OVERVIEW
Choreography: Stanton Welch AM
Music: Léo Delibes
Generously underwritten by Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
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.
SYNOPSIS
MAIN CHARACTERS
Artemis, Orion
Sylvia, The Shepherd
Psyche, Eros
*CONTAINS STORY SPOILERS
Three women. Two worlds. One epic story of love.
ACT I
ARTEMIS
We open on a battlefield where the twin gods Artemis and Apollo slay Queen Niobe’s army in revenge for a slight to their mother, Leto. Zeus, the twins’ father, arrives from Olympus with Leto to congratulate them. He favors Apollo which makes Artemis unhappy, so her dear friend Orion comforts her. Eros, son of the love goddess Aphrodite, teases them. Artemis shoots arrows in Eros’ direction and leaves with Orion to hunt. Apollo, who is used to being everyone’s favorite, is jealous of the bond between Artemis and Orion. To spite Artemis, he seduces Callisto, one of the nymphs in her army. Artemis and Orion revel in each other’s company, but when her army arrives, she must bid Orion farewell. As Artemis and her army are preparing to hunt, Callisto and Apollo arrive. Callisto claims she has been attacked. Artemis is furious and wants to kill the attacker. Apollo points off in the distance, but Artemis cannot see who it is. Apollo guides her, and Artemis’ arrow finds Orion. He dies in her arms. Artemis realizes she has been tricked. Apollo escapes her wrath, but, in revenge for her loss, Artemis turns Callisto into a bear. Showing none of the pain she feels, Artemis gathers her retinue and leaves. When she finds herself alone, she breaks down as she remembers her friend Orion. Her army returns, and she seizes command of her emotions.
PSYCHE
Eros is plotting his revenge on Artemis for shooting an arrow at him when Iris, messenger to the gods, arrives with news from his mother. A young mortal girl, Psyche, has surpassed her in beauty. Iris shows Aphrodite a vision of Psyche walking in the forest. Enraged, she sends her son to kill Psyche. Instead, Eros, dressed as a mortal and disguised by a mask, falls in love with her, and she with him. As Psyche and her family prepare for her wedding to Eros, her sisters encourage her to look under his mask, but she has promised him she will not. Eros arrives in his disguise and the two are married. While she is in bed with Eros, Psyche’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she looks under his mask. The oil from her lamp burns Eros and awakens him. Feeling betrayed, he leaves her. The distraught Psyche runs to her family, and they advise her to go to Aphrodite. She does, and Aphrodite promises to help her.
SYLVIA
The arrival of Artemis and her army of nymphs disturbs a melancholy Shepherd who is resting in a clearing. When the army continues their journey, only one, Sylvia, stays behind because her heart is not in it. Sylvia removes her armor to bathe, and Eros, who has been spying on her, casts a spell that will make her fall in love with the first person she sees. The Shepherd returns, and when Sylvia sees him, she falls madly in love. They depart, leaving her armor behind. Alpheus, an evil River God, sees that she is vulnerable and summons his henchmen. Sylvia and the Shepherd, now deeply in love, are captured by Alpheus and his River Gang. They knock the Shepherd unconscious and abduct Sylvia. The Shepherd wakes and devises a plan for her rescue.
INTERMISSION
ACT II
Sylvia is left alone in Alpheus’ lair. The Shepherd breaks into her cell, bringing her armor and sword. When Alpheus and his gang return, she fights them all, finally cornering Alpheus, who escapes by melting into water.
Meanwhile, Aphrodite tells Psyche about her plan to get Eros back. Psyche must travel to Proserpina, Queen of the Underworld, to retrieve a box. Proserpina makes her promise not to look in the box, but Psyche gives in to her curiosity and opens it. Poisoned, she falls down dead. Psyche’s family is desperately calling for help. Eros enters and knows that only an Olympian can bring Psyche back to life. He sees Sylvia and begs her to call on Artemis. Although Sylvia fears the goddess will be angry at her for running off with the Shepherd, she agrees. Artemis arrives and is indeed furious with Sylvia for her betrayal and threatens to kill the Shepherd. Eros admits that he cast a love spell on Sylvia. He removes it, and Sylvia returns to Artemis’ army of nymphs. Eros asks Artemis to spare the Shepherd’s life. She agrees, and a heartbroken Shepherd bids a sad farewell to Sylvia. Artemis turns her focus back to Psyche and brings her back to life. The reunited lovers rush off to celebrate. Sylvia stays behind. Realizing that she still has feelings for the Shepherd, she pleads with Artemis to release her from the army and let her be with her love. Artemis agrees; Sylvia leaves to find the Shepherd.
INTERMISSION
ACT III
At a celebration of Psyche and Eros’ love, Zeus blesses them and makes Psyche a Demi-God, ensuring they can be together for all of eternity.
