Compañía Nacional de Danza: La Sylphide
About the Event
Experience the awe‐inspiring architecture of Seville's magnificent Teatro de la Maestranza and be transported by a mesmerizing ballet performance. Prepare to immerse yourself in a world where purity and love clash with dark forces. In a story that resonates with the Romantic period, the National Dance Company, under the direction of Joaquín De Luz, returns to the Teatro de la Maestranza. This production holds a special allure, having premiered just weeks before in Seville, accompanied by the esteemed Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the brilliant Daniel Capps.
Capps, renowned for his success on the concert platform with major European orchestras and his work as assistant conductor to Sir John Eliot Gardiner, brings his expertise in dance repertory to the stage. Having collaborated with luminaries like Wayne McGregor and toured with the Royal Ballet, as well as the New York City Ballet, Capps brings a wealth of experience and artistry to this production.
This time, the CND delves into the imaginative and allegorical world of La Sylphide, a ballet choreographed by Danish artist August Bournonville in 1836. With a captivating score by Herman Severin Løvenskiold, La Sylphide stands as one of the oldest surviving ballets and the pinnacle of the Romantic ballet tradition. The ballet tells the tragic tale of James Ruben, a Scottish farmer who becomes enchanted by the ethereal sylph, a forest spirit symbolizing pure and unattainable love. However, their bliss is shattered when the vengeful witch, Old Madge, driven by her rejection from James, relentlessly pursues them, devising a cruel fate for the innocent embodiments of love and beauty.
It is worth noting that La Sylphide received its world premiere at the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen on November 28, 1836, and will now grace the stage of the Teatro de la Maestranza as a premiere by the Compañía Nacional de Danza on December 7, 2023.
Cast / Production
Choreography: August Bournonville
Music: Herman Severin Lovenskjold
Libretto: Adolphe Nourrit
Set design: Elisa Sanz
Costume design: Tania Bakunova
Stage: Petrusjka Broholm
Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra
Musical director: Daniel Capps
