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La Sylphide

ballet in two acts

music by Herman Løvenskiold

Duration

1 hour 45 minutes

1 act

40 min

interval 30 min

2 act

35 min

for viewers over 6 years old

Cast

Sylphide

Angelina Vorontsova

The ballet, which has maintained the romantic dancing style for many years and became one of biggest theatrical legends of the 19th century, comes to our stage in Danish choreographer August Bournonville�s version. The illusiveness and unattainability of one�s dreams are revealed through the story of James, a young Scotsman. He has promised his heart to a girl from the local village but then comes across an enchanting spirit of the air, the sylph. Having forsaken everything on earth, the young man attempts to get close to this spectral beauty.

Act one

James, the fiancé of young Effie, is dozing by the fireplace. A sylph appears. She flutters around James and wakes him with a kiss. James tries to catch the sylph, but she disappears. The young man is filled with thoughts about the fantastic creature that has appeared to him.
The witch Madge comes to predict the young couple’s future. She prophesises that James will not marry Effie. James drives the witch away. She leaves, harbouring a grudge. During the wedding celebration, the sylph reappears, but only James can see her. The sylph steals his engagement ring and vanishes. James chases after her, abandoning Effie.

Act two

An enchanted forest. The witch is casting a spell, leaning over a bubbling cauldron. She is holding a transparent scarf. A weary James appears: he cannot find the sylph. Suddenly she appears before him again. James tries to catch her, but without success. The witch offers James a magic scarf to capture the elusive sylph. James drapes the scarf over the sylph’s shoulders, but the touch is fatal to her. Her wings fall off, and with them her life fades away. Her friends carry the lifeless sylph away. James is inconsolable. In the distance, a wedding procession passes by: his fiancée Effie has married Gurn....