Sylvia finds the Shepherd on his farm and joins him in the simple life. They marry and have children, then grandchildren. The Shepherd grows old. Feeling the end approach, he rests in Sylvia’s arms, remembering their happiness. Eros returns with Psyche and, as a final gift to Sylvia, transforms the Shepherd into a Demi-God. Everyone exults in the Shepherd and Sylvia’s, and Eros and Psyche’s immortal lives and love.
Artemis confronts Apollo in front of the other Gods. They battle, but Zeus stops them and asks everyone but Artemis to go. He recognizes his daughter’s pain and reunites Artemis and Orion in the heavens for all eternity.
ARTISTS
Stanton Welch AM
CHOREOGRAPHER, SYLVIA
Stanton Welch AM was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones OBE and Garth Welch AM, two of Australia's most gifted dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. He joined The Australian Ballet, rising to the rank of leading soloist and performing various principal roles, before serving as Resident Choreographer. During his decades long career, Welch has choreographed over 100 works including audience favorites Madame Butterfly (1995), Clear (2001), and Divergence (1994). His work can be seen in the repertoire of The Australian Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Birmingham Royal Ballet, among others. In July 2003, Welch was appointed Artistic Director of Houston Ballet, America's fourth-largest ballet company. Welch has choreographed more than 40 works for Houston Ballet, including Marie (2009) and spectacular stagings of Swan Lake (2006), La Bayadère (2010), Romeo and Juliet (2015), Giselle (2016), The Nutcracker (2016), Sylvia (2019), and Raymonda (2025). Developing Houston Ballet into a choreographic Eden, Welch has commissioned over 30 works from notable choreographers such as Mark Morris, Aszure Barton, Dwight Rhoden, Trey McIntyre, and Justin Peck, while expanding the company’s repertoire with works from internationally acclaimed choreographers including George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, John Neumeier, Twyla Tharp, and Jerome Robbins. Under Welch’s leadership, Houston Ballet has appeared across the globe including recent engagements in Tokyo, Dubai, Melbourne, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Welch continues to nurture the next generation of artists through the Houston Ballet Academy, a leading institution in dance education and training.
Léo Delibes (1836-1891)
COMPOSER, SYLVIA
Léo Delibes was born in St. Germain du Val. As a child, he learned music from his mother, a talented amateur musician, and his uncle. At the age of 12, he entered Paris Conservatoire and became a pupil of Adolphe Adam, the French composer famous for the ballet Giselle. Delibes became a church organist, but he was drawn to the theater, writing operettas in the style of Adam, who remained a lasting influence in his life.
Renowned as a composer for dance, Delibes had a gift for illustrating action, creating atmosphere, and inspiring movement. The decisive advance in his career came in 1870, with his full-length ballet Coppélia, which includes melodic national dances, descriptive passages introducing the main characters, and musical effects that have captured audiences for more than one hundred years. His other ballets include Sylvia (1876) and La Source (1866), which he wrote with Ludwig Minkus.
Delibes also composed operas, the last to be completed being Lakmé (1883), which contains the famous coloratura showpiece, the “Bell Song” (“Où va la jeune Indoue”), and the “Flower Duet”. His operas impressed Tchaikovsky enough for the composer to rate Delibes more highly than Brahms.
HISTORY
SYLVIA REPERTOIRE HISTORY
This will be Houston Ballet’s third time performing Stanton Welch’s Sylvia. It premiered in Houston and Sydney with The Australian Ballet in 2019. The excerpts have been performed often at the Miller Outdoor Theatre and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas and on tours. The Act I pas de deux has been featured in the Margaret Alkek Williams Jubilee of Dance programs. In July 2025, the Act I Pas de Deux was part of the mixed repertory program for the Japan tour in Tokyo and Nagoya.
SYLVIA PRODUCTION DETAILS
CHOREOGRAPHER: Stanton Welch AM
GENRE: Neoclassical Ballet
RUN TIME: Ballet with 3 Acts; approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes with a 20-minute and a 15-minute intermission.
LOCATION: Brown Theater at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Texas
COMPOSER: Léo Delibes
SCORE: Sylvia
WORLD PREMIERE DATE: February 21, 2019 by Houston Ballet in the Brown Theater at Wortham Theater Center in Houston, TX
COSTUME & SCENIC DESIGN: Jérôme Kaplan
LIGHTING DESIGN: Lisa J. Pinkham
BALLET MASTERS (2026): Ian Casady, Amy Fote, Hayden Stark, Steven Woodgate
HOUSTON BALLET ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR (2026): Simon Thew
HOUSTON BALLET STAGE MANAGER (2026): Anna-Marie Monzon
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