Petunia

I can't help with the vote but I bought a piece of English stilton and ate it just now (sigh).

I am sorry, I mixed it up, it's Dowell with Merle Park. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVTTg1facko (The Dream)

As far as I am concerned, nothing will stop me from coming to London.

It was! Rehearsing in the National Gallery - amazing!

I was at the cinema yesterday and I've not quite recovered yet. Last night’s SV felt like being inside a sphere of sanity floating above an increasingly insane world. What a safe haven ballet can be. I believe watching this work once a day will lower your blood pressure, increase your breathing capacity and protect your mental health. (Jan McNulty, I can truly relate to your tagline now). This is Perfection: no superfluous embellishments, everything crystal-clear and ever-changing. Some moments even looked somehow “Cunningham-esque” – the quick changes of focus and direction and the unusual angles, and everything is performed with great calmness and serenity. When Muntagirov executes double tours he’s drilling a hole upward into the air, it’s wondrous how he manages to come down to the earth in time with the music. The way Yasmine Naghdi’s back suddenly melts after that long line of rapid little steps. Or when they grab each other’s hands, do a little run and suddenly stand still in three perfectly posed pairs. I’m baffled how I can be bowled over by a ballet after several decades of watching dance. Then again, Dream was a different kind of perfection: also a joy to watch, at times a perfectly timed slapstick comedy, and I love the otherworldly qualities of the fairies and their King and Queen, they are not only beautiful but also somehow menacing and quite complex personalities. The Lovers were hilarious but not overdone, excellent acting by everyone! M&A – I haven’t decided yet if I’d care to ever watch it again, I’ll have to keep thinking. Aside from Zenaida the Great I didn’t find much in it, but that’s probably because I don’t care very much about Bolle as an actor. For me it just doesn’t come together. I’m hoping for a DVD, very often my opinion changes after several viewings. On the whole, I was very happy with this cinema broadcast, it was great that they brought 98 years old Henry Danton and Julie Kavanagh (I wish they’d given her more time) and the send-off at the end was fantastic and highly emotional!

I'll try and post the links when I'm at home, I think I've bookmarked them. I saved both ballets to my computer.

I’m looking forward to the cinema broadcast! As I haven’t seen any of tonight’s ballets live on stage, I prepared myself by watching what I could find on youtube: MSND with ABT (Ferri / Stiefel) and a quite fuzzy one with the RB (Dowell / Sibley) which I nevertheless enjoyed very much. I also found a recording of SV, with Bonelli, Marquez, McRae, Morera and two dancers I didn’t know, I’ve watched it many times now and I think it’s already a favourite. So many wonderfully surprising twists and turns and what an abundance of terre-à-terre and exciting arms. If I were in London right now, I’d watch every single performance of SV. Hopefully the camerawork doesn’t ruin it, like Rhapsody last year. I don’t know if I will love M&A except for Zenaida Yanowsky, I’m sure I won’t be able to take my eyes off her. Such a pity I haven’t seen more of her, I should have come over to London much earlier and more often…!

Hope all the lucky ones who were able to see so many Mayerlings don’t suffer from withdrawal symptoms now. I feel quite envious, but I’ve benefited greatly from reading all of your comments and enlightening details, especially about previous performances and diverse interpretations. I had read about the ballet in “Different Drummer” and only seen the DVD with Watson / Galeazzi and then the live performances were a true revelation. The South Bank Show also is a very good source. Now I still have to watch the DVD with Mukhamedov / Durante I just received... and then I’m ready for a new run of Mayerlings…!

Yes, that's why I had planned it out so very thoroughly, you see.

I'd buy that on the spot. I too have a paintbrush story to tell, but it’s not new. Once I lived in a flat which was spacious but quite dark, so I decided to paint my bedroom all white. I planned the whole business very carefully and removed everything from the room except for an old wardrobe. After I had finished the ceiling and the walls I started on the floorboards and when I was applying the last bit of paint, my neighbour came over and suggested a visit to the pub. ‘Yes”, I said, ‘just let me change into something clean’. … … … I had to wear borrowed clothes for two days before the floor could be stepped on and I was able to get my own things from my wardrobe.

