Based on classic mythology, the classical ballet Sylvia, set in the forests, tells the story of a beautiful, seductive huntress Sylvia, and her complicated romance with Aminta. Being pressured by his mistress Diana, she eventually rejects the charming shepherd to continue the huntresses' self-indulgent life. Although their love and passion survive to be reunited, their romance ends with a tragic turn.

First presented in 1876 at the Palais Garnier, Leo Delibes romantic score earned such a significant admiration from Tchaikovsky, that he admitted that he wouldn't have composed his masterpiece, the Swan Lake, if he had known about the music composed by Delibes.