236. The Four Temperaments 1946
Paul Hindemith (Theme with Four Variations [According to the Four Temperaments] for string orchestra and piano, 1940, commissioned by George Balanchine)
George Balanchine
Scenery and costumes by Kurt Seligmann. Lighting by Jean Rosenthal
November 20, 1946, Ballet Society, Central High School of Needle Trades, New York. Conductor: Leon Barzin. Pianist: Nicholas Kopeikine
A. THEME: 1. Beatrice Tompkins, José Martinez; 2. Elise Reiman, Lew Christensen; 3. Gisella Caccialanza, Francisco Moncion; B. FIRST VARIATION: MELANCHOLIC: William Dollar; Georgia Hiden, Rita Karlin, 4 women; C. SECOND VARIATION: SANGUINIC: Mary Ellen Moylan, Fred Danieli, 4 women; D. THIRD VARIATION: PHLEGMATIC: Todd Bolender, 4 women; E. FOURTH VARIATION: CHOLERIC: Tanaquil Le Clercq, 3 THEME couples, Moylan, Danieli, Dollar, Bolender, entire cast
Performance Type
Ballet
Video Archives Recording
 George Balanchine Foundation Interpreters Archive (SANGUINIC), 1997; (PHLEGMATIC), 1998: (MELANCHOLIC) 2017
Note
 The three main themes are stated in the opening section by three successive couples. The variations are named after the four temperaments of medieval cosmology. The score, commissioned by Balanchine and completed in 1940, was partially choreographed by Balanchine during the 1941 American Ballet Caravan tour of South America for an entirely different ballet titled The Cave of Sleep; Pavel Tchelitchew created designs for costumes and décor, but the work was never produced.
Additional Productions
Revisions
Other Productions by Balanchine Companies
New York City Ballet: 1951, danced in practice clothes without scenery; 1964, lighting by David Hays.

