It is no wonder that Giselle is a role coveted by ballerinas around the world. It requires both a supreme technique and the ability to act. The innocent heroine, duped by her lover Albrecht, goes mad and expires dramatically at the end of the first act, only to reappear as a forgiving spirit in the second. She saves him from certain death at the hands of the Wilis – a vengeful band of dead maidens – before returning to the grave with the coming of the dawn.

The Royal Ballet’s production of Giselle is back at the Royal Opera House for a short run, and it is worth catching as it promises interesting debuts in some of the lead roles.  On the opening night, Giselle was danced by Natalia Osipova. She is an extraordinary dancer, combining fragility with a steely technique which is never displayed for its own sake. The character’s love of dancing is seen from her very first entrance: the speed of her solos is something to behold, and her elevation is phenomenal, more so in Act II when she embodies the weightless spirit of the doomed girl.

It helps that she was partnered by Reece Clarke as Albrecht. He is one of the tallest dancers in the company and has the authority to portray the duplicitous aristocrat. He towers over Osipova and makes light of all the overhead lifts. He performs his own solos with style – his petit batterie is particularly impressive.

The corps de ballet as the creepy Wilis is on fine form; well-drilled and extremely scary under the watchful eye of their cruel Queen, Myrtha, danced on opening night by Mayara Magri. 

Praise too, must go to Luca Acri who shone in his solo in the Act I pas de six, while Christina Arestis was a deliciously haughty Bathilde, Albrecht’s fiancée. But the evening belonged to Osipova. The famous mad scene, where Giselle emotionally falls apart in front of her friends is always touching, but here it assumed a level of tragedy I have rarely seen. It’s a portrayal I will not forget in a hurry.

The Royal Ballet in Giselle is at the Royal Opera House until 3 December. There will be a digital stream of the performance on 3 December.  www.roh.org.uk