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Tarantellen af Napoli

Peter Elfelt, 1903

‘Napoli’ (1842), ballet by August Bournonville (1805-1879), soloist, head of the royal ballet, and choreographer. Performed by Hans Beck (1861-1952), soloist and head of the royal ballet, and Valborg Guldbrandsen (later: Borchsenius), soloist (1872-1949). The scenes were performed in Elfelt’s studio, due to the lighting requirements, which then gave rise to a problem of lack of space.

Zigeunerdans af Troubaduren

Peter Elfelt, 1906

Dance from the opera ‘Il Trovatore’ (1853) by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Choreography by August Bournonville, 1865. Performed by Valborg Borchsenius (née Guldbrandsen).

Sylfiden

Peter Elfelt, 1903

Solo from ’La sylphide’ (1836), ballet by August Bournonville. Performed by Ellen Price (1878-1968), soloist from 1903. Ellen Price’s dancing in Hans Beck’s ballet ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1909) was the inspiration for Edvard Eriksen’s statue of the same name (1911).

Orfeus og Eurydike

Peter Elfelt, 1906

Dance from the 1762 Italian opera 'Orfeo ed Euridice' by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787); choreography by Hans Beck, 1896. Performed by Valborg Guldbrandsen (later Borchsenius), Ellen Price, Elisabeth Beck (1865-1946), and Anna Marie Agerholm (1875-1929).

Royal court photographer Peter Elfelt (1866-1931) was Denmark's first filmmaker.

Livjægerne paa Amager

Peter Elfelt, 1906

Ballet by August Bournonville 1871. With Hans Beck, Valborg Borchsenius (née Guldbrandsen) and Ellen Price.

Royal court photographer Peter Elfelt (1866-1931) was Denmark's first filmmaker.

Kørsel med grønlandske Hunde

Peter Elfelt, 1897

Johan Carl Joensen, a Danish colonial manager in Greenland, drives his dog sled in Copenhagen’s Fælledparken.

Henrettelsen

Peter Elfelt, 1903

A child murderess is led to her execution.

Pas de deux

Peter Elfelt, 1902

A joyful pas de deux, performed by Clara Rasmussen and Margrethe Andersen.

Clara Rasmussen/Wieth/Pontoppidan (1883-1975) was to become one of the most famous actresses of Danish silent cinema; one of her most notable performances is in Dreyer’s 'Leaves from Satan’s Book' (1921), in which she plays Siri in the last of the four sections.

Royal court photographer Peter Elfelt (1866-1931) was Denmark's first filmmaker.

Børnedansen af Elverhøj

Peter Elfelt, 1902

The Children's Dance from 'Elverhøj', performed by Gudrun Christensen and Helga Smith.

Elverhøj (1828; literal translation, Elves’ Hill) by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with music by Frederik Kuhlau, is considered the Danish national play. It was commissioned by King Frederik VI for the marriage of his youngest daughter Vilhelmine Marie to Frederik Carl Christian (later King Frederik VII).

Lindstrøms skuespil

Peter Elfelt, 1912

Two fine gentlemen battle brutishly for the favour of two fine ladies. However, one of the gentlemen forgets his suitcase at the station, and his competitor spots his chance to gain a huge lead.

This film has no intertitles.

Faustinus

Peter Elfelt, 1906

The short clip shows a spiritualist séance featuring a medium and two ‘spirits’, shot in Peter Elfelt’s studio. Dr Faustinus (1868–1946 – real name Faustinus Edelberg Pedersen), after whom the film is named, was an active figure within the field of spiritism and the occult.

The spiritualist movement, which had its breakthrough in Denmark around 1890, can be seen as a response to the void caused by the general erosion of religion.

Wania Tartakoff

Peter Elfelt, 1902

Spirited Ukrainian trepak dance, performed by Russian soloist Wania Tartakoff.

Royal court photographer Peter Elfelt (1866-1931) was Denmark's first filmmaker. He made his first recording in early 1897, the one-minute reel 'Driving With Greenland Dogs', and the following ten years he documented every important national event as well as daily life in Denmark.