Day 264
Delibes: Sylvia
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Richard Bonyge
Sylvia is one of the most celebrated of ballet scores. Tchaikovsky considered it superior to his own Swan Lake and it is one of the few scores of the major 19th century ballets which is performed more or less in the form that the composer intended: so many of the famous scores have been tinkered with over the years to the extent that it is always clear who actually wrote which sections. That is a sign of just how significant this ballet is.
I have known the suite from Sylvia all my life, but this was the first time I had heard the whole ballet score. It was a real pleasure to hear the familiar extracts in context. There is real drama in this score as well as charm and humour. It is more that just an assemblage of dances - Delibes uses motives quite skilfully to advance the drama. The orchestration is highly sophisticated included an early use of the saxophone as a solo instrument. This really is a ballet score that stands on its own two feet.
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