Catulli Carmina

Photo: Anthony Crickmay
On this photo: Marian Sarstädt, Jaap Flier, Gérard Lemaître

Choreographer: John Butler

This ballet is inspired by the triptych 'Trionfi' by the composer Carl Orff: 'Carmina Burana' (1937), 'Catulli Carmina' (1943) and 'Trionfi di Afrodite' (1951). in 1962, John Butler made a ballet called 'Carmina Burana', inspired by the first part of the triptych. 'Catulli Carmina' is a ballet on the second part by the same name. Carl Orff described this piece as “ludi scaenici” (scenic play) and it can be regarded a musical adaptation of the classical poems of the Latin poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (84-54 BC).

Similar to the composition, this ballet is based on the love poems by Catallus for Lesbia - a literary pseudonym for Clodia Metelli (c. 95 BC). She is the subject in the 25 of Catullus’ 116 surviving poems. These poems tell the story of Catullus, a lovesick man who fell in love with Lesbia, who is unfaithful to him. Both this ballet and composition reveal a series of emotions, ranging from love and tenderness, sadness and disappointment, to bitterness and cynicism.