THE spine-tingling brilliance of the English National Ballet has left audiences at The Mayflower in Southamp-ton spellbound with delight after two breathtaking performances of Giselle this week.

Love and betrayal, madness and the supernatural, Giselle is the ultimate romantic ballet, taken to new levels by the English National Ballet - one of the world's greatest ballet companies.

They are also one of the biggest, with 64 dancers (120 for their annual performances at the Royal Albert Hall) and 80 members of staff.

The principal dancers include Vladislav Bubnov, Yat-Sen Chang, Simone Clarke, Thomas Edur and Elena Glurdjidze, all of whom have performed in some of the world's greatest theatres and auditoriums.

Giselle, which runs at The Mayflower until Saturday, sees the company at its accustomed best.

A tale of unrequited love, madness, death and revenge, which has been compared to Shakespeare's greatest tragedy Hamlet, it is one of the true ultimate ballets.

It tells the heartbreaking story of the young peasant girl and her love for the handsome Count Albrecht.

The bright, sunny optimism of the village in the first act contrasts with ghoulish, mysterious drama of the second, played out in a mist-covered forest.

Here, ghostly spirits of abandoned brides' force the living to perform a ritualistic dance of death.

Will Giselle's love protect the duplicitous Albrecht from a tragic fate?

Superb dancing, wonderful music and magical sets from this world- acclaimed ballet company will take your breath away.

Tickets from £12.50. Box office: 023 8071 1811.