() is a short, non-narrative ''
ballet blanc'' to piano music by
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
, selected and orchestrated by
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...
.
The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie",
["Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact disk of ABT's production, with ]Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...
as the dreamer, is available from Kultor, entitled "American Ballet Theatre at the Met – Mixed Bill (1985)". [See Olga Maynard's definitive account, based on information from Fokine's son Vitale Fokine: "Les Sylphides", '']Dance Magazine
''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' is currently part of Dance Media, led by longtime arts publisher Joanna Harp as president, and has mu ...
'' Portfolio: December 1971, advertised separately by some online booksellers. is frequently cited as the first ballet to be simply about mood and dance.
has no plot but instead consists of several white-clad
sylph
A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...
s dancing in the moonlight with the "poet" or "young man" dressed in white tights and a black tunic.
Its original
choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
was by
Michel Fokine
Michael Fokine ( – 22 August 1942) was a Russian choreographer and dancer.
Career Early years
Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and at the age of 9 was accepted into the Saint Petersburg Imperial Ballet Sch ...
, with Chopin's music orchestrated by
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...
. Glazunov had already set some of the music in 1892 as a purely orchestral suite, under the title ''Chopiniana'', Op. 46. In that form, it was introduced to the public in December 1893, conducted by
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...
.
Performance history

Identifying the premiere of the fuller ballet poses a challenge. One might say that it premiered in 1907 at the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
as ''Rêverie Romantique: Ballet sur la musique de Chopin''. However, this also formed the basis of a ballet, ''Chopiniana'', which took different forms, even in Fokine's hands.
[George Balanchine, and Francis Mason, ''Balanchine's Complete Stories of the Great Ballets'' (rev. & enlarged edition, Doubleday, 1977), pp. 653–8.] As , what we consider the work was premiered by
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...
's
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...
on 2 June 1909 at
Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. The Diaghilev premiere is the most famous, as its soloists were
Tamara Karsavina,
Vaslav Nijinsky (as the poet, dreamer, or young man),
Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...
, and Alexandra Baldina. The long white
tutu that Pavlova originally danced in, and that the entire female ''
corps de ballet
In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French language, French for "body of the little dance") is the group of ballet dancer, dancers who are not principal dancers or Soloist (ballet), soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and ...
'' adopted soon after, was designed by
Léon Bakst and inspired by a lithograph of
Marie Taglioni dressed as a
sylph
A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...
.
The London premiere, in the first season of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes, was at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
. With more sylph-like elusiveness, the North American premiere might be dated by an unauthorized version in the
Winter Garden
A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime.
History
The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility constructed large conservatories that housed tropical and subtropical pla ...
, New York, on 14 June 1911 (featuring Baldina alone from the Diaghilev cast). However, its authorized premiere on that continent, by Diaghilev Ballets Russes, was at the
Century Theater, New York City, 20 January 1916, with
Lydia Lopokova (who also featured in the unauthorized production five years earlier). Nijinsky danced it with that company at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
on 14 April 1916, where it was paired with a similar work to a piano suite (by
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
), ''
Papillons'', also choreographed by Fokine. Fokine also set the ballet for several other companies, and he and his wife, Vera Fokina, danced its leading roles themselves for some years.
Revision history
Original production

''Chopiniana'', staged by Fokine, had a different musical composition. Also, ''Chopiniana'' was originally a compilation of dramatic or character dances set to Chopin's piano music. The Glazunov suite upon which this original version was based had only four Chopin pieces; Fokine wanted to use a waltz as an addition to the suite and was able to get Glazunov to orchestrate this to create his ballet, also called ''Chopiniana''.
#
Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, No. 1
#
Nocturne in F major, Op. 15, No. 1
#
Mazurka in C minor, Op. 50, No. 3
#
Waltz in C minor, Op. 64, No. 2, as added by Michel Fokine
[ Taruskin, Richard, ''Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions'', pp. 546–547 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996). .]
