No. 10 Apparition Et Scène De Myrtha

Adolphe Adam was born in 1803 in Paris, France and died there in 1856. Adam’s father did not want him to pursue a career in music, which was a similar situation to that of George Frideric Handel over a hundred years earlier. As was the case with Handel, the lack of encouragement from his father didn’t hold Adam back and he became one of the most popular composers of his day. Adam wrote ballets, vaudeville, incidental music and comic operas. His name was everywhere!

In the ballet Giselle, young women who have died of a broken heart are transformed into Wilis. Myrtha is Queen of the Wilis and the ethereal music heard in Apparition et Scène de Myrtha sets the scene for Queen Myrtha’s first appearance during the second Act. Appearance of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis is the English translation of the French title Apparition et Scène de Myrtha.

Giselle is known as a Romantic ballet. It has remained a favourite with classical ballet companies all over the world. The original ballet was choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot with music by Adolphe Adam.

Worksheet for Primary classrooms

Step 1. Watch the video to learn about Harp Strings

Step 2. Listen to the TSO recording of Apparition Et Scène De Myrtha

Step 3. Answer 10 questions

Step 4. Download a Word Search