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The Royal Ballet: Mayerling, Autumn 2018


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Btw. Does anyone know why Sylvie Guillem never took on a role in this ballet? Was she considered too tall for Mary? Was she not interested in Larisch or possibly even Empress Elisabeth. I suppose the latter would have been too small a role for her.

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21 minutes ago, Darlex said:

And for me that was exactly when her performance teetered somewhere between the sublime and the ridiculous. I love so many of the choices Osipova has made with this role: her overwhelming commitment, abandonment and sense of daring will stay etched on my memory forever. Maybe this moment would have felt more congruous had she been dancing with Watson. Not sure. It did made Mary seem totally mad, which, to be fair, might well have been the case to go through with such a terrible act. I do wish I had been sitting closer to the stage as I don't feel it's a ballet best viewed from the Amphi* - possibly because the balance is weighted in favour of drama over dance. I have enjoyed Mayerling far more from SCS (that's Stalls Circle Standing**). I would be interested to know where each person viewing the performance has sat or stood.

 

*Level 4/5?!

**Ground Floor Level/Level 1?!

 

I was in the Amphi, glued to my opera glasses...

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Darlex, your mention of Mary being mad may not be so far of the mark. Mary’s last letter to Countess Larisch enjoined her to commit suicide and join her and Rudolf as life would become difficult for her. Her air of exultation in the whole letter is bizarre and sad.  The whole letter ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. She barely knew Rudolf in reality - they had met only a few times - and the really sad thing to me is that Rudolf actually asked the real Mitzi Caspar to commit suicide with him before he asked Mary. Mitzi was horrified and tried to warn court officials but was turned away. Poor Mary was second best.

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1 hour ago, Darlex said:

And for me that was exactly when her performance teetered somewhere between the sublime and the ridiculous. I love so many of the choices Osipova has made with this role: her overwhelming commitment, abandonment and sense of daring will stay etched on my memory forever. Maybe this moment would have felt more congruous had she been dancing with Watson. Not sure. It did made Mary seem totally mad, which, to be fair, might well have been the case to go through with such a terrible act. I do wish I had been sitting closer to the stage as I don't feel it's a ballet best viewed from the Amphi* - possibly because the balance is weighted in favour of drama over dance. I have enjoyed Mayerling far more from SCS (that's Stalls Circle Standing**). I would be interested to know where each person viewing the performance has sat or stood.

 

*Level 4/5?!

**Ground Floor Level/Level 1?!

 

Yes, perhaps more than any other ballet, Mayerling requires several things...

 

- for the majority of seats, and for anyone without 20/10 vision, a good pair of binoculars (where good is a bright image, low magnification, and wide FOV). The acting, down to mere glances, is key.

- some preparatory research/reading, otherwise it's difficult to understand the plot development (let alone the nuances). I found the South Bank doc invaluable in that regard.

- repeated viewing. Like a good novel, repeated exposure pays dividends. I'm happy to watch it over and over again... 

 

The very first time I saw Mayerling I got totally confused about just about everything (the number of characters, the complexity of their relationships, the costume/hair changes, the 'ageing' of the male lead, etc). However, I (like to think I) realised there was a lot to gain from persevering - so I did.

 

In fact, perhaps an interesting thread to start might be one considering just how much one should be able/expect to 'get' from a first exposure to a ballet? I don't want to 'get' everything from a first viewing, but there again I don't want a work to be so obscure that repeated viewings (and expenditure on tickets!) yields little enlightenment. I expect I can think of ballets that fit either end of this continuum. To me, Mayerling is one of those that hits the 'sweet spot' - I think I could happily watch it once a month for the next ten years...:D

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28 minutes ago, Fiz said:

Darlex, your mention of Mary being mad may not be so far of the mark. Mary’s last letter to Countess Larisch enjoined her to commit suicide and join her and Rudolf as life would become difficult for her. Her air of exultation in the whole letter is bizarre and sad.  The whole letter ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. She barely knew Rudolf in reality - they had met only a few times - and the really sad thing to me is that Rudolf actually asked the real Mitzi Caspar to commit suicide with him before he asked Mary. Mitzi was horrified and tried to warn court officials but was turned away. Poor Mary was second best.