A pale phantom! Photos or it didn't happen !

The influential music critic Eduard Hanslick (1825 – 1904) wrote in his memoir (“Aus meinem Leben”, 1894) about his acquaintanceship to Rudolf. They first met in 1884 when Rudolf suggested Hanslick should write about the music in Vienna and Austria for a projected encyclopedia of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Rudolf himself wrote a few chapters. The work took five years and the Crown Prince was present at most or all of the planning and discussion sessions with all involved. Hanslick enthusiastically describes him as kind, educated, generous and particularly (!) patient. About twice or three times a year Hanslick was invited to dinner and he describes the casual atmosphere and the interesting conversation. He’s charmed by Stephanie, her musicality, her elegant posture and her ability to remember everybody’s face and name. Hanslick was shocked when he heard of the suicide in 1889. (There’s nothing in his memoir about a mentally disordered Prince or lovers or addiction.) Here is the said chapter (in German) http://www.zeno.org/Kulturgeschichte/M/Hanslick,+Eduard/Aus+meinem+Leben/Zehntes+Buch/1.

*** flowerthrow! ***

Yes, absolutely. But we are in a ballet, not in a historical documentary... I can live with that.

The mob-capped twirlers haven't been at the ball and don't know what has happened. They are excited for Stephanie and think about romance. Elisabeth’s ladies are there to support and admire the Empress. Yes, we know more than they do, we don’t need them for the storytelling. But they set a scene for something very different from what they are expecting: there will be no romantic wedding night or relaxing sleep.

May 3. and I had to wear gloves when cycling to work. (Enter an old english swear word here, I don't know any)

Remember Sleeping Beauty, the interlude? Music without movement makes a ballet audience fidget. And I think there is a sort of mutual agreement – we know there’s a scene change behind that curtain and the choreography is made for it so we can sit back and watch and air our brains a little. Maybe the whores or the maids or Elisabeth’s ladies don’t move things along but they are setting a certain mood or vibe and they are defining a particular space and time for a scene. The single scene where I feel a little disappointed is the hunting party because there is a definite build-up (is that a word?), people were coming and going and suddenly it’s over – certainly it’s a very effective ending but what has happened before? (Must watch the DVD again).

Dances at a Gathering Rhapsody with Hayward / Hay Last act Bayadere with the POB and Laurent Hilaire ... or anything with drama and Zenaida Yanowsky and Ed Watson in it.

Next time, Alison. I'll properly announce it beforehand

Having seen both the Watson / Osipova and the Bonelli / Morera performances on the Friday and Saturday I can’t really add anything to the extensive and articulate reviews I’ve read here. So I’d just like to say that I’m very glad I had the chance to come over and have my first and second Mayerling experience with these stunningly exciting artists. To see the various interpretations and how they changed the colourings of the story was incredibly moving. I have nothing but praise for the dancers and I feel as if having received an unexpected present - so grateful. Thank you Royal Ballet for giving us such a wealth of talent, commitment, spirit, and soul.

The Geffrye is lovely! The whole site is so peaceful and charming. Very beautiful period gardens, there was a huge wisteria in full bloom and even a rose. Afterwards I took a bus to the Old Truman Brewery to see Andre Uspenski’s Photographies, I liked some of them very much, I wish I were rich…! The ones I liked most were not your typical dancer’s photos but quite dramatic images with strong contrasts. If you are in London you should take the opportunity and have a look at them.

I'm coming over for the first performance on Friday and the Matinee on Saturday. Very excited already!

If I read the website correctly, the Almshouses are only open with a tour? Then I'll miss them because there is none on Friday.

If you can be patient and wait 100 years...?

Thanks Dave, yes, when I looked up Kingsland Road on Google maps it didn't look so appealing. Your description of Brick Lane sounds a bit like some places nearby where I live, if you exchange "Curry" for "Döner"... so I think I'll follow your suggestion and have a look at Spitalfields.