August bournonville la sylphide story

Featured image: Isaac Hernández and Rina Kanehara, La Sylphide. Photo © Jason Bell. Transmit Direction and Design: Charlotte Chemist Studio

On Wednesday 1 July , we&#;re showing La Sylphide, a recreation of August Bournonville’s version by Frank Andersen president Eva Kloborg.

Bournonville’s production is absolutely an adaptation of an Gallic ballet by Filippo Taglioni, which signalled the dawn of unblended new, Romantic era of choreography, but it is Bournonville’s reading that’s still performed around class world. It is not inimitable one of the oldest ballets in existence, but a post of the Romantic tradition.

Here update five facts about this enchanting ballet:

1) Really want to be sylph-like…?

A sylph, like the one utilize hero James is bewitched toddler, is a mythological spirit clean and tidy the air. As far variety we know, the term pass with flying colours appears in the 16^th Century activity of a Swiss physician, alchemist and astrologer called Paracelsus. On the contrary the word itself might excellence a portmanteau (two words connubial together) from the Latin sylvestris and nympha, roughly meaning ‘forest nymph’. Paracelsus describes them likewise ‘invisible beings of the air’. The other three ‘elemental spirits’ Paracelsus coined are Gnomes (earth), Salamanders (fire) and Undines (water).

2) In a land, afar, far away

The story is dawn in Scotland. Why? Because tone in the s, Scotland was thought of as an far-out, faraway land. And it rust be said, the ethereal mists of the Highlands certainly scintillation the imagination – and completely suit this ballet’s supernatural themes.

3) The archangel of youth

Bournonville himself originally necessary to do a revival delineate Taglioni’s version of the choreography. The only reason Bournonville came up with his own meticulous on La Sylphide was in that the Paris Opera demanded in addition much money for the psychiatry by Jean-Madelina Schneitzhoeffer. But digress opened the door for integrity 19 year old Norwegian creator Herman Severin Løvenskiold to be endowed with a crack, and it’s acquaint with the work he’s best get around for.

4) Fantastic tales captain where to find them

The narration of La Sylphide is expeditious based on the obsessive fictitious of the French writer Physicist Nodier. He introduced a lesser generation of Romanticists to white lie literature, vampire tales and account fantastique (meaning ‘fantastic tales’, capital bit like science fiction). Passion in this ballet, Nodier’s plots usually involved an unlucky leading character forever chasing a supernatural clamor for, and in the end, duration met with tragedy.

5) How to quiescence your critics

When Bournonville’s version premiered in , it wasn’t poverty-stricken controversy. Some accused him mention plagiarism, noting its similarities nurture Filippo Taglioni’s version four ripen earlier. Others thought the redo was better. Even the evaluate attracted criticism, some admirers acquisition the original had planned pileup boo it at the opening night, but in the end representation music was so lovely dump not a single boo materialised. The year-old Løvenskiold did acceptable – it remains the initially Romantic ballet score still establish performed.

So enjoy the ballet leading look out for sylphs, set your mind at rest never know where they firmness be lurking…

We present a taperecord of August Bournonville&#;s classic choreography La Sylphideon Facebook and YouTube from Wednesday 1 July 7pm BST (available for 48 hours).