Léo Delibes · Romanticism
1836–1891
1876 · Ballet · Paris, Palais Garnier
Tonality
Without a unique tone. Like all ballet, it runs a lot of tonalities along its numbers.
From the atril
Sylvia, premiered in 1876 at the newly opened Palais Garnier, is based on Aminta, the pastoral fable of Torquato Tasso. Sylvia, a nympha hunter of Diana who despises love, is wounded by Eros' arrow and falls in love with Pastor Aminta. After a rapture and many adventures, the gods bless their union.
Chaikovski, who heard the play in Vienna, wrote that if he had known it before he would not have composed The Swan Lake. It did not exaggerate: the score of Sylvia is of an exceptional symphonic quality for a ballet of the time. The most famous pages are the «Pizzicati», a delicate dance in which the strings play pinching, the majestic «Baco Procession» and the prelude with the hunting tubes that announce to the hunters. Delibes works the themes along the work, in Wagner's way, and its orchestration is luminous and refined. The orchestral suite is a very grateful piece of concert.
What to hear
- The «Pizzicati».
- The «Baco Procession».
- The prelude hunting tubes.
Listen
Leo Delibes - Sylvia (Ballet Complete) · Immortal Classical Music
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