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La Sylphide (English: The Sylph; Danish: Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836.
Jul 6, 2024 · The French Romantics seized this counter-Enlightenment impulse and made it their own. La Sylphide struck a chord in the hearts of many, precisely during a time when it was most needed. The public went crazy over La Sylphide .
Oct 29, 2023 · French ballet master and choreographer Marius Petipa decided to restage the original 1832 Taglioni production of La Sylphide at the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1892. The ballet (and the opera) played a significant role in Russian society in the late nineteenth century.
One of the world’s oldest existing romantic ballets, La Sylphide originally premiered on March 12, 1832 in Paris, with now lost choreography by Filippo Taglioni. A success, the ballet was re-choreographed in 1836 by the Danish ballet master August Bournonville.
- Really want to be sylph-like…? A sylph, like the one our hero James is bewitched by, is a mythological spirit of the air. As far as we know, the term first appears in the 16 Century works of a Swiss physician, alchemist and astrologer called Paracelsus.
- In a land, far, far away. The story is set in Scotland. Why? Because back in the 1800s, Scotland was thought of as an exotic, faraway land. And it must be said, the ethereal mists of the Highlands certainly spark the imagination – and perfectly suit this ballet’s supernatural themes.
- The beauty of youth. Bournonville himself originally wanted to do a revival of Taglioni’s 1832 version of the ballet. The only reason Bournonville came up with his own take on La Sylphide was because the Paris Opera demanded too much money for the score by Jean-Madelina Schneitzhoeffer.
- Fantastic tales and where to find them. The story of La Sylphide is loosely based on the obsessive stories of the French writer Charles Nodier. He introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to gothic literature, vampire tales and conte fantastique (meaning ‘fantastic tales’, a bit like science fiction).
La Sylphide is one of the oldest surviving romantic ballets, choreographed by August Bournonville with music composed by Herman Severin Løvenskiold. Premiering on November 28, 1836, at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, this ballet has captivated audiences for nearly two centuries.
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La Sylphide is regarded as a notable ballet of the Romantic Movement of the early 19th century, a period that left its mark on art, music, and ballet alike. Central to this movement was an obsession with the supernatural realm of spirits and enchantment, often portraying women as delicate and passive figures.
