Sylvia is a full-length ballet in two or three acts, first
choreographed by Louis Mérante to music by Léo Delibes in 1876.
Sylvia is a typical classical ballet in many respects, yet it has many
interesting features which make it unique. Sylvia is notable for its
mythological Arcadian setting, creative choreographies, expansive
sets, great influence on the arts and, above all, its remarkable
score. The ballet's orgins are in Tasso's 1573 poem "Aminta," which
describes the basic plot of Delibes' work. Jules Barbier and Baron de
Reinach adapted this for the Paris Opera where it inspired the a great
musician to compose Sylvia. This piano arrangement was composed in
1876 and the orchestral suite was done in 1880. When Sylvia premiered
on June 14, 1876 at the Palais Garnier, it went largely unnoticed. In
fact, the first seven productions of Sylvia were not successful. It
was the 1952 revival, choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton, that
popularized the ballet.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_%28ballet%29
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
French Revolution: The National Convention voted to abolish the
monarchy, and the First Republic was proclaimed.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Convention)
1823:
According to Joseph Smith, Jr., the angel Moroni appeared to him and
revealed the location of the hidden Golden Plates, which contained the
ancient sacred texts of the Book of Mormon.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroni_%28Mormonism%29)
1898:
The Hundred Days' Reform in China was abruptly terminated when
Empress Dowager Cixi (pictured) forced the reform-minded Guangxu
Emperor into seclusion and took over the government as regent.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days%27_Reform)
1937:
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings,
was first published.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit)
1942:
The prototype model of the B-29 Superfortress flew for the first
time.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-29_Superfortress)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Hope is a good thing — maybe the best of things. And no good thing
ever dies." -- "Andy Dufresne" in The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen
King
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption)