195. Concerto Barocco 1941

Johann Sebastian Bach (Double Violin Concerto in D minor, B.W.V.1043)

George Balanchine

Scenery and costumes by Eugene Berman

June 27, 1941, American Ballet Caravan, Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro. Conductor: Emanuel Balaban. Violinists: Edmundo Blois, Salvador Piersant. (Open dress rehearsal: May 29, Little Theatre of Hunter College, New York. Conductor: Fritz Mahler.)

Marie-Jeanne, William Dollar; Mary Jane Shea; 8 women.
VIVACE; LARGO MA NON TANTO; ALLEGRO

Performance Type

Ballet

See Also

Video Archives Recording

George Balanchine Foundation Interpreters Archive (complete ballet), 1997

Note

The work was begun as a School of American Ballet exercise in stagecraft. When it entered the repertory of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1945 the dancers were dressed in practice clothes, probably the first appearance of what has come to be regarded as the ballet uniform pioneered by Balanchine. Presented with Orpheus [246] and Symphony in C [244] at the first performance of the New York City Ballet, October 11, 1948.

Additional Productions

Revisions

New Productions by Balanchine Companies

New York City Ballet: 1948, using Berman’s original costumes, molded of synthetic rubber; 1951, performed without scenery, in practice clothes (black for the women until 1963; white thereafter).