#
Tarantella in A major, Op. 43
The newly orchestrated waltz would be Fokine's inspiration to re-choreograph the ballet into its nearly-final form, selecting different Chopin pieces to go with it and getting these orchestrated by the Maryinsky
répétiteur
A (; from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. The feminine form is .
Opera
In opera, a is the person responsible for coaching singers ...
Maurice Keller.
Ballets Russes production
When Fokine's ballet premiered in Paris as part of Diaghilev's "Saison Russe" in 1909, Diaghilev commissioned re-orchestrations of all the dances, except for the Glazunov-orchestrated Waltz, by
Anatoly Lyadov,
Sergei Taneyev
Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of musical composition, composition, music theorist and author.
Life
Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire, to a cultur ...
,
Nikolai Tcherepnin and
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
.
This version, now titled ''Les Sylphides'', was first staged at the
Théâtre du Châtelet on 2 June 1909.
Standard version
The
canonical
The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...
version of the ballet ''Les Sylphides'' includes:
#
Polonaise in A major (''Military''), Op. 40, No. 1 (some companies substitute the
Prelude in A major, Op. 28, No. 7 instead)
#
Nocturne in A major, Op. 32, No. 2
#
Waltz in G major, Op. 70, No. 1
#
Mazurka in D major, Op. 33, No. 2
#
Mazurka in C major, Op. 67, No. 3
#
Prelude in A major, Op. 28, No. 7
#
Waltz in C minor, Op. 64, No. 2
#
Grande valse brillante in E major, Op. 18
New York City Ballet production
The
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
(NYCB) produced its own staging of the standard version, omitting the Polonaise in A major (and leaving the Prelude in A major in its original position), under the original title, ''Chopiniana''. The NYCB premiere was staged by
Alexandra Danilova
Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized f ...
and took place 20 January 1972, at the
New York State Theater,
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
. The original cast included
Karin von Aroldingen,
Susan Hendl,
Kay Mazzo
Kay Mazzo (born January 17, 1946) is an American former ballet dancer and educator. In 1961, she joined Jerome Robbins' company, Ballets USA. The following year, she joined the New York City Ballet and was promoted to principal dancer in 1969. Sh ...
, and
Peter Martins
Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish former ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and J ...
.
Other orchestrations
A number of musicians have orchestrated the Chopin pieces for major ballet companies, including
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
,
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
,
Alexander Gretchaninov
Alexander Tikhonovich GretchaninovAlso commonly transliterated as ''Aleksandr/Alexandre'' ''Grechaninov/Gretchaninoff/Gretschaninow'' ( rus, Алекса́ндр Ти́хонович Гречани́нов, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲɪtɕɐˈnʲin� ...
,
Roy Douglas, and
Gordon Jacob
Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...
. The Ravel orchestration has been lost. The Britten orchestration was considered lost but a score thought to be his was found in 2013 in the archives of the
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...
.
Roy Douglas's version has been recorded a number of times, and has largely supplanted the earlier versions. It was written in 1936, to replace what Douglas called "very bad orchestrations of Chopin's music".
CD Liner notes
by Raymond Tuttle, buywell.com
See also
* Classical music written in collaboration
In classical music, it is relatively rare for a work to be written in collaboration by multiple composers. This contrasts with popular music, where it is common for more than one person to contribute to the music for a song. Nevertheless, there ar ...
Notes
Sources
*
External links
Image
of Margot Fonteyn
Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE ( Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn (), was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with th ...
performing in ''Les Sylphides''
''Les Sylphides'', ''Mozartiana'', ''Amazed in Burning Dreams'', November 2004
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...
, performance details
''Les Sylphides''
''Ballet Encyclopedia''
MusicWeb
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylphides, Les
Ballets Russes productions
Ballets by Michel Fokine
Ballets designed by Alexandre Benois
New York City Ballet repertory
1900s ballets
1909 works
Ballets to the music of Frédéric Chopin
Ballets to the music of Alexander Glazunov
Orchestral suites
Arrangements of classical compositions
Sylphs