postie

fwiw, there's quite a smattering of Mayerling on Spotify >>

Mayerling (Ballet)

A lot of what follows maybe a particular artist known as Mayerling (unsure) ...

Mayerling Playlists x 4

Mayerling - Album

Mayerling - Excerpts

The Scandal at Mayerling (I think true crime)

The Mayerling Incident (true crime)

Samedi du Mayerling

Rudolph - Affaire Mayerling (original cast Vienna 2011). No idea what this is, some kind of *show biz* musical

.. and so it goes on.  For those unfamiliar, on Spotify every tune comes with a full description

On 22/10/2022 at 08:30, MildConcern said:

 I was a bit less taken than others - her Mary didn’t have a driving sense of destiny, the idea that she was the one who rose to the challenge and became the final catalyst that actually pushed Rudolf to execute his plans. In the second scene in Act 3 (where Larisch sends in Mary to revive Rudolf from his stupor) and he shoves her face against the metal of the gun, you felt her terror and not that she was truly a participant in the pact. I was very close in the stalls but still unsure whether that impression was deliberate interpretation choice (maybe a young, unthinking, pawn Mary) or perhaps a result of not being able to beat Muntagirov’s chemistry with others. If it is an interpretation choice, then my view is simply my own taste for a more “unhinged” Mary (enter, Osipova).

I didn't have a problem with this, though I'm not saying my reading is correct.

She's 17. I can only speak of London in recent decades, where there is no shortage of very well-educated young women with brilliant social skills and more front than Westfields shopping centre.  They can work a room of men like Pattie Boyd in her heyday, and then go back to A-Level revision on Monday. Or, in this case, rock up to a Prince's rooms in a delicious coat and underwear.

Complications only arise when things take a turn too far and bluffing won't suffice - lack of life experience, is all. Out of their depth, as happens at 17. An Uber escape not an option, either.

51 minutes ago, JohnS said:

Delighted to see all the rave reviews - a very special night. One or two further thoughts this morning.

It was Muntagirov’s combination of dance and drama that was so compelling. I don’t recall seeing Rudolf danced so beautifully yet showing such utter despair and disintegration.

Indeed. Also, it's not hard imagining cast members being instinctively lifted by that.

I was at the Insight and Rehearsal but tonight it really caught fire, for me.

Vadim deserved a SO the moment the curtain lifted. Isabella and Yasmine marvellous.

Exhilarating.

For any Friends who couldn't pick up tickets for the Friends' 60th Anniversary event on Sunday, some are now available >>

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/friends-60th-anniversary-dates?

13 minutes ago, oncnp said:

• Sports Science (x 2)

Interesting!

16 hours ago, capybara said:

This is very interesting, but how do you know this applies to dancers in the RB ( or any other company)?

They are (a) professional athletes, (b) very valuable asset's and (c) it is standard practice with elite performers.

I can't say for certain; it's possible the ROH has its head in the sand on this though it seems unlikely. Just in London there are so many centres of sporting excellence whether football, rugby, athletics, rowing, F1, tennis, etc. It's an industry.

just to add: I remember an interview with Carlos Acosta in which the conversation turned to his early influences (in Cuba). He said that one of the things that drew him in to dance was that he could equate what he was physically working towards with professional footballers, and that helped him considerably. 

Female athletes can go down to about 10% body fat, that's as lean as is healthy (breasts virtually go, comes a point where you can't do a lot more about the bum). Men max is about 3-ish%, iirc.

All this will be guided now at the ROH by science and regular testing (standard for pro athletes in the UK).

The great problem for men in this role is that more muscle equals less stamina; the single greatest issue for professional athletes is that trade-off. Mayerling requires both, and the issue can't be ignored or resolved.

Photos can, perhaps, be a guide for us, though I'm sure the lads in this piece are guided by the huge advances in recent years made by sports science. I actually wanted to ask Matt about this point at the Insight event.

People do change shape though we should remember 1lb of muscle looks the same as 7lbs of non-muscle (IIRC).

Imo, they are almost certainly gaining no more muscle than is necessary to lift specific people.

13 hours ago, Sim said:

 "It took about ten months to get it right" remembers Wall. "Kenneth made us all go away and read books on the subject. The facts seemed to change from book to book, and I felt quite lost. It wasn't until I read a chapter on Rudolf's childhood that I suddenly clocked on to how this person might have developed: the fact that he was marched around in the snow at 6.00 in the morning at the age of 6, and shot at, and deprived of his mother's love and attention made me understand a lot about what happened to him.

This is enlightening. As we know, the absence of a balanced psychological foundation has lifelong implications. So, for example, poor parental attachment and an absence or withholding of love do have enormous implications for the child as an adult.

In the context of Mayerling, regardless of relationship status, any form of appreciation from an admirer is often like crack cocaine. Perhaps the only defence against it is an understanding of the dynamic at work, and for that you do have to be open.

So, as I understand it, Rudolph wasn't aware and, as likely an essentially good person, the frustration of his susceptibly drove him towards madness.

Interestingly, had he lived another 10 years or so he might have been helped by a psychoanalyst by the name of Dr Freud who was, in this period developing new ideas on these matter, in the same city and just a few streets away.

2 hours ago, Beryl H said:

I was reading about this exhibition, it looks good but I would probably have to combine seeing it in the afternoon with a ballet performance in the evening, especially as it's close to Covent Garden.

 

Indeed. It's a 10-15 minute stroll to the Covent Garden piazza entrance of the ROH.

Bother Mayerling and La Boheme are 7.30pm kick-offs so a 5.30pm ticket at the National Gallery could work. With so many West End performances in the neighbourhood those Friday 5.30 tickets seem to be the first to go.

