The Royal Ballet: Mayerling, London, April/May 2017

[loveclassics]

9 hours ago, Sim said:

From Today's Links today.  I don't know what Exeunt magazine is, but is this supposed to be serious criticism?  I am astonished that anyone would think this foul-mouthed, generalising load of tosh is even worth posting up.  Appalling.  In my opinion.  I wonder if she will have to apologise for causing offence to someone or other, as so often seems to be the case today.  Imagine if someone had written the same words about an ethnic/religious minority? Or the 'working class'?  There would (rightly) be a huge fuss.  It would seem that some targets are perfectly acceptable, others aren't.  Anyway, that's for another forum.  I just hate hypocrisy.  I also think the RB deserves much better consideration than this rubbish.

 

http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/review-mayerling-royal-ballet/

 

 

 

I couldn't agree with you more, Sim.  "plummy pronouncements and fur coats"??  WTF indeed.  Whoever this person is, she is obviously inhabiting an alternative universe from the rest of us.   Such offensive tosh would not be published by any serious publication but one that describes itself literally as a 'mass exit from stage' seems oddly appropriate!

 

Linda

[gdallas]

It's rare that I see two casts but I saw Watson/Osipova (from a pretty bad spot, B70 which gives you maybe 60% view) and then Soares/Cuthbertson from orchestra stalls which is luxury. I have to say I found the first cast more enjoyable, not just for the dancers I have just named but more broadly: Larisch, Mitzi, ....  Maybe because it was the first time I'd seeen and heard this ballet? Maybe having to stand up makes you more receptive he he   

But I also have to say that I think the Royal Ballet is on an absolute roll. So many great dancers, they have a fabulous ability to change and try out casts and it makes it really hard to choose which cast to book for. We are very lucky to have such talent here.  I also think the music is just getting better and better over the last 4 or 5 years and I sometimes have to pinch myself, it's so good. I wonder where else in the world can compete?

[Anna C]

Jenny, thank you for your detailed post about the Soares/Cuthbertson cast.  It has whetted my appetite even more! 

[Mary]

22 minutes ago, Anna C said:

Jenny, thank you for your detailed post about the Soares/Cuthbertson cast.  It has whetted my appetite even more! 

 

Yes- obviously a role that suits Soares, -I am glad for him that he has had this chance. Wish I could see it myself.

 

[Anna C]

I loved his Onegin and Cuthbertson is one of my all-time favourites - match made in heaven!

[Jan McNulty]

Looking forward to seeing you next week Anna!  And Mayerling, of course!

[Beryl H]

I was going to say that the RB can do no wrong at the moment, never seen Mayerling look so good, but it's already been said!

Another great cast last night, I'm too tired to comment much but Lauren Cuthbertson and Thiago Soares were magnificent, I felt more sorrow at the end this time as Thiago Soares is a more sympathetic Rudolf, marvellous solo's too, very dark.

 

I did like Yuhui Choe as Stephanie by the way, thought her dancing expanded with the role.

 

So looking forward to tonight and yet another cast!

 

[Lynette H]

There have been lots of plaudits for individual dancers, but I think we should recognise some other contributors as well. Leanne Benjamin was one of the team coaching the principals for Mayerling (the first time she has coached this) and I think you can see the results very clearly on stage.

[Johnpw]

This time last week I'd never seen Mayerling: now I've seen all casts and Ed Watson twice! I have enjoyed the different interpretations and each time see (or think I see) something new in the choreography (last night just how so many of the intricate steps in the Rudolf/Elisabeth scene mean they aren't facing each other). 

 

I'm glad I swooped on a return for last night. I found Thiago Soares very good indeed - not a one note performance, he gave a sense of brooding unease and then of a gradually fracturing personality and spirit. I also understand better now some of the earlier viewpoints about the Tavern Scene - Soares gave a sense of someone in his element, enjoying it for  its relative freedom and, yes, with drink. He showed "drunk" very well at the start of the final scene with Hoyos and Coburg. All the cast were good from Dyer's sympathetic Bratfisch to the very imperial-regal Cristina Arestis.

