Act I

In a Scottish cottage, James, dozing in an armchair near the fireplace, awaits the dawning of the day of his wedding to Effie. Standing by him is a winged spirit, a sylphlike creature, who gazes at him lovingly and wakes him with a kiss. James tries to grasp the vision, but the sylphid flies away. Effie, her mother and the neighbors arrive to prepare for the wedding, along with Gurn, who is hopelessly in love with Effie.

An old woman, a witch perhaps, comes to tell their fortunes. James rejects her, but Effie holds out her hand. The young girl learns to her sorrow that her fiancé does not really love her, too absorbed as he is with his dream of the inaccessible beauty, and that eventually she will marry her suitor Gurn. James chases the witch away in a fury.

The witch swears vengeance.

Alone again, James sees sylphid appear: she charms him and the young man avows his love. Gurn, who has witnessed the scene from a hiding-place, hurried off to warn Effie of James’s betrayal. But the sylphid remains invisible to the wedding guests; only James can see her. In the middle of the celebrations, his is torn between Effie, present in the flesh, and the impalpable spirit of the sylphid. The sylphid manages to tear from James’s hand the ring destined for his fiancée, and flees towards the forest. James follows her, leaving Effie in tears.

 

Act II

The witch who visited the cottage is now with her sisters, dancing in the moonlight in the forest. The old woman busies herself at the cauldron from which she draws a diaphanous scarf. In the clearing strange creatures fly from tree to tree.James appears, like a madman, looking for his sylphid.The witch deceitfully offers him the scarf: it is a magic veil that will allow him to take hold of that elusive being.

James has found the object of his desires amongst the fluttering creatures. The sylphid shows the young man her silver world in which she cares for nests of birds and invites him to join in the dances of her winged friends.

Enticing her near to him, he succeeds in wrapping the scarf around her shoulders so that she will no longer be able to escape from him. But on contact with the veil, the sylphid’s wings wither and fall, and it is as if life is being slowly drained from her supernatural body. The sylphid collapses into the young man’s arms. James realizes too late that he has killed the one he loves and the witch’s vengeance is accomplished.

While Effie and Gurn, accompanied by the wedding guests, pass in the distance vainly seeking the faithless fiancé, James, in his despair, sees the sylphids gather up their dead companion and carry her off into the skies.