1960   Royal Swedish Ballet
1961   Dutch National Ballet
1962   Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
1962   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1963   Paris Opera Ballet
1963   Royal Danish Ballet
1964   National Ballet (Washington, D.C., 1963-1974)
1964   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1966   Ballett der Deutschen Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf)
1967   Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma
1968   Boston Ballet
1968   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
1969   National Ballet of Canada
1969   Pennsylvania Ballet
1970   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1970   Geneva Ballet (Grand Theatre de Geneve [Ballet])
1970   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1973   Royal Ballet
1974   Ballett der Stadtischen Buhnen (Frankfurt)
1974   Ballet West
1974   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1974   San Francisco Ballet
1975   Ballet West
1975   Teatro Communale Ballet
1975   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1976   Ballet de Nancy (France)
1976   Ballet de l’Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)
1976   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
1976   Chicago City Ballet (Closed)
1976   Chicago Lyric Opera
1976   Royal Ballet
1977   Balet Hrvatsko Narodno Kazaliste (Croatian National Theater, Zagreb)
1977   Stora Teaterns Balett (Gothenburg, Sweden)
1977   Dutch National Ballet
1977   Paris Opera Ballet
1977   Pennsylvania Ballet
1977   Royal Danish Ballet
1977   Zurich Ballet (Ballett des Opernhauses Zurich)
1978   Ballett der Deutschen Staatsoper (East Berlin)
1978   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1978   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1979   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1979   Stora Teaterns Balett (Gothenburg, Sweden)
1980   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1980    New York Dance Theatre
1981   Dutch National Ballet
1981   Royal Ballet
1981   San Francisco Ballet
1982   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1982   Los Angeles Ballet
1982   Royal Swedish Ballet
1983   Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
1983   Pennsylvania Ballet
1983   Royal Danish Ballet
1983   Ballet du Nord (France)
1983   CAPAB Ballet (Cape Performing Arts Board—Capetown, South Africa)
1984   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1984   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1984   National Ballet of Canada
1984   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1984   San Francisco Ballet
1984   Theatre & Philharmonie Essen (West Germany)
1985   The Australian Ballet
1985   Ballet Dallas
1985   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1985   Cincinnati Ballet
1985   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1985   Dutch National Ballet
1985   Pennsylvania Ballet
1985   Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1986   Ballet de Basler Theaters (Switzerland)
1986   Ballet del Teatro Lirico Nacional, Madrid
1986   Ballet du Nord (France)
1986   Banff Center (Alberta, Canada)
1986   Finnish National Ballet
1986   L’Opera des Pays de Loire
1986   Minnesota Dance Theater
1986   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1986   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1987   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1987   Heinz Bosl Stiftung Muenchen
1987   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1987   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1987   Washington Ballet
1988   Opera de Nantes
1988   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1988   Ballet du Nord (France)
1988   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1988   L’Opera des Pays de Loire
1988   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1989   Boston Ballet
1989   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1989   NAPAC Ballet (Natal Performing Arts Council—Durban, South Africa)
1989   National Ballet of Canada
1989   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1989   Theatre & Philharmonie Essen (Germany)
1990   Ballet de Nancy (France)
1990   Ballet of Flanders/Koninklijk Ballet Van Vlaanderen/Royal Flemish Ballet
1990   Israel Ballet
1990   Kansas City Ballet
1990   Malmo Stadsteater (Sweden)
1990   Royal Swedish Ballet
1990   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1990   Theatre & Philharmonie Essen (Germany)
1991   Heinz Bosl Stiftung Muenchen
1991   Dutch National Ballet
1991   Milwaukee Ballet
1991   NAPAC Ballet (Natal Performing Arts Council—Durban, South Africa)
1991   Pennsylvania Ballet
1991   San Francisco Ballet
1991   Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma
1991   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1992   Ballet de Santiago
1992   Banff Center (Alberta, Canada)
1992   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1992   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1992   National Ballet of Canada
1992   Washington Ballet
1993   CAPAB Ballet (Cape Performing Arts Board—Cape Town, South Africa)
1993   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
1993   Miami City Ballet
1993   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1993   Paris Opera Ballet
1993   Sacramento Ballet
1993   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1994   Ballet du Nord (France)
1994   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1994   Milwaukee Ballet
1994   Pennsylvania Ballet
1994   Royal New Zealand Ballet
1995   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1995   Ballet de l’Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)
1995   Hartford Ballet
1995   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1995   Teatro Comunale (Florence, Italy)
1996   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1996   Cincinnati Ballet
1996   Dutch National Ballet
1996   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1996   Miami City Ballet
1996   Nashville City Ballet
1996   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1996   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1996   Seoul Ballet Theatre
1996   Stuttgart Ballet
1996   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1996   Universal Ballet Company (Korea)
1997   American Repertory Ballet
1997   Ballet Arizona
1997   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
1997   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1997   Grand Theatre de Bordeaux
1997   Houston Ballet
1997   National Ballet of Canada
1997   Pennsylvania Ballet
1997   Tulsa Ballet Theatre
1998   Ballet of Flanders/Koninklijk Ballet Van Vlaanderen/Royal Flemish Ballet
1998   Chautauqua Institution (New York)
1998   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
1998   Kansas City Ballet
1998   Miami City Ballet
1998   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1999   Ballet de Nancy (France)
1999   Banff Center (Alberta, Canada)
1999   Boston Ballet
1999   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1999   Milwaukee Ballet
1999   North Carolina Dance Theatre
2000   Ballet West
2000   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2000   Dutch National Ballet
2000   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
2000   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
2001   Cincinnati Ballet
2001   Dance Connecticut, Inc.
2001   Pennsylvania Ballet
2001   Sacramento Ballet
2001   Washington Ballet
2002   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2002   Grand Theatre de Bordeaux
2002   North Carolina Dance Theatre
2002   Oper Leipzig
2003   The Australian Ballet
2003   Ballet National de Marseille
2003   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2003   Houston Ballet
2003   Israel Ballet
2003   Miami City Ballet
2003   Paris Opera Ballet
2003   Royal Ballet
2003   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
2004   Kirov Ballet
2004   National Ballet of China (Central)
2004   San Francisco Ballet
2004   The Scottish Ballet
2004   Stuttgart Ballet
2004   Washington Ballet
2004   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2005   Ballet Arlington
2005   Norwegian National Ballet
2005   Sacramento Ballet
2006   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
2006   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2006   Royal Ballet
2007   Boston Ballet
2008   Los Angeles Ballet
2008   Paris Opera Ballet
2008   Royal Winnepeg Ballet
2008   Ballet San Jose
2008   Ballet Arizona
2008   Nashville Ballet
2008   North Carolina Dance Theatre
2009   City Ballet of San Diego
2009   Richmond Ballet
2009   Carolina Ballet
2010   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2010   Pennsylvania Ballet
2010   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2010   Boston Ballet
2010   Deutsche Oper am Rhein
2011   Opera National de Bordeaux
2011   Sacramento Ballet
2012   Alberta Ballet
2012   San Francisco Ballet
2013   Australian Ballet, The
2013   Ballet Arizona
2013   Finnish National Ballet
2013   Grand Rapids Ballet Company
2013   Los Angeles Ballet
2013   Star Dancers Ballet Company
2013   Stuttgart Ballet
2013   Tulsa Ballet Theatre
2014   Charlotte Ballet (NCDT)
2014   Houston Ballet
2014   San Francisco Ballet
2014   Sarasota Ballet
2015   Carolina Ballet
2015   City Ballet of San Diego
2015   Kansas City Ballet
2015   Royal Ballet
2015   Zurich Ballet
2016   Pennsylvania Ballet
2017   Opera National de Bordeaux
2017   Los Angeles Ballet
2017   Sacramento Ballet
2017   Singapore Dance Theatre
2018   Brooklyn Ballet – 3 Themes
2018   Dresden Semper Oper Ballett
2018   Indianapolis Ballet Inc.
2019   City Ballet of San Diego
2019   Miami City Ballet
2019   Oklahoma City Ballet
2020   Nevada Ballet Theatre
2020   Paris Opera Ballet
2021   Australian Ballet
2021   Oregon Ballet Theater
2022   Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf)
2022   Het Nationale Ballet (Stichting Nationale Opera       and Ballet)
2022   Indianapolis Ballet
2022   Nashville Ballet

Recorded Performances
Videos/DVD
1995, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library: Dancing for Mr.B (excerpts from the 1947 Ballet Society rehearsal);
1995, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library: Choreography by Balanchine [1977];
2004, Kultur, Balanchine (MELANCHOLIC [excerpt])
Film
1989, Seahorse Films, Dancing for Mr.B (excerpts from 1947 Ballet Society rehearsal)

1962 (Dutch television)
1963 excerpt (NBC)
1964 (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1977 (PBS, Dance in America)
1984 (PBS, Dance in America, “Balanchine”)

Todd Bolender (Cave of Sleep choreography, PHLEGMATIC revisions)