La Sylphide

Bolshoi Theatre, New Stage, Moscow, Russia

Scene 8 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 2

Scene 1 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 6

Scene 2 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 7

Scene 3 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 8

Scene 4 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 9

Scene 5 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 10

Scene 6 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 11

Scene 7 from the ballet "La Sylphide", photo 12

All photos (12)

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7 PM

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Important Info

Type: Ballet

City: Moscow, Russia

Starts at: 19:00

Acts: 2

Intervals: 1

Duration: 1h 45min

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

Ballet company: Bolshoi Ballet

Orchestra: Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra

Creators

Composer: Herman Severin Levenskiold

Music Director: Pavel Klinichev

Librettist: Adolphe Nourrit

Choreography: August Bournonville

Light: Damir Ismagilov

Choreography: Johan Kobborg

Sets & costumes designer: Peter Farmer

Librettist: Philippo Taglioni

Overview

This is a work which marks a turning point in the genre: first, it is the oldest of the classical ballets which are known today, second, the ballet of the same name marks the start of dancing on pointe, third, it is not fortuitous that it was in that ballet that the ballerina — Marie Taglioni, the first ballerina of the romantic era — was to rise on pointe, the sylphide, after all, is a maiden of the air.

La Sylphide — produced by the prima ballerina’s father Filippo Taglioni — was premiered in Paris in 1832. Two years later, it was seen by August Bournonville, the man who made the name of Danish ballet, who decided to do a version of it for his Company. He did not have enough money to acquire the rights to the score but, nothing daunted, he commissioned new music from a Danish composer. And so — in 1836 — the Danish La Sylphide which was to become famous the world over, saw the light of day. And, thanks to the reverent attitude to this ballet of generation after generation of Royal Danish Ballet dancers, it has been preserved for posterity.

This new production of Bournonville’s La Sylphide at the Bolshoi is by the Dane Johan Kobborg who is eminently qualified to do the job. He was trained to dance Bournonville’s works from the cradle. At 18, he was chosen as a model for a demonstration of the Danish ’designer label’ technique, to be recorded on video under the title The Bournonville Technique. He has danced in nearly all the Bournonville ballets which have come down to us and he became one of the world’s leading interpreters of the role of James in La Sylphide. Finally, he produced his own version of the ballet for London’s Royal Ballet and received an excellent press.

In 2000s when Johan Kobborg appeared as James in the Bolshoi’s old production of La Sylphide, he noted how difficult it was to dance to music with which he associated quite different movements. Today, these very same difficulties are being experienced by the Bolshoi dancers. But Maestro Kobborg states they are coping splendidly and continuously reiterates his surprise that nowhere in the world has he come across so many marvelous — and totally different to each other — Sylphides as there are at the Bolshoi.

Even the Bolshoi’s New Stage is bigger than the one for which Bournonville created his masterpiece. This proved to be a real headache for the choreographer who was out to convey both spirit and letter of the old ballet: how was he to take possession of this vast stage with Bournonville’s upward soaring, rather than horizontal, jumps? But with world famous scenographer Peter Farmer’s assistance, this hurdle has also been overcome. In Bournonville’s time, pantomime was already in decline. And he himself deleted many pantomime scene pages from his commissioned score (it was to become no less famous than its French counterpart). These deleted pieces of music, with detailed Bournonville descriptions of the scenes, were discovered just a few years ago and have been incorporated by Johan Kobborg into his version of the ballet.

When Johan Kobborg wrestles with the task of injecting the legs (plus other body parts and, most importantly, the heart) of Bolshoi dancers with the Bournonville style, he is not following the dictates of the current fashion for authenticism. Since dancing on pointecame into being, dancers have learnt too much to make it easy to dispense with the habit, especially in such a flight-filled ballet as this. The main thing is to tell the transfixing, romantic tale of how an ideal is beyond reach, of how the dream of a poet, even of a poet in peasant garb, can only be translated into reality at the cost of the loss, as in Sylphide’s case, of one’s wings. It is not for nothing that, throughout the ballet, James is unable to touch — literally speaking — the maiden of the air, and that the moment, thanks to evil spirits, this happens, she immediately dies.

Kobborg is a fine actor. And Kobborg is a personality. By investing his chief character with profound psychological tension not typical for the genre of the old ballet fairy tale, he manages to lift it to the level of high tragedy. The view that Bournonville gave equal rights to James as the hero of his ballet has long been a commonplace. But Kobborg has also contributed, via his dance and his production, to magnifying the importance of the role.

History

Premiere of this production: 28 November 1836, Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark

La Sylphide 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. Bournonville's is the only version known to have survived and is one of the world's oldest surviving ballets.

Synopsis

Act I

A Scottish manor house.
It is the morning of James’s marriage to Effie and he is asleep in his armchair. A winged figure, a Sylphide, is kneeling by his side. She kisses him on his forehead and he wakes up confused. Entranced by the vision of the Sylph, he attempts to capture her, but she escapes him; as she reaches the fireplace, she vanishes up the chimney. Troubled, he wakes his companions but none of them have seen her. Gurn, James’s rival, arrives and learns that James is infatuated with someone other than Effie.

The preparations for the wedding are in full swing. James hardly notices Effie; instead she is wooed by Gurn whom she ignores. James joins in the preparations but gradually realizes that, as Effie dreams more and more of the wedding, his own dreams go far beyond the walls of the manor house.

An old woman, Madge, has slipped unnoticed into the hall to warm herself by the fire. James, sensing that she is a sinister presence, takes an immediate dislike to her and cannot bear to see her sitting where he last saw the Sylph. He orders her to leave but Effie calms him and persuades him to let Madge tell the fortunes of some of the guests. Madge prophesies that Effie will marry Gurn, and James, furious at this, threatens Madge, who curses him. Effie runs off to dress for the wedding leaving James alone and in turmoil.

The Sylph once again shows herself to James, declares her love for him and tells him that they belong together, Gurn enters and, believing that he may have caught James talking to another woman, attempts to reveal the situation to Effie but fails.

As the wedding festivities begin, the Sylph reappears and, unable to resist her enticements, James follows her into the forest. Effie is left broken-hearted.

Act II

A glade in the forest.
Deep in the forest, shrouded in mist, Madge is planning her revenge. She makes a veil, irresistible to all in a magic cauldron. As the fog lifts, James enters with the Sylph, who shows him her realm. She brings him berries and water but evades his embrace. To lift his spirits she calls on her sisters and the forest fills with sylphs, who dance for James. Try as he might, he is unable to catch the Sylph in his arms.

Effie and James’s companions reach the glade looking for him. Gurn finds James’s hat, but Madge convinces him to say nothing. He proposes to Effie and, encouraged by Madge, she accepts. Everyone leaves to prepare for the wedding of Effie and Gurn.

Meanwhile, James is desperately looking for the Sylph, and Madge convinces him that the veil she has made will enable him to catch her. The Sylphappears and, seeing the veil is totally captivated by it. She allows James to place it around her shoulders and as he does so, he kisses her. His embrace is fatal and the Sylph’s wings fall to the ground. In despair James sees what should have been his own wedding party in the distance. As Madge forces him to see what he has lost, he realizes that in trying to possess the unobtainable he has lost everything.

Act 1

In the hall of a Scottish farmhouse, James Ruben, a young Scotsman, sleeps in a chair by the fireside. A sylph gazes lovingly upon him and dances about his chair. She kisses him and then vanishes when he suddenly wakes. James rouses his friend Gurn from sleep, and questions him about the sylph. Gurn denies having seen such a creature and reminds James that he is shortly to be married. James dismisses the incident and promises to forget it.

James' bride-to-be, Effie, arrives with her mother and bridesmaids. James dutifully kisses her, but is startled by a shadow in the corner. Thinking his sylph has returned, he rushes over, only to find the witch, Old Madge, kneeling at the hearth to warm herself. James is furious with disappointment.

Effie and her friends beg Old Madge to tell their fortunes, and the witch complies. She gleefully informs Effie that James loves someone else and she will be united with Gurn. James is furious. He forces Madge from the hearth and throws her out of the house. Effie is delighted that James would tangle with a witch for her sake.

Effie and her bridesmaids hurry upstairs to prepare for the wedding, and James is left alone in the room. As he stares out the window, the sylph materializes before him and confesses her love. She weeps at his apparent indifference. James resists at first, but, captivated by her ethereal beauty, capitulates and kisses her tenderly. Gurn, who spies the moment from the shadows, scampers off to tell Effie what has happened.

When the distressed Effie and her friends enter after hearing Gurn's report, the sylph disappears. The guests assume Gurn is simply jealous and laugh at him. Everyone dances. The sylph enters during the midst of the revelry and attempts to distract James.