 

I was sorry to have a sense of more muted cheering for Soares compared with others. Or was that just a wrong impression on account of where I was sitting? Unfortunately I'm not a cheerer but tried my best to applaud more loudly and vigorously. Anyway bravo all round.

 

 

[Anna C]

4 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Looking forward to seeing you next week Anna!  And Mayerling, of course!

 

Yes Jan! Can't wait! 

[Sim]

I will see you both there too!

[VickyPage]

Thank you to Geoff and Alison for the advice! I've seen the DVD, and I will reread the synopsis beforehand and hopefully won't get too confused. I've even done my research by actually rereading up on the Mayerling incident, as I'd forgotten most of what I learned when I was in Vienna a few years back. Looking forward to Thursday! 

[penelopesimpson]

On 5/4/2017 at 23:22, Jan McNulty said:

 

I emailed a complaint to the magazine this morning but haven't had a response as yet.

Done the same, Janet.  Looked at previous reviews from this lady and every time she visits ROH, the audience gets bashed.  I wonder who it is she thinks supports ballet and opera - a fairy godmother.  As someone else has said upthread, anyone using their money to enjoy a cultural pursuit is considered 'posh' and therefore a target to be ridiculed and insulted.  Suppose I were to go to a football match or the dog track and write unkind things about the patrons, would that be okay?

[standingticket]

I am so pleased to read so much enthusiasm for the Morera/Bonelli partnership on Twitter - I saw their debut not 14 hours after being blown away by Watson/Osipova, and it more than compared (perhaps bettered?). I think they are such a fantastic partnership - they are physically so secure dancing together that they can push themselves right to the limit without it feeling overly reckless or becoming untidy. Morera's acting ability is long established (and IMO among the best in the company), but I feel that Bonelli has really come into his own in this regard in the last two to three years

[ninamargaret]

Just back from the Bonelli/Morera performance. Absolutely stunning, to my mind the best of the three I've seen this week. I thought Bonelli paced his performance perfectly both from the dance and acting point of view. Morera excellent - the whole performance had that slightly 'over the top' feel about it that it can take. 

 

[Bruce Wall]

2 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

Just back from the Bonelli/Morera performance. Absolutely stunning, to my mind the best of the three I've seen this week. I thought Bonelli paced his performance perfectly both from the dance and acting point of view. Morera excellent - the whole performance had that slightly 'over the top' feel about it that it can take. 

 

 

 

I just want to add additional praise for James Hay as Bratfisch .... What a stunning artist this young man has become.  His two variations were - in the very best sense - Chaplinesque.  They were shot through with equal measures of joy and sorrow.  Each helped to define the glorious slice of the human condition Hay delighted us with.  (In fact, Hay, himself, looks not  entirely unlike a young Chaplin [a fellow Briton] himself I think.  That said - at 5'4" - which is what Chaplin stood - I suspect that Hay is just a little taller.  I may be wrong - but certainly he wouldn't be very MUCH taller.)  

Edited May 6, 2017 by Bruce Wall

[BMC]

Having after Thursday completed all the Mayerling casts, I would like to echo posters above and congratulate everyone involved. Of course we all have our favourites for the various roles and some are better suited to them than others, but how lucky we are to have this variety and ability in all the ranks. I had a bit of an unfortunate incident on Thursday - I developed one of those irritating tickly coughs just as the performance was about to start. It didn't amount to much but it did make me a bit on edge so (very annoyingly) I left my excellent amphi seat to go and stand by those railings under the slips. I had hardly ever been there and you can only see about 50% of the stage, so Thiago kept disappearing from view and I couldn't see any of his interaction with Stephanie in the Tavern scene, for example. However, of the half of the stage I could see, you get a really good view of faces and I was just so impressed with the way everyone, the four soldiers, all the members of the corps were throwing themselves into it and acting their socks off - no just standing around blankly if they weren't involved in the action. No wonder the ballet has come alive so fantastically with such attention to detail from the biggest to the smallest parts - a huge achievement. I'm just kicking myself I didn't get more tickets! 

[nycitybird]

I went on opening night and was disappointed to feel a bit underwhelmed. I enjoyed the performance in an objective way but I wasn't emotionally involed. 

