Liebeslieder Walzer is a 65 minute ballet in two parts containing 18 songs by Brahms. In the first part, four couples enter an ornate ballroom and partake in dances that are guided by strict social protocol [Nancy Reynolds]. The curtain descends on the first act and in the second, the dancers re-emerge, this time under the night sky and unencumbered by gowns and heels, having changed into pointe shoes and long tutus.
Karin Von Aroldingen remember how Balanchine described Liebeslieder shortly after the first performance in 1960: “In the first act, it's the real people that are dancing. In the second act, it's their souls.” — Bernard Taper, New York Times, 1997
Balanchine had the Amalienburg in Munich [pictured at the end] in mind when choreographing this ballet.
Top Left and Center: Jillana and Conrad Ludlow. Photos by Martha Swope, 1960.
Top Right: Set design by David Mitchell
Bottom Left: The Amalienburg in Munich, Germany
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