As the bridal procession forms, James stands apart and gazes upon the ring he is to place on Effie's finger. The Sylph snatches the ring, places it on her own finger, and, smiling enticingly, rushes into the forest. James hurries after her in ardent pursuit. The guests are bewildered with James' sudden departure. Effie is heartbroken. She falls into her mother's arms sobbing inconsolably.

Act 2

In a fog-shrouded part of the forest, Madge and her companion witches dance grotesquely about a cauldron. The revellers add all sorts of filthy ingredients to the brew. When the contents glow, Madge reaches into the cauldron and pulls a diaphanous, magic scarf from its depths. The cauldron then sinks, the witches scatter, the fog lifts, and a lovely glade is revealed.

James enters with the sylph who shows him her charming, woodland realm. She brings him berries and water for refreshment but avoids his embrace. To cheer him, she summons her ethereal sisters who shyly enter and perform their airy dances. The young Scotsman is delighted and joins the divertissement before all flee for another part of the forest.

Meanwhile, the wedding guests have been searching the woodland for James. They enter the glade. Gurn finds his hat, but Madge convinces him to say nothing. Effie enters, weary with wandering about the forest. Madge urges Gurn to propose. He does and Effie accepts his proposal.

When they all have left, James enters the glade. Madge meets him, and tosses him the magic scarf. She tells the young farmer the scarf will bind the sylph to him so she cannot fly away. She instructs him to wind the scarf about the sylph's shoulders and arms for full effect. James is ecstatic. When the sylph returns and sees the scarf, she allows James to place it around her trembling form.

As James embraces the sylph passionately, her wings fall off, she shudders, and dies in James' arms. Sorrowfully, her sisters enter and lift her lifeless form. Suddenly, a joyful wedding procession led by Effie and Gurn crosses the glade. James is stunned. James directs his gaze heavenward; he sees the sylph borne aloft by her sisters. James collapses. Madge exults over his lifeless body. Justice has triumphed.

Venue Info

Bolshoi Theatre - Moscow
Teatralnaya Square 1

The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and opera performances. Before the October Revolution it was a part of the Imperial Theatres of the Russian Empire along with Maly Theatre (Small Theatre) in Moscow and a few theatres in Saint Petersburg (Hermitage Theatre, Bolshoi (Kamenny) Theatre, later Mariinsky Theatre and others).

The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world. It is by far the world's biggest ballet company, with more than 200 dancers. The theatre is the parent company of The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, a world-famous leading school of ballet. It has a branch at the Bolshoi Theater School in Joinville, Brazil.

The main building of the theatre, rebuilt and renovated several times during its history, is a landmark of Moscow and Russia (its iconic neoclassical façade is depicted on the Russian 100-ruble banknote). On 28 October 2011, the Bolshoi re-opened after an extensive six-year renovation. The official cost of the renovation is 21 billion rubles ($688 million). However, other Russian authorities and other people connected to it claimed much more public money was spent. The renovation included restoring acoustics to the original quality (which had been lost during the Soviet Era), as well as restoring the original Imperial decor of the Bolshoi.

The company was founded on 28 March [O.S. 17 March] 1776, when Catherine II granted Prince Peter Ouroussoff a licence to organise theatrical performances, balls and other forms of entertainment. Ouroussoff set up the theatre in collaboration with English tightrope walker Michael Maddox. Initially, it held performances in a private home, but it acquired the Petrovka Theatre and on 30 December 1780, it began producing plays and operas, thus establishing what would become the Bolshoi Theatre. Fire destroyed the Petrovka Theatre on 8 October 1805, and the New Arbat Imperial Theatre replaced it on 13 April 1808, however it also succumbed to fire during the French invasion of Moscow in 1812.

The first instance of the theatre was built between 1821 and 1824, designed and supervised to completion by architect Joseph Bové based upon an initial competition-winning design created by Petersburg-based Russian architect Andrei Mikhailov that was deemed too costly to complete. Bové also concurrently designed the nearby Maly Theatre and the surrounding Theater Square, The new building opened on 18 January 1825 as the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theatre with a performance of Fernando Sor's ballet, Cendrillon. Initially, it presented only Russian works, but foreign composers entered the repertoire around 1840.

Important Info

Type: Ballet

City: Moscow, Russia

Starts at: 19:00

Acts: 2

Intervals: 1

Duration: 1h 45min

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