 

My experience last night was completely different. Based on the reviews by forum members I decided to go for the Bonelli cast and found it entirely gripping and emotional. I agree with previous posters that Bonelli's vulnerability made the character more sympathetic, and it made me more invested in the story. In particular, the scene with the mother made more sense to me. 

 

I also totally agree with others on the chemistry between Bonelli and Morera. The first pdd was so sexy and the final one felt reckless, desperate and inevitable. It literally gave me an adrenaline rush. Bonelli was so broken at the end and had been on such a journey that when Morera gave him a nod to do the deed I was in tears. I do still think the ending is a bit anticlimactic after that amazing scene and it feels like a long time for the scene  to change.

 

However, after being left a bit cold by the first performance I LOVE this ballet and haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I only wish this blistering performance was recorded for DVD. 

[bridiem]

I saw the Bonelli/Morera cast last night. I too found it very moving. With this cast, the outcome wasn't inevitable, so it really is a tragedy and a waste. Watson's Rudolf is so damaged and disordered from the start that there really is no hope, and in Osipova he meets his match. With Bonelli, his repressed hurt and confusion only in time bursts out in the release of using and abusing his wife and other women, and so ultimately, himself. He gives up, and turns to the bad. I'm not sure I understood why Morera's Mary fell in with him; in the early scenes she does seem reasonably 'normal' - just a bit infatuated - so the blistering commitment of the later scenes seems to come from nowhere. But once committed, what an amazing performance. Wild and desperate and manipulating Rudolf to new depths of despair and degradation.

 

I thought the rest of the cast was excellent too - Olivia Cowley's Larisch also a tragic figure in her way, and Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani cool, beautiful and troubled as the Empress. James Hay another wonderful Bratfisch and Alexander Campbell thrilling as the lead Hungarian officer. The whole company is in incredible form.

[annamk]

I went to the 1st Bonelli/Morera performance and was so completely blown away by them that I had to see it again. But it was not without trepidation that I went along last night wondering how on earth they could match their debuts. If anything they exceeded them and 12 hours later I'm still reeling from the shock. It's years since I've seen performances of such thrilling dramatic intensity. They so completely inhabited the roles that for 3 hours they were Rudolf and Mary, there only for each other and we the audience watched their personal tragedy unfold, spellbound at the final curtain. There was not a single weak link in the outstanding supporting cast - Cowley, Hinkis, Hay, Bhavnani. An unforgettable evening and one of the very finest nights in many years of ballet going. 

[Sim]

I totally agree, Anna.  I didn't think I could be as emotionally affected again as I was at their debuts last Saturday.  How on earth could they manage to elicit that emotional and dramatic intensity again?  But they did, and more.  Last night was truly breathtaking.  What a shame that they only got two performances.  A stunning night at the ballet, helped by a perfect supporting cast.  I would add the names of Beatriz Stix-Brunell as a sexy, calculating Mitzi, and Alexander Campbell as a very impressive lead Hungarian soldier.  Perfection all round.

[JohnS]

So pleased to have been able to get a returned ticket for the Federico/Laura 2nd and final performance having not been able to see their debut given the engineering works north of Crewe over the Bank Holiday weekend.  And a big thank you for all the posts following their debut which had so whetted the appetite.  

 

Wonderful central performances, so engaging and incredibly sympathetic, given such flawed characters.  Gave their all, with the bureau chair a casualty to their passion at the end of Act 3.  I will long remember Laura's striking affirmation with a nod of her head that yes the time had come for the suicide pact to be actioned.

 

Again so good to see another strong supporting cast and I so agree with the plaudits from Bruce Wall for James Hay's Bratfisch.

 

Thanks also for the fantastic curtain photos from bangorballetboy and others, including lovely stage door photos.

 

Will now have to wait for next Saturday for the final two performances but will be keenly following comments on Ed's final performance (dare I say this run?) in the week.

[LinMM]

I had almost decided not to post on this ballet as reading the whole thread through I realise that most people really love it and I did not really!! I just didn't want to rain on anyone's parade so to speak!

admittedly I hadn't read any of the History around this rather sad and gloomy tale so had to take the ballet as it was and how it spoke ( or not) through the characters and dancing alone. 

