Jardin aux lilas

About the show

The ballet is set at an evening garden party during the Edwardian era (1901–1910) in England. A young woman, Caroline, who is engaged to marry a man she does not love, has come to say goodbye to her friends and, particularly, Her Lover. She steals brief moments with him during the gathering, while The Man She Must Marry himself privately encounters An Episode in His Past, also present at the party. Attempts at intimacy are constantly interrupted by other guests. Caroline ultimately bids Her Lover a halted farewell as The Man She Must Marry takes her on his arm and leads her away in their betrothal of convenience. Her Lover, having secretly given Caroline a gift of lilacs at the last possible moment, is left alone as the curtain closes.