Giselle has drawn harsh words from the more superior music critics, but the public has taken it to heart for its atmospheric writing and tender and haunting themes. The text used here is the complete original score; Bonynge's desire to rerecord it lies in matters of performance and interpretation. Reviews of his previous version, made with the Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra in 1970, spoke of the limitations of the woodwind Orchestral Adam and brass, and suggested that a little more rehearsal time might have brought benefits.
Here the musicians of the Royal Opera House bring both a confidence of attack and a refinement that aren't quite achieved by the Monte Carlo players. That same extra confidence of attack is displayed by Bonynge himself. Each of the discs of this issue is between one-and-a-half and two minutes longer than the older recording, but the dramatic moments are more vigorously attacked and the slower ones more lovingly caressed – always to considerable effect.
Add recorded sound that's warmer and more spacious, and there's no hesitation in acknowledging the superiority of this version over the old. Without a doubt, this represents the firstchoice version of Adam's complete score.

The playing is polished and warmly sympathetic. Bonynge's tempi are very much of the ballet theatre, but the overall tension is well maintained and detail is affectionately vivid. Recorded in London's Henry Wood Hall, with its glowing acoustics, the sound is richly coloured and sumptuous...one of the most successful and satisfying of Bonynge's many ballet recordings