Thanks for that info about the letter, Fiz. That explains more. Okay, maybe I was a bit harsh on Osipova. Knee shuffling understood and accepted! I do think she's been a bit harsh on her knees though!

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1 hour ago, Nogoat said:

 

Yes, perhaps more than any other ballet, Mayerling requires several things...

 

- for the majority of seats, and for anyone without 20/10 vision, a good pair of binoculars (where good is a bright image, low magnification, and wide FOV). The acting, down to mere glances, is key.

- some preparatory research/reading, otherwise it's difficult to understand the plot development (let alone the nuances). I found the South Bank doc invaluable in that regard.

- repeated viewing. Like a good novel, repeated exposure pays dividends. I'm happy to watch it over and over again... 

 

The very first time I saw Mayerling I got totally confused about just about everything (the number of characters, the complexity of their relationships, the costume/hair changes, the 'ageing' of the male lead, etc). However, I (like to think I) realised there was a lot to gain from persevering - so I did.

 

In fact, perhaps an interesting thread to start might be one considering just how much one should be able/expect to 'get' from a first exposure to a ballet? I don't want to 'get' everything from a first viewing, but there again I don't want a work to be so obscure that repeated viewings (and expenditure on tickets!) yields little enlightenment. I expect I can think of ballets that fit either end of this continuum. To me, Mayerling is one of those that hits the 'sweet spot' - I think I could happily watch it once a month for the next ten years...:D

That's interesting, Nogoat.

 

There was a period from about 1986 - 1992 when Mayerling wasn't performed. I saw the South Bank Show documentary before I saw a live performance, so when it came to it, I understood the plot and who the characters were and with repeated viewings, filled in the gaps and made the connections. Like many others on this forum, I was completely swept away. Yes, I was Mayerling obsessed! The ballet inspired me to visit Vienna and Vetsera's grave. I would have named it as my favourite ballet.


But that was a long time ago. Since then, I have gone off this ballet and that's nothing to do with the quality of the performances. Although I believe many of the original cast have never been bettered, some have, or at least have been equalled. In the documentary we get to see all the best parts and don't have to sit through all the padding and what is, in my view, some of MacMillan's least inspired choreography for the corps: Stephanie's maids; the glamorous porn - movie choreography for the whores; the fireworks business; and all the stuff that happens in front of the curtain while the sets are being changed - not just one officer jumping out of the curtain, but ... four - embarrassing,  even more so when you see a hand or leg sticking out of the curtain as I have on the last three occasions. And I find some of the 'drunken' acting in the tavern scene really tiresome. There are also moments in the music which I find OTT (the discovery of the bodies at the end reminds me of old horror film music, for example).

You may ask 'why be so miserable about it, but still go to see it?'. I suppose my answer would be that I am hoping to be swept away again. Just for one moment, as the parade of characters passed by at the beginning of the ballet, I thought I just might. 

 

Are there any ballets that other forum members have fallen out of love with over time? I used to rate Grigorovich's Spartacus - no more! (It will be my secret guilty pleasure next summer! I haven't seen it in donkeys years.)

 

 

 

 

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Sorry to take this thread from the very intriguing discussion on Mayerling ...an interesting ballet for me to be sure but inspite of this not one I need to see every year....however Geoff I don't get your comment about Nogoat ( as a name) and Esmeralda!! 

 

An additional comment is Nogoat the name of an American baseball team? 

 

When I saw Osipova in the role last I thought she played it bordering on psychopathic ....a psychopathic adolescent ( or a bordering on morbid obsessive one) who got involved with a disturbed but weak man as I see Rudolf. 

