Birgit Cullberg brought The Lesson (based on Ionesco’s play) to the repertoire of the company and asked Flemming Flindt to dance the role of the demonic ballet teacher at the premiere. Flindt agreed on condition that Cullberg would play the role of the pianist.
The work takes place in a ballet studio, a typical setup with bars in front of mirrors. The student, an innocent and eager young woman, is received by the old pianist. The dance teacher enters and the lesson begins fairly normally.However, the steps become more and more strange, the atmosphere bizarre and dangerous. Soon thereafter everything unravels, ending in disaster.
Bernard Daydé’s decor was built at the Riksteatern / Svenska teatern’s studio at the Hjalmar Bergman Theater in Örebro under the direction of set designer Göran Wassberg. Georges Delerué’s music was recorded by members of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Paul Jörgensen, conductor at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen.