Choreographer: Stanton Welch AM | Music: Leo Delibes
Three women. Two worlds. One epic story of love.
Opening atop Mount Olympus, Stanton Welch AM’s Sylvia blends Greek mythology into a powerful story of love where three fierce women drive the story: Sylvia, the fearless huntress; Artemis, the commanding goddess; and Psyche, the compassionate mortal. Anchoring the tale, Sylvia, a warrior in Artemis’ army, is struck by Eros’ arrow, causing her to fall in love with a mortal shepherd. Welch’s multilayered narrative dives between mythical and human realms as the three heroines each journey on their own path to love, leading to a tale of mayhem, mischief, magic, and romance.
Premiering in Houston and Sydney in 2019, Welch's Sylvia has garnered critical acclaim for its modern revival of this rarely performed classic. Welch crafts nuanced pas de deux for each leading lady between dramatic sword fights and comedic interactions. All the while, the reimagining unfolds against legendary theater designer Jérôme Kaplan’s ever-changing modular set pieces, providing the perfect backdrop for the otherworldly projections by Tony Honors for Excellence recipient Wendall K. Harrington. Expertly tying it all together is lighting design by Lisa J. Pinkham, making Sylvia a true collaboration of artistic excellence.
Underscoring it all is Léo Delibes’ masterful score, which Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky once praised for its “charm, elegance, richness of melody, rhythm, and harmony.” So deeply inspired by its deft grandeur, Tchaikovsky famously remarked that he would not have composed Swan Lake had he heard Sylvia first.
Sylvia was generously underwritten by Phoebe and Bobby Tudor.