The only problem with this ballet for me is there are so few sympathetic characters in it. It is powerful ....but a bit like Macmillans Judas Tree ...which I also find powerful ...but it's hard to like anyone....not that characters have to be sympathetic of course ...one goes to these performances to see a nastier but unfortunately non the less real side of Life. 

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I'm not a fan of Steven McRae in this role. His dancing is excellent of course, but I just didn't like his interpretation which I found manic and negative - almost snarling.  My preferred Rudolphs manage to bring some sympathy to the role.  I haven't booked for McRae deliberately this season, but am really looking forward to seeing two new Rudolphs this Saturday - and I could never miss Thiago in this role.     

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8 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

His dancing is excellent of course, but I just didn't like his interpretation which I found manic and negative - almost snarling. 

 

So, that photo they've been using to advertise it is actually an accurate representation, then - even if it totally puts me off seeing it?

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15 hours ago, Darlex said:

That's interesting, Nogoat.

 

There was a period from about 1986 - 1992 when Mayerling wasn't performed. I saw the South Bank Show documentary before I saw a live performance, so when it came to it, I understood the plot and who the characters were and with repeated viewings, filled in the gaps and made the connections. Like many others on this forum, I was completely swept away. Yes, I was Mayerling obsessed! The ballet inspired me to visit Vienna and Vetsera's grave. I would have named it as my favourite ballet.


But that was a long time ago. Since then, I have gone off this ballet and that's nothing to do with the quality of the performances. Although I believe many of the original cast have never been bettered, some have, or at least have been equalled. In the documentary we get to see all the best parts and don't have to sit through all the padding and what is, in my view, some of MacMillan's least inspired choreography for the corps: Stephanie's maids; the glamorous porn - movie choreography for the whores; the fireworks business; and all the stuff that happens in front of the curtain while the sets are being changed - not just one officer jumping out of the curtain, but ... four - embarrassing,  even more so when you see a hand or leg sticking out of the curtain as I have on the last three occasions. And I find some of the 'drunken' acting in the tavern scene really tiresome. There are also moments in the music which I find OTT (the discovery of the bodies at the end reminds me of old horror film music, for example).

You may ask 'why be so miserable about it, but still go to see it?'. I suppose my answer would be that I am hoping to be swept away again. Just for one moment, as the parade of characters passed by at the beginning of the ballet, I thought I just might. 

 

Are there any ballets that other forum members have fallen out of love with over time? I used to rate Grigorovich's Spartacus - no more! (It will be my secret guilty pleasure next summer! I haven't seen it in donkeys years.)

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for that very honest and illuminating history of your 'love affair' with Mayerling, Darlex - your somewhat lukewarm review comments earlier in the thread now make much more sense in the light of this! :)

 

I'm still at the 'besotted' stage, but of course that may change in time...

 

Since I am besotted, I feel honour-bound to defend the implied shortcomings of the object of my affection... :wub:

- in their choreography, the maids come across as prim, proper, happy, organised, eager to please, and content in the insulated, superficial and artificial world they inhabit - Stephanie's world. 

- this is in marked contrast to the 'whores' whose eagerness to please is firmly grounded in the sordid, carnal, 'real' world inhabited by Rudolf (and many of the other males). The brothel scene, and Rudolf's attempt to induct Stephanie into its hedonistic, sex-based view of human relationships, throws light on his treatment of her at the end of Act 1 with its cruel corruption of her vision of 'pure love' (expressed, to me, in her solo before Rudolf turns up). It could be argued that it's difficult to make that point without a bit of 'porn' to emphasise the contrast; and I'm sure there are whole theses that can (and have been written) about the portrayal of physical relationships between various characters, in various ballets, by various choreographers.

- I find the firework business fascinating. Much of it is characterised by stillness (in a ballet, of all places!), posture and by slow glances. And the inclusion of a bit of 'opera' seems a sly dig at that other arm of 'high culture' that occasionally condescends to include a 'bit of dancing'. 

