Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

Nederlands Dans Theater 2 dances the ballet Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1982), created to Mahler’s music of the same name, a masterpiece from Mahler’s early years and tells how a young man, rejected by his lover, experiences his sadness, anger and loneliness and how he eventually finds solace under a lime tree. His unrequited love and sense of loneliness are given away completely in this orchestral song cycle. 

Inspired by these songs, Jiří Kylián allows dance to complement the music beautifully. Without translating the singing literally, he manages to convey the emotional  overtones in his choreography exceptionally well. The ballet is full of intimacy, warmth, romance, but the jealousy and the transience of happiness also emerge.