The lesson
The lesson (original title: La Leçon ) is a one-act narrative ballet by Flemming Flindt ( libretto and choreography ) with music by Georges Delerue . It is based on the drama of the same name by Eugène Ionesco , which is part of the absurd theater . This has expressly authorized the ballet. The world premiere took place on April 6, 1964 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris . The stage version was preceded by a television ballet that was first broadcast on September 16, 1963 by Danmarks Radio Television.
people
- The ballet master
- The pianist
- The student
action
A ballet devin enters the practice room. The pianist receives them and leads them into the changing room. When she returns in her tutu , the ballet master comes and demonstrates the exercises. At first the girl is very willing to learn and copes with her task to the satisfaction of the teacher. But the more time goes by and the more complicated the exercises get, the more often the student fails. When she then begins to complain, the ballet master sends the pianist out of the hall and orders the trainee to continue with her exercises without music. The girl is now getting more nervous and achieves less and less. The teacher becomes more and more angry about this, until he finally loses control of himself and strangles the student in a maddened state.
Remarks
The lesson was the first choreography by the famous dancer Flemming Flindt (1936 to 2009). Soon after the premiere, many ballet companies added the work to their repertoire. The global success ensured that Flindt was appointed director of the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, where he had once started as a student. Flindt was the ballet master at the premiere. Josette Achiel and Tsilla Chelton danced next to him.
Differences from drama
In Ionesco's original, the characters consist of a professor, a schoolgirl and a maid. The core of the lesson is an intensive questioning in which the professor bombarded the girl with questions that are initially extremely banal and gradually become so peculiar that it is completely unclear what the questioner is getting at. In the end there is murder here too. Flindt moved the plot to the ballet milieu.
literature
Otto Friedrich Regner and Heinz-Ludwig Schneiders: Reclams Ballettführer , 8th edition, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-15-008042-8