These are the four last “Lieder” by Richard Strauss, composed in Switzerland, partly in Lausanne. The title of the ballet is taken from the last verse of the final Lieder: “Is dies etwa der Tod?”

A man on the verge of dying recalls three women he loved during his life. But a fourth figure always comes between him and the beloved ones. He never knew her—who is she?
“Could it be Death?”

This ballet was created in 1970, simultaneously by the Ballet of the 20th Century and the Paris Opera troupe, performed by Jorge Donn and Michaël Denard at the Paris Opera.

Maurice Béjart