I noticed the new Freud exhibition at the National Gallery is £26, or £24 concessions. If, however, you can on a Friday evening after 5.30pm there is a  'pay what you can afford' option. You do need to book (see below). Availability is currently good but probably not for long The National shuts at 9pm.

One or two reviewers seem more interested in the labels alongside the exhibits but .... the art is the art.

>> Fridays after 5.30 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/the-credit-suisse-exhibition-lucian-freud-new-perspectives

I suspect not the right demographic but just to say as well as the old Santander/Boris bikes, London now has rental bikes everywhere that have electric motors. They look like this >>

https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-news/132342/lime-e-bike-boom-london/

I missed most of this though caught up somewhat later in the day - up all night having joined The Queue on a whim when I saw it had shortened and was almost at Tower Bridge.

Took 40-minutes to get there - after a minutes' silence standing up on a double-decker at a bus stop - and joined by Hays Galleria at 8.10pm on the Sunday night. I'd done the maths and was pleased to be spot on with a 01.30 estimate. Unfortunately, they closed the Hall as we were almost at the end of the Snake. Pah!

I knew they stopped for a while each night for cleaning, hoovering, changing things, but now added to that, we were told, were rehearsals. Allegedly. I still think they wanted to judge things so The Queue lasted until exactly 06.30, which is what happened. Anyway, what could have been under 6 hours ended up at 9. No complaints; everything was lovely.

When we went in it was, as so many have said, sombre, regal, special. The Hall was a unique mood. I went for my grannies, put a hand on my heart and then blew a kiss.

Also, as many have said, The Queue was memorable. We formed a group of 6; certainly random in the general sense but, actually, with a degree of self-sorting as the hours passed. We do have a whatsapp group now, and a meet up is planned before Christmas.

From a minutes' silence on a bus at 8pm on Tooley St to a Pret coffee at Waterloo station with my new friends at 05.30, I'm glad to have gone and, actually, to have shared the experience with erstwhile strangers. Those wartime ladies - the Queen and my grans - would have liked the community spirit, too.

Regarding the funeral, at Westminster, the piper fading into the distance playing 'Sleep dearie sleep'. One of several tricky moments.

Unsure where to put this ...

On Thursday, I couldn't get into the  Clore (the Mayerling Insight event) because my booking wasn't showing up on the webpage, as used on my phone.

The understanding usher encouraged me to go downstairs to the box office, where I was given a compliment slip with my seat details. Unfortunately, I did miss the first several minutes of the event.

Same thing happened last night (Salome - *intense*) but this time I thought to click Events > Past Events, as opposed to Events > Upcoming. It was there. For the event I was there for.

Anyway, as the kids say, just a heads up for anyone who relies on the website on the day.

Box office was helpful, usher was lovely, website the usual wet Wednesday.

This Insight was far more than I was expecting; quite mesmerising, in a distinctly steamy way. Could have watched Mayara guiding Matt and Laura for at least another hour. It felt like they weren't performing for us but as if we were eavesdropping as they progress through the process. To see elite performers like this is such a treat. Marvellous.

Can't wait to see them in 3 weeks. Five steamed up spectacles out of five.

p.s. as it was still early I wandered over Waterloo Bridge and traced the queue for Westminster Hall back to Tower Bridge, which was not the end.  What a sight, what an atmosphere. Quite the evening, all told.

I'm sure virtually everyone does this but, in case not, a suggestion that saved me from the infernal email merry-go-round >>

When you're logged in, your name should appear on the screen at top right, next to that basket icon.

If you click that there should be a black bar across the page with a few options to click including, on the left, 'Events'. Everything you have paid for is listed there, in 'official' format.

I have that page saved on my phone to show the usher the relevant booking details. Am I saying the obvious again?

For those of you with empty basket syndrome, are you logging in before you go shopping - not saying it's the answer but just a thought.

That's right. ROH has its own separate Rush.

I've experienced what you describe with 'papering' sites though not with this app.  I'm not one for West End musicals so perhaps that's why ..

48 minutes ago, Sim said:

Why are you surprised?  Is it well known?  Thanks for posting this link…I will certainly be having a look at what’s available.  

It's incorporated in every West End theatre ticketing model I know of and has been for years. Many rely on it as their only option now.

Better to download the phone app than the web page because you then have the option of daily 'Rush' tickets, which are always Stalls, often near the front, usually £25 or under (even the ROH has a weekly Rush) >>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TodayTix

16 minutes ago, Sim said:

I have just been looking at a few random West End theatre ticket prices.  There doesn't seem to be much available this week for less than £56 in the theatres I checked.

I'm surprised you are unaware of this >> https://www.todaytix.com/

Sorry, I remembered furlough as 90% but I'm sure 80% is correct

I have never been quite sure what the phrase "During the pandemic we lost £3 in every £5 of our income" is telling us. It isn't claiming a financial loss, and staff - though not freelancers - had the sanctuary of furlough. Whether the ROH made up the other 10% I don't know. It seems inevitable you would lose income with the building closed, the issue is remaining overheads.

What is clear is that the ticketing model has changed. What I do note is there are significantly more tickets available because there are more performances yet prices have increased to the point of it reducing attendance. So that's already a curious dynamic to me.

It does seem to also mean availability of all types of tickets increasing at each stage of release, both Friends and Public though perhaps not much to the advantage of Friends.

It seems to me we are in the early stages of this new model of increased performances / increased pricing /  public release holdback / under 25s / etc.

ROH clearly had a lot of time during lockdown to have a deep data mine. I'm not convinced what we are seeing now is entirely to do with the pandemic, or very much - though it might be convenient for the ROH to have that hanging in the air.

btw, I am not aware of ticket price increases on Roseberry Avenue.

I don't know a thing about this but assumed you need  a sea of parental permissions for every single participant under a certain age (16, maybe?).