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Photo from "Queer Letters in the Diamond", held in 2023

Photo: Det Kgl. Bibliotek

Letter Performance: Love

Love letters return to Royal Danish Library with a celebration of love, passion and the handwritten letter.

Just after Valentine's Day, Royal Danish Library will once again open its doors to a special performance in the name of love. In The Queen's Hall, some of the most touching, beautiful and passionate love letters written throughout history will be staged. The performance is a tribute to the personal letter – a genre that is slipping out of our everyday lives, but which contains a deep human intensity.

Top-notch actors give voice to past lovers and interpret letters from, among others, Søren Kierkegaard, H. C. Andersen and Sigrid Undset, as well as voices from Karen Blixen, Amalie Skram, Holger Drachmann and Thorkild Bjørnvig. These are intimate texts written for a single recipient – and that is precisely why they strike so strongly. Here is fervour, humour, pain, hope – and a reminder of what it means to be human in the grip of love.

As part of the performance, we will be holding a Letter-writing Concert in the Old Reading Room at the beginning of February. Here you can pick up a pen and be inspired by the passionate pen pals of the past – and perhaps send a genuine love letter out into the world. It's that time of year, after all.

Bella Leonette
1 / 6
David Dencik
2 / 6
Maria Rossing

Photo: Hein Photography

3 / 6
Simon Kongstad

Photo: Hein Photography

4 / 6
Gustav Giese

Photo: Hein Photography

5 / 6
Laura Skjoldborg

Photo: Lena Paaske

6 / 6

Som led i forestillingen afholder vi i starten af marts Brevskrivningskoncert i Den Gamle Læsesal. Her kan man selv gribe pennen og lade sig inspirere af fortidens passionerede pennevenner – og måske sende et ægte kærlighedsbrev ud i verden. Det er jo dén tid på året. 

Part of Letters in The Black Diamond

Håndskrevet brev

Photo: Ophav ukendt

Royal Danish Library contains a collection of over two million letters from great personalities, artists and writers.

The event is part of the series Letters in The Black Diamond, where we awaken Royal Danish Library's large letter collections through letter writing concerts and themed letter performances.

 
See more events in the series

The letter performance is arranged in collaboration with Gyldendal and with support from Dao.

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