Press Release: An extra dose of romance with lots of white tulle
Munich, 8 November 2024
PRESS RELEASE: CELEBRATING THE PREMIERE OF "LA SYLPHIDE"
Bayerisches Staatsballett presents the season’s first premiere on Friday 22 November 2024 with the romantic narrative ballet, La Sylphide. The piece returns to the stage of Munich's Nationaltheater after 30 years, and is presented for the first time in Pierre Lacotte’s version.
PREMIERE "La Sylphide"
Along with Giselle, La Sylphide ranks among the milestones of romantic ballet. It was created in the early 1830s by Filippo Taglioni. Special shoes, which allowed the dancers to rise on to their toes, emphasized the fairylike nature of the Sylphides, and helped the pointe shoe to break through into the world of ballet – to this day pointe shoes and tulle dresses, for example, are icons of classical ballet.
The story, which is set in the Scottish Highlands, is about the young farmer James, who, shortly before his marriage to his cousin Effie, is seduced by a mysterious “sylph”, who is visible to him alone. James falls madly in love with the surreal being, but in the end this calamitous love takes its toll.
The company is currently rehearsing Pierre Lacotte's version, which celebrated its world premiere on stage in Paris in 1972. The dancer and choreographer, who died in 2023, studied historical records of Filippo Taglioni's work extensively when developing the ballet. Thus he created a version of La Sylphide that comes as closely as possible to Taglioni's romantic ideals and romantic style.
Lacotte’s version considerably differs from Auguste Bournonville's better-known version, especially by means of its dance technique and movement language, which were shaped by the French education system, and are distinguished in particular by difficult footwork. In addition to this, Lacotte's choreography is musically based on the original score by Jean-Madeleine Schneitzhoeffer, to which Lacotte added some pieces by Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer.
In the opening night on Friday 22 November 2024 Ksenia Shevtsova will be dancing the sylph, and Jakob Feyferlik will be James. The two subsequent performances on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 November 2024 will be featuring Madison Young and Jinhao Zhang and Laurretta Summerscales and Julian MacKay.
La Sylphide is staged by Ballet director Laurent Hilaire, who danced Lacotte's version many times himself, and by guest ballet mistress Anne Salmon from Paris.
LA SYLPHIDE
by Pierre Lacotte, based on a work by Filippo Taglioni
Friday 22 November 2024, 7.30 p.m. opening night
Saturday 23 November 2024, 7.30 p.m.
Sunday 24 November 2024, 7.30 p.m.
Friday 29 November 2024, 7.30 p.m.
Saturday 30 November 2024, 7.30 p.m.
Nationaltheater
Introduction at 6.30 pm in the anteroom to the royal box (balcony tier), except upon opening night