Balanchine Catalogue Archive
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322. The Seven Deadly Sins 1958
Sloth, Pride, Anger, Gluttony, Lust, Avarice, Envy
- Music
Kurt Weill (Die sieben Todsünden, produced 1933, commissioned by Boris Kochno and Edward James). Text by Bertolt Brecht, from a suggestion by Boris Kochno and Edward James, translated by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman (translation commissioned by Lincoln Kirstein)
- Choreography
George Balanchine
- Production
Scenery, costumes, and lighting by Rouben Ter-Arutunian. Scenery executed by T. B. McDonald Construction Company
- Premiere
December 4, 1958, New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama, New York. Conductor: Robert Irving
- Cast
Anna I (singer), Lotte Lenya; Anna II (dancer), Allegra Kent; Characters (dancers), 16 women, 15 men. Family (singers): Mother, Stanley Carlson; Father, Gene Hollman; Brother I, Frank Poretta; Brother II, Grant Williams. Singers and dancers appeared together on stage
Performance Type
Ballet
Note
First presented by Les Ballets 1933, Paris [136]. This revival for the New York City Ballet was sponsored by Ballet Society to celebrate the twenty-fifth year of association between Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine; Lotte Lenya played the role created for her in 1933. The staging, noted for its masque-like characteristics, consisted primarily of stylized movement.
Additional Productions
Other Versions
1933, Les Ballets 1933 (Les Sept Péchés Capitaux)
134. Mozartiana 1933
- Music
Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky (Suite No. 4, Mozartiana, Op. 61, 1887; based on Mozart’s Gigue in G major [K. 574], Minuet in D major [K. 355], the motet ‘Ave, Verum Corpus’ [K. 618], and variations on ‘Les Hommes Pieusement’ from Gluck’s comic opera La Rencontre Imprévue [K. 455])
- Choreography
George Balanchine
- Production
Forecurtain, scenery, and costumes by Christian Bérard
- Premiere
June 7, 1933, Les Ballets 1933, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris. Conductor: Maurice Abravanel
- Cast
GIGUE: Ludovic Matlinsky;
MENUETTO: 6 women;
PREGHIERA: Lucienne Kylberg;
TEMA CON VARIAZIONI: Tamara Toumanova, Roman Jasinsky, corps de ballet;
FINALE: Toumanova, Kylberg, Jasinsky, 7 women, 1 man
MENUETTO: 6 women;
PREGHIERA: Lucienne Kylberg;
TEMA CON VARIAZIONI: Tamara Toumanova, Roman Jasinsky, corps de ballet;
FINALE: Toumanova, Kylberg, Jasinsky, 7 women, 1 man
Performance Type
Ballet
Video Archives Recording
The George Balanchine Foundation Archive of Lost Choreography (TEMA CON VARIAZIONI: two pas de deux), 2003
Note
A suite of dances against an Italianate backdrop, Mozartiana was one of six new ballets created by Balanchine during the brief existence of Les Ballets 1933, the company he formed with Boris Kochno, financed by Edward James. It was performed in Paris and London with Les Sept Péchés Capitaux, Les Songes, Fastes, L’Errante, Les Valses de Beethoven, and other musical works without choreography. In 1981, Balanchine choreographed a new ballet to Mozartiana for the New York City Ballet Tchaikovsky Festival, changing the order of the movements to place the PREGHIERA first. See FESTIVALS DIRECTED BY BALANCHINE.
Additional Productions
Revisions
1935, American Ballet: Sections originally danced by Toumanova and Jasinsky differently apportioned, with single pas de deux for leading couple; pas de six in THEME AND VARIATIONS danced by six women (three in men’s costumes).
1945, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo: Original form more closely followed, with two pas de deux for leading couple and more complicated choreography for the leading man; corps de ballet entirely women; one male soloist instead of two.
1956, Danilova Concert Company: Presented without PREGHIERA by cast of four dancers.
1945, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo: Original form more closely followed, with two pas de deux for leading couple and more complicated choreography for the leading man; corps de ballet entirely women; one male soloist instead of two.
1956, Danilova Concert Company: Presented without PREGHIERA by cast of four dancers.
Other Versions
1981, New York City Ballet
Stagings
1935 American Ballet Ensemble (1935-1938—resident Metropolitan Opera company)
1945 Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
1956 Danilova Concert Company (‘Great Moments of Ballet’—1954-1957)
2014 Richmond Ballet
2014 Tbilisi Ballet
Recorded Performances
Videos/DVD
2005, Zeitgeist Films, Ballets Russes (excerpt)
