sincerely in love with the young peasant girl, Giselle. The endearing Joseph Markey delivered our love-lorn Hilarion, and Virginia Lensi made her powerful debut as Myrta. It was heartwarming and inspiring to watch Murphy; the packed house was supercharged. And, of course, it was bittersweet, realizing that we may never see Ms. Murphy’s winged heroine floating through the forest and saving lives again.
Such romantic ballets were made for ballerinas like Murphy: her aesthetic timeless, her technique ingrained, her artistry masterful and her presence simply luminous.
As the freshly enamoured Giselle, she exercised restraint in her initial petit allegros, almost teasing us before releasing the more passionate grand allegros, which caused Giselle’s worried mother Berthe – a suffering and maternal Nancy Raffa – to halt the excitement and remind her daughter of her weak heart. Joseph Markey brought his usual magnetism to his earnest but hot-tempered Hilarion, genuinely caring about Giselle’s well-being.
Whiteside as Count Albrecht gave us a superb, sophisticated performance throughout, convincing us that he truly loved our maiden, despite his amnesia of a pre-existing betrothal. His imprudence leads to tragedy.
But before that, Yoon Jung Seo and Sung Woo Han offered a clean and joyous peasant pas de deux. Han’s exceptional gallantry, particularly during lifts, was complemented by Seo’s agile facility and graceful carriage of the arms and upper body. Duncan Lyle gave a hilariously sassy rendering of Wilfred, Count Albrecht’s squire, as he shooed people away. And we were honored by the presence of two very important (and well-behaved) guests – Kiki and Ian, in the roles of the royal borzois – who led the hunting party.
In her first variation, Murphy was magical. Her skirt floated along with her musically as if timed and choreographed. We expected to hear birds chirping, but happily settled for Adolphe Adam’s illustrious and atmospheric score, with brass fanfares and tambourine accents, expertly conducted by Charles Barker. Murphy’s elegant port de bras and épaulement whispered tenderhearted, down to her carefully articulated palms and fingertips.
In the much anticipated mad scene, Murphy allowed technique to disappear immediately. In shock at her love’s duplicity, her reality shattered, she forgets how to dance – her first true love. Murphy played the scene like the tenured pro that she is. She avoided excessive dramatics, and maintained her grace and dignity, despite the heartbreak. She seemed to drift in and out of the spirit realm, hinting that her fate as a Wili was near.
Act II opened with Hilarion consecrating Giselle’s grave with his hand-crafted wooden cross, a detail I appreciated on this first viewing of ABT’s Giselle, staged by Kevin McKenzie after Coralli, Perrot and Petipa. Magic ensued. Lensi’s austere Myrta maintained softness but with crisp, unflinching finishes. She eloquently claimed dominion of her woods, plucking rosemary sprigs, casting protection in all directions with her arabesques en tournant and penchées, then tossed the sprigs to summon her Wilis.
As Moyna and Zulma, Paulina Waski and Ingrid Thoms led the Wilis with exacting authority, generating an unmistakable electricity in the theater during their epic white act, notably with their momentous chugging arabesques as they swept across the stage in those gorgeous long tutus that expanded like wisps of fog. As their latest initiate, Murphy’s ethereal Giselle glowed brighter for, unlike the rest of the Wilis, she stayed true to her mission of redemption, not revenge.
Markey’s Hilarion, disheveled and weary, evoked sympathy from us as he begged Myrta for mercy, to no avail. Up next for the killing was Albrecht, who walked the plank of shameful regret alongside the unforgiving diagonal line of Wilis, until Giselle intervened to shield him. Murphy’s imploring adagio was distinguished by a gracefulness born of sorrow and forgiveness, and by an eloquent upper body expressing sighs of farewell.
Curtain calls were full of genuine love and affection between Murphy and the cast. Whiteside knelt to honor and thank her, expressing a sentiment that seemed to be broadly shared in the house that afternoon.
Gillian Murphy’s swan song will be in Swan Lake on July 18th, with Whiteside and Markey.
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