The premiere of Giselle was on the 28th of June 1841 at the Paris Opera. The starting point of the creation of the ballet, which was destined to become one the summits of choreographic art and outlive its time, was a legend about the Wilis. It was written down by a famous German poet, Heinrich Heine. A desire to realise it on stage was conceived by a poet, novelist, ballet lover and critic, Théophile Gautier. A preliminary version of the script, that was supplemented and adapted to the demands of ballet theatre by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, also belonged to him. The music was written by Adolphe Adan, a talented and prolific composer who later entered the history of theatre primarily as the author of this ballet. The production was realised by Jean Coralli and the leading part was created by Jules Perrot, a dance teacher and by then the ex-husband of Carlotta Grisi, the first performer of this part.