La Dafne prominent figure throughout the composition, at times adding to the action of the story and at other times, providing reflective commentary. The prologue is delivered by the poet Ovid as he sings the text: When the opera proper begins, the god Apollo slays the Python, a monster which has been terrifying the Greek island of Delos. Cupid and Venus are unimpressed by Apollo’s boasting and about his conquest and his feelings of being invincible. Because of this, they plot revenge on Apollo. Cupid shoots two arrows, the first of which makes Apollo fall in love with the nymph Daphne, daughter
The Wood Nymph himself too much" in early "confessional" works, such as "En saga", "Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island", and "The Wood Nymph". In the absence of any new information from Sibelius's papers, however, the reason why "The Wood Nymph" was never published ultimately "appears doomed to remain a subject of speculation". Even after the wave of publicity that followed its reemergence, "The Wood Nymph" remains rarely recorded compared to other early Sibelius works. It received its world premiere in 1996 under the BIS label with Osmo Vänskä leading the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. Some musical material was unavailable until the publication