- given that stuff needs to happen while scenes are being changed, I think those 'curtain' scenes help define some of the (admittedly complex) facets of the story well. The one I least like is of Franz Joseph contemplating the ancestral portraits, but even that shows that even the most absolute of rulers face problems beyond their control. I am continually impressed that MacMillan was able to include a narrative on the revolutionary politics in the air at the time (again, in a ballet, of all places!). It was by necessity a shadowy world, full of dangers. To me, those brief, furtive excursions from the shadows, the whispers in the ear, the attempts to persuade, the wavering, come across very well in both the episodic staging and the choreography.

- I don't know what the drinking habits were back in the 1880s, but I'm sure it wasn't 30% of young adults not drinking alcohol, as apparently it is now.

- OK, the object of my affection can be a bit OTT, but in his/her defence... The crashing of the screen and discovery of the bodies is pure melodrama - and the music reflects that; after all, it was the defining moment of that era's equivalent of the mother-of-all 'tabloid' scandals. This is in marked contrast to the incredibly private, intense PDD that preceded it, and the sombre, but grubby, attempt to cover the scandal up in the churchyard that followed it.

 

Right, I've got a couple of dates with the object of my affection coming up, so I will stop there and go and get ready...

 

 

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Great post, Nogat.  I too have an ongoing love affair with Mayerling and with Ed Watson's interpretation especially.   I am attending tomorrow with my heart in my mouth, fearful of being disappointed.  Oh dear.  Different I can cope with, but...

What a problem!  It's like returning to the scene of a lost love.

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Just hoping Storm Callum doesn't cause any major disruption to Virgin West Coast as I have double Mayerling tomorrow, and a first chance to see Open Up.  

Many thanks to all for so many thought-provoking posts which have well and truly whetted the appetite.

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15 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Great post, Nogat.  I too have an ongoing love affair with Mayerling and with Ed Watson's interpretation especially.   I am attending tomorrow with my heart in my mouth, fearful of being disappointed.  Oh dear.  Different I can cope with, but...

What a problem!  It's like returning to the scene of a lost love.

That's the way it is with ballet, with dancers having such short ( relatively speaking) careers and the ever present risk of injury. But then, they come and they go. I was reminiscing rather sadly to myself about the loss of some of my favourites at RB- ......then Corrales leapt onto the stage..

There is always a new excitement on the horizon!

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Having asked you all for advice about whether to see Bonelli or Soares, I found my theatre gift card (thank you mother-in-law) and bought a ticket for Matthew Ball’s debut tomorrow afternoon!!

I cannot wait!🤗 I think he’s a wonderful dancer and am intrigued to see how he portrays Prince Rudolf-with so little preparation time too. 

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15 hours ago, JohnS said:

Just hoping Storm Callum doesn't cause any major disruption to Virgin West Coast as I have double Mayerling tomorrow, and a first chance to see Open Up.  

 

Storm Callum has struck and an emergency timetable introduced.  Virgin emailed details last night so at least there was some notice.  I eventually realised I could catch an earlier train making an additionally stop at Penrith but had to be up at 5:00.  Now waiting for the train running 16 minutes late but shoukd make this afternoon's matinee which at one time looked unlikely, or at least Act 1.  Whilst I was impressed with Virgin's email, Virgin's website was down yesterday evening - another casualty of Storm Callum or insufficient capacity to deal with customers' questions?

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It's such a pity that, since the opening night of Mayerling,  far more has been written on the FORUM about the botched PR and the deficits of the 'new' ROH than the masterpiece which is playing on the stage. I'm just hoping that Matthew Ball's performance this afternoon will cause us all to burst into print about ballet once again :)

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From last night :)

 

A great night, I was expecting Tierny Heap as Empress Elizabeth (listed as being her debut in the role) but it turned out to be Lara Turk

 

may1.jpg

may2.jpg

Edited by Rob S
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