I was there last Tuesday night with a truely magnificent cast of actors/dancers definitely cannot fault any of them they were all terrific.

I got a last minute standing ticket and it was worth standing just for Ed Watsons performance. A really haunted character just verging on the edge of madness as Ed seemed to play it and how he kept up that level of intensity I don't know. .....there is not much rest for him in this ballet. The scene between him and Stephanie was quite disturbing and I thought Francesca Hayward got just the right nuance of fear distaste and confusion towards Rudolf and you could see their relationship was never going to work .....in the ballet ( don't know about the history of course) she was one of the few sympathetic characters. 

And I think that's why I felt mostly unmoved throughout .....I just couldn't really find any empathy with most of the characters.

i did feel for Larisch .....wonderfully danced by Sarah Lamb ....as I felt she really did love Rudolf .....so felt most moved in the ballet when she was finally  dismissed by the Queen ( Zenaida....superb dancing from her throughout) For me that was the moment when he was finally lost and the end was somehow inevitable. He had got to that point where he could not really relate to any human being .....and that must be a pretty hellish place....so best to end it all really.

I thought Osipova was riveting as Mary as you could feel her strange infatuation with Rudolf was part of a slight unhinged personality right from the beginning ....a very powerful performance. ( Though I do believe that at a certain point in Germanic history there was a romantic movement for committing suicide with a loved one so as to be together forever sort of thing and there are several bits of literature and music with these themes) 

I hadn't really understood the timescale of the ballet regards to Mary though. She appears as a "child" in one scene and then the next minute she's about three to four years older!! Again I did not have a programme but certainly on the cast list notes there was no mention of a big jump in time....so a little confusing there.

I understood ( rightly or wrongly) that the tavern scene was largely there in the ballet to show his increasing political involvement and the torment it caused him. Some lovely dancing from Marianuela .....very Macmillanesque in nature I thought especially in some of the lifts ....but not much of a role for a Principal really....and felt Rudolf could hardly connect with her as Ed seemed to play it that night.....his mind definitely seemed elsewhere....so no relief from his usual haunts was what I picked up. 

It was also an excuse for some dancing for Bratfisch .....great from Stephen Campbell ....but felt sorry for him having to try and cheer up the general mood.....and he very nearly did which ....took some skill ....but..........

The hunting scene was entirely superfluous to me as it almost looked like a freak accident....NOT as it said in the notes ..."Rudolf unaccountably fires wildly.........." I just didn't see this ....it looked like he was loading his gun and it just went off!! If he had rushed on pointing the rifle around wildly here and there and then fired ....well then I could think he is definitely actually going mad but I couldn't understand that scene at all. 

The final pas de deux between Rudolf and Mary was quite stunning in its recklessness from both dancers but I did not feel that Rudolf cared that much for anyone at that point and could only understand Mary's infatuation for this broken man at this point as from someone just a little mad. 

And now for one of the reasons this ballet doesn't work that well ....the ending!!

There was all this reckless drug fuelled "passion" going on and there's a terrific build up here ...and then the dancers disappear off stage and Mary's shooting just felt SO staged to me......the pause was too long so all the dramatic tension had dissipated.....and even more so when Rudolf shoots himself. 

I just did not feel a thing at the end except for relief that Rudolf was finally out of his misery perhaps. 

I can think of several more "satisfying" ways to end this ballet for dramatic purposes .....but obviously Macmillan had his own purpose.....and he wouldn't have been shy to show the deaths on stage I'm sure ....if he had wanted to ....so don't really understand why he breaks the tension like that.

I have not seen this ballet for well over 20 years .....though saw one of the first performances a very long time ago now....so was almost like seeing a new ballet and I went with an open mind ( it had left mixed feelings the first time) and was keen to find another dramatic ballet I could love.

However although some of the dancing and character portrayals were really absolutely wonderful in the end the ballet left me cold because I just couldn't get fully drawn in by any of them. 