Stagings

1943   American Concert Ballet
1945   Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
1948   New York City Ballet
1948   Grand Ballet de Monte-Carlo
1953   San Francisco Ballet
1955   Royal Danish Ballet
1956   Netherlands Ballet (in 1961 became Dutch National Ballet)
1960   Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
1961   National Ballet of Canada
1961   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1961   Washington Ballet
1963   Paris Opera Ballet
1964   Boston Ballet
1964   Pennsylvania Ballet
1965   San Diego Ballet
1965   Utah Civic Ballet (in 1967 became Ballet West)
1966   Joffrey Ballet
1967   National Ballet (Washington, D.C., 1963-74)
1967   Royal Winnipeg Ballet
1968   Ballet la Jeunesse (California)
1969   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1969   Ballett der Buhnen Stadt Koln (Cologne)
1969   Dayton Ballet
1970   Dallas Ballet
1970   Geneva Ballet (Grand Theatre de Geneve [Ballet])
1971   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1971   Houston Ballet
1972   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1972   Cincinnati Ballet
1973   Garden State Ballet (New Jersey)
1973   Los Angeles Ballet
1974   Ballet Victoria (Australia—disbanded)
1974   Royal New Zealand Ballet
1975   Chicago City Ballet (Closed)
1975   Eglevsky Ballet Company
1976   Chicago City Ballet (Closed)
1976   Chicago Lyric Opera
1976   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1976   Pennsylvania Ballet
1977   Ballett des Stadtischen Bühnen (Frankfurt)
1977   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
1977   Frankfurt Ballet
1977   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1977   North Carolina Dance Theatre
1977   Royal Ballet
1978   Ballet Dallas
1978   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1978   Minnesota Dance Theater
1978   Zurich Ballet (Ballett des Opernhauses Zurich)
1979   Cleveland Ballet
1979   Hartford Ballet
1979   Ohio Ballet
1979   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1979   Royal Ballet
1980   Atlanta Ballet
1980   Balet Narodno Pozoriste (Belgrade)
1980   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1980   Israel Ballet
1980   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1980   Teatro Comunale Ballet (Bologna)
1980   Washington Ballet
1981   Ballet Oklahoma
1981   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1981   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
1981   Mexico City Ballet
1981   Pennsylvania Ballet
1981   Royal Danish Ballet
1981   San Francisco Ballet
1982   Ballet de San Juan
1982   Ballet of Flanders/Koninklijk Ballet Van Vlaanderen/Royal Flemish Ballet
1982   Colorado Ballet
1982   Dayton Ballet
1982   Milwaukee Ballet
1982   Tulsa Ballet Theatre
1983   Atlanta Ballet
1983   Ballet du Nord (France)
1983   Cincinnati Ballet
1983   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1983   Ballett der Deutschen Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf)
1983   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1983   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1984   Alabama Ballet/Ballet South
1984   Ballet Dallas
1984   California Ballet Company
1984   CAPAB Ballet (Cape Performing Arts Board—Capetown, South Africa)
1984   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1984   National Ballet Lisbon
1984   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1984   Pennsylvania Ballet
1984   Ballet Municipal (Corporation Cultural de Santiago)
1984   Naples Ballet
1985   Atlanta Ballet
1985   Ballet de Basler Theatres (Switzerland)
1985   Ballet del Teatro Lirico Nacional (Madrid, Spain)
1985   Hartford Ballet
1985   Dutch National Ballet
1985   Minnesota Dance Theater
1985   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1986   Arena di Verona (Italy)
1986   Ballet du Nord (France)
1986   Ballet West
1986   Cincinnati Ballet
1986   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1986   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
1986   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1986   Washington Ballet
1986   Cincinnati Ballet
1987   Asami Maki Ballet (Japan)
1987   Ballet Dallas
1987   Caracas New World Ballet
1987   The Chautauqua Institution (New York)
1987   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1987   London City Ballet
1987   Miami City Ballet
1987   Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia
1987   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1987   Miami City Ballet
1987   National Ballet of Canada
1987   Southwest Ballet Company
1988   BalletMet (Columbus, Ohio)
1988   Ballet du Nord (France)
1988   Banff Center (Alberta, Canada)
1988   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1988   Dutch National Ballet
1988   Pacific Ballet Theatre
1988   Royal Winnipeg Ballet
1988   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1988   Teresa Carreno-Ballet Caracas
1989   Ballet de Basler Theatres (Switzerland)
1989   Hong Kong Ballet
1989   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
1989   Washington Ballet
1990   Ballet de Basler Theatres (Switzerland)
1990   Miami City Ballet
1990   Naples Ballet
1990   National Ballet Lisbon
1990   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1991   National Ballet Lisbon
1991   The Scottish Ballet
1992   Ballet of Flanders/Koninklijk Ballet Van Vlaanderen/Royal Flemish Ballet
1992   NAPAC Ballet (Natal Performing Arts Council—Durban, South Africa)
1993   CAPAB Ballet (Cape Performing Arts Board—Capetown, South Africa)
1993   Dutch National Ballet
1993   Paris Opera Ballet
1993   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1995   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1995   Finnish National Ballet
1995   Royal Winnipeg Ballet
1996   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1996   Dutch National Ballet
1996   Perm State Ballet (Russia)
1997   Dutch National Ballet
1997   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
1998   Paris Opera Ballet
2001   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
2001   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
2001   Royal Winnipeg Ballet
2002   Geneva Ballet (Grand Theatre de Geneve [Ballet])
2002   Philippine Ballet Theatre
2003   Paris Opera Ballet
2003   Teatro Comunale (Florence, Italy)
2004   Ballet de l’Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)
2004   Bolshoi Ballet
2004   Slovene National Ballet Company
2006   Ballet National de Marseille
2006   Istanbul State Ballet
2007   Sacramento Ballet
2007   Zurich Ballet
2008   Ballet de Santiago
2008   Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse
2008   Royal Winnepeg Ballet
2008   Oper Leipzig
2009   Dutch National Ballet (Amsterdam)
2009   Hungarian National Ballet
2009   Singapore Dance Theatre
2009   Hong Kong Ballet
2010   Istanbul Ballet
2010   Polish National Ballet
2011   Croatian National Ballet
2011   Lyon Opera
2011   New National Theatre Tokyo
2012   Ballet de Capitale Toulouse
2012   Deutsche Oper am Rhein
2013   National Opera and Ballet of Sofia
2013   Norwegian National Ballet
2014   Tbilisi Ballet
2015   Opera de Nice
2015   Polish National Ballet
2015   Singapore Dance Theatre
2015   West Australian Ballet
2016   Tbilisi Ballet
2017   Tbilisi Ballet
2018   Stanislavsky Ballet
2019   Astana Ballet Theatre
2019   Cape Town City Ballet
2020   Komi Opera and Ballet Theatre
2020   Paris Opera Ballet
2021 National Ballet of Portugal, Lisbon
2021 Tbilisi Ballet
2022 Cape Town City Ballet (C.A.P.A.B.)

Recorded Performances

Videos/DVD

1995, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library, Dancing for Mr. B (excerpt from first movement, VIVACE );
2001, Winstar TV & Video, Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (excerpt from second movement, LARGO MA NON TANTO);
2004, Kultur, Balanchine (excerpt from first movement, VIVACE);
2014 Video Artists International, New York City Ballet in Montreal, Vol. 2 (complete recorded 1956)

Film

1973, RM Productions;
1989, Seahorse Films, Dancing for Mr. B (excerpt from first movement, VIVACE );
1996, Seahorse Films, Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (excerpt from second movement, LARGO MA NON TANTO)

Television

1956 (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1964 excerpts (NBC, Bell Telephone Hour)
1968 (CBC [Montreal], Les beaux dimanches)
1969 (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1973 (RM Productions)
1976 second movement (PBS, Dance in America)
1984 excerpt (PBS, Dance in America, “Balanchine”)
2004 excerpt (PBS, Live from Lincoln Center, “Balanchine 100”)

Source Notes

Marie-Jeanne (second movement tempo)