Ballet in three acts after Hans Christian Andersen
The Little Mermaid
The original Copenhagen version of Lera Auerbach’s full-evening ballet, created for The Royal Danish Ballet with choreography and libretto by John Neumeier in celebration of Hans Christian Andersen’s bicentenary.
Commission
Commissioned by The Royal Danish Ballet for the bicentenary of Hans Christian Andersen’s birth. The ballet received its world premiere in Copenhagen on 15 April 2005 with The Royal Danish Ballet and the Orchestra of The Royal Danish Theatre, conducted by Graham Bond.
Structure
Original Copenhagen version. Ballet in three acts after Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale.
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Act I
- The Poet’s memory opens the space of the ballet.
- The underwater world emerges: sea, sisters, shadows, and impossible longing.
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Act II
- The Mermaid crosses from the sea into the human world.
- Transformation comes with silence, pain, and the loss of belonging.
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Act III
- Love becomes renunciation.
- The Mermaid’s sacrifice opens toward spiritual endurance and transfiguration.
Work Information
Abbreviations PDF
Dramatis Personae
- The PoetA figure with echoes of Hans Christian Andersen.
- The Little MermaidThe central figure of longing, sacrifice, and transformation.
- Edvard / The PrinceThe beloved figure, divided between memory and fairy tale.
- Henrietta / The PrincessThe human counterpart and rival image of love.
- The Sea-WizardThe force of transformation, violence, and cost.
- Wedding GuestsThe human world of ceremony and social order.
- Magic ShadowsFigures of dream, fear, and inner transformation.
- Sisters of the MermaidThe underwater world and the Mermaid’s origin.
- The SeaA living dramatic presence.
- Naval Officers and SailorsThe world of ships, voyage, and masculine ritual.
- School Friends of the PrincessThe human world of youthful order and convention.
- Nuns, Passengers, Stewards, BridesmaidsFigures surrounding the journey, wedding, and social landscape.
Synopsis
John Neumeier’s ballet approaches Andersen’s fairy tale not as a simple children’s story, but as a meditation on longing, otherness, sacrifice, and the cost of crossing from one world into another.
The Little Mermaid is drawn toward the human world and toward a love that cannot be returned in the form she desires. Her transformation grants her proximity to that world, but at the price of silence, pain, and exile from her own element.
The Copenhagen version places the work in direct relation to Andersen’s native city and the Royal Danish Ballet tradition. The Mermaid’s journey becomes both a fairy tale and a psychological drama: a passage from water to land, from voice to silence, from desire to renunciation, and finally toward a form of spiritual transfiguration.
Creation, Versions & International Life
The Copenhagen version is the original version of Auerbach and Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid. It became the foundation for the later Hamburg version and for the ballet’s international repertory life.
- Original Commission · 2005 The Royal Danish Ballet Commissioned for the bicentenary of Hans Christian Andersen’s birth, returning the story of the Mermaid to Copenhagen through a new full-evening ballet.
- World Premiere · 15 April 2005 Copenhagen — Royal Danish Opera House Soloists and corps de ballet of The Royal Danish Ballet. Orchestra of The Royal Danish Theatre. Graham Bond — conductor. John Neumeier — choreographer and librettist.
- Copenhagen Version Original score and full dramatic architecture The 180-minute Copenhagen version includes the larger original orchestration, including two harps, theremin, piano, harpsichord, electronic organ, percussion, and full string orchestra.
- Hamburg Version · 2007 Hamburg Ballet / Hamburg State Opera The work was later revised for Hamburg Ballet. The Hamburg version premiered on 1 July 2007 and has become the principal touring and repertory version for many later international presentations.
- U.S. Repertory Life San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet Later U.S. productions and company premieres are generally associated with the Hamburg version, including San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, and Houston Ballet.
- China Repertory Life National Ballet of China The later international life of the ballet includes National Ballet of China stagings, also generally connected to the Hamburg-version production lineage.
- Film & Broadcast C Major / San Francisco Ballet / PBS The filmed San Francisco Ballet production circulated internationally through C Major and public broadcast, extending the reach of Auerbach’s score and Neumeier’s dramatic vision.
- Salzburg Festival Hamburg Ballet — Salzburg Whitsun Festival Hamburg Ballet’s later guest appearance at Salzburg reflects the continuing international visibility of Neumeier and Auerbach’s The Little Mermaid.
- Relationship of Versions Copenhagen / Hamburg The Copenhagen version should be understood as the original 2005 version; the Hamburg version is the revised 2007 version, with its own catalogue listing, performance history, and materials.
World Premiere
2005
Copenhagen Premiere
- Copenhagen
- The Royal Danish Ballet
- Orchestra of The Royal Danish Theatre
- Graham Bond — conductor
- John Neumeier — choreographer and librettist
- Soloists and corps de ballet of The Royal Danish Ballet
Publisher, Materials, and Related Versions
Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. Score and rental materials for the Copenhagen version are available through Zinfonia. The later Hamburg version has a separate Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski catalogue listing.