 

I left thinking why was Macmillan so keen to show this story .......he must certainly know something that I don't!! So perhaps I do need to read up on the history around it......though in the end I feel a ballet should stand on its own and I'm just not sure that Mayerling does for me ....but will give it another go next time round and hope the penny drops then.

 

 

[Beryl H]

Another outstanding performance last night, the most physical one yet, I noticed Federico Bonelli had bloodstains on his legs at the end of the first act, then he and Laura Morera were crashing into furniture near the end, don't think I can take much more although I will of course!

 

Saw a completely different cast again, even new Hungarians lead by Alexander Campbell, thought they were more sinister this time which makes more sense, and completely agree with the praise for James Hay's Bratfisch, also saw my own favourite Bay Middleton (Valeri Hristov).

 

 

 

[MAB]

I can very much understand LinMM's attitude to Mayerling as it isn't like any other ballet around and it presents a challenge to first time viewers with its bewildering cast of real people and I vividly remember once spending both intervals explaining the relationships and historical context to a Mayerling first timer. 

 

What sells it to me are the extraordinary opportunities it has given generations of dancers to develop their skills as dancer-actors and whereas with many works I look back nostalgically to earlier casts, in general a long succession of dancers have made me appreciate the ballet anew.  In many ways the ballet is better danced today than in the past with what I can only describe as better articulation of the steps which were sometimes lost in a fevered surge of passion  In general it is an important work as the first three act British ballet created around a male dancer and has a great many admirers that look forward eagerly to each revival and each major debut.  I am a big admirer of the score too as Liszt's music is eminently danceable and John Lanchbury made a terrific job of the arrangement.  Ultimately it's a ballet you love or, if not exactly hate, feel a full evening watching the unravelling lives of a bunch of unsympathetic people less than rewarding.  Curiously it's a ballet where describing the performers as sluttish, conniving, maniacal, frigid and many other negative adjectives are actually compliments.

 

Whatever you think about it, Mayerling is unique.

[ninamargaret]

Agree with MAB's comments. There was a very long gap in my ballet going and so I didn't see Mayerling until the last revival when I was lucky enough to see the final performance with Cojocaru  and Koborg. But I had watched the documentary about it and also the Mukhamedov DVD. This time I have thoroughly indulged myself and have seen three casts so far with Soares next week. It is a complex story -it was made easier as I have a little knowledge of the history of the period and through watching the DVDs. It seems to me that several of MacMillan's ballets benefit from a bit of study before seeing them, Anastasia being another, like Mayerling, that can be confusing to first time audiences. I spoke to a couple of people in the audience last week who were horribly confused but it's difficult to persuade people to do a little bit of research before they see something. The full programme is excellent and worth the money if you are new to the ballet.   I am, of course, excluding everyone on the Forum- thinking more of the occasional ballet goer! It may not be an easy ballet but what a marvellous one

[Lizbie1]

I have to say that even knowing a good deal of the historical background and having done my homework (including reading the programme) I was horribly confused the first time I saw it and missed out on a lot of detail because I was trying to work out who was who. The wigs don't help, of course!

 

While I'm not sure how much could be done to remedy it, I do think it a serious flaw that the plot requires explanation, however rewarding the results.

[LinMM]

I do agree it gives some really good roles for dancers especially Rudolf of course and maybe when it was first conceived it was quite unique to have a ballet more centred around a male dancer and am grateful to Macmillan for this. I will always try to understand what he was trying todo as he has choreographed some of my favourite ballets.

i was definitely in the mood for it so don't think I was switched off or anything on the evening I saw it but maybe it's a ballet which requires a few viewings to get under your skin.

i think for me it's the final bit with Mary Vetsera as there is some wonderful passionate and frenzied dancing here but I just couldn't believe in their relationship. 

If she had been the exceptional jealous type and then once having realised that with a man like Rudolf she would never have him to herself then it would even make sense if she shot him first!! But I didn't understand why Rudolf needed to kill her .....as I didn't believe his undying passion for her .....and if he was severely depressed/deranged he could have just shot himself!!

 

Anyway I will go and see it again but will take some time to find out a bit more info.....Macmillan must have been fascinated by the story to create a whole ballet around it.

incidentally chatting to the RBS students they told me they are performing one of my all time favourite ballets in the summer ...Concerto....Macmillan of course!! Must get a ticket for that now!!

[Ian Macmillan]

At the risk of encouraging drift - can anyone tell me whence the nickname "Bay" is derived?  I ask as, in addition to Bay Middleton here, I've just come across a First War RFC pilot who was popularly known as "Bay."  He was properly a Hubert, and I believe the chap in Mayerling was a George.  Is there an equine connection?

[alison]

Finally getting a chance actually to post, so:

 

On 05/05/2017 at 10:18, Lynette H said:

There have been lots of plaudits for individual dancers, but I think we should recognise some other contributors as well. Leanne Benjamin was one of the team coaching the principals for Mayerling (the first time she has coached this) and I think you can see the results very clearly on stage.

 

I hadn't noticed that, Lynette, so thanks for pointing it out.  (I also notice that Ricardo Cervera is credited in the coaching - presumably for Bratfisch?)

 

On 05/05/2017 at 12:50, Johnpw said:

This time last week I'd never seen Mayerling: now I've seen all casts and Ed Watson twice!

 

That's real dedication, John!

 

On 06/05/2017 at 09:44, nycitybird said:

I went on opening night and was disappointed to feel a bit underwhelmed. I enjoyed the performance in an objective way but I wasn't emotionally involed. 

 

My experience last night was completely different.

 

Was opening night the first time you'd seen it, NYCbird?

 

On 06/05/2017 at 17:51, LinMM said:

I hadn't really understood the timescale of the ballet regards to Mary though. She appears as a "child" in one scene and then the next minute she's about three to four years older!! Again I did not have a programme but certainly on the cast list notes there was no mention of a big jump in time....so a little confusing there.

[...]

The hunting scene was entirely superfluous to me as it almost looked like a freak accident....NOT as it said in the notes ..."Rudolf unaccountably fires wildly.........." I just didn't see this ....it looked like he was loading his gun and it just went off!! If he had rushed on pointing the rifle around wildly here and there and then fired ....well then I could think he is definitely actually going mad but I couldn't understand that scene at all.

 

I guess the fact that Stephanie is suddenly heavily pregnant is a clue that a significant amount of time has passed.  Also, at some stage I think Rudolf - and possibly a few others - lose a certain amount of facial hair, but that's quite subtle to pick up.

 

On 06/05/2017 at 18:01, Beryl H said:

Another outstanding performance last night, the most physical one yet, I noticed Federico Bonelli had bloodstains on his legs at the end of the first act, then he and Laura Morera were crashing into furniture near the end

 

I remember Kobborg getting bloody knees a couple of times - after being pushed around by the Hungarian officers, I think.  As for furniture, was it the chair on the right-hand side of the stage?  Watson and Galeazzi manage to knock that over on the DVD - and I seem to remember someone who reviewed it metaphorically docking them points for technical execution.  Personally, I thought it entirely suited the desperate mood of that scene ...

 

5 hours ago, MAB said:

In many ways the ballet is better danced today than in the past with what I can only describe as better articulation of the steps which were sometimes lost in a fevered surge of passion 

 

That's an interesting observation, MAB.  I wonder whether it's actually an improvement, though - or more a case of dancers executing "classroom steps" on stage, which I recall someone complained about somewhere, I think on this forum?

[alison]

18 minutes ago, Ian Macmillan said:

At the risk of encouraging drift - can anyone tell me whence the nickname "Bay" is derived?  I ask as, in addition to Bay Middleton here, I've just come across a First War RFC pilot who was popularly known as "Bay."  He was properly a Hubert, and I believe the chap in Mayerling was a George.  Is there an equine connection?

 

I believe Middleton's horse was a bay?  (I think it says - or said - so in the programme somewhere).

 

Just as well it wasn't an Appaloosa, I guess

[MAB]

This might help, but there's no suggestion he ever visited Austria.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_"Bay"_Middleton

 

His life revolved around horses, but he was a ladies man and believed to be the natural father of Winston Churchill's wife.

[LinMM]

Alison I didn't even pick up that Stephanie was heavily pregnant!! Let alone anything as subtle as loss of facial hair!!