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

[capybara]

Feeling the need to get back to the performances of a ballet that I love, warts and all.

 

Perhaps more in due course but, for now, I found last night's performance by Edward Watson absolutely awesome. Rudolf's story doesn't simply resonate through his acting: it inhabits his every move (and, in doing so, reveals the genius of MacMillan).

[alison]

I'm getting desperately sad at the thought that that might be the last one of his I ever see ...

[bridiem]

36 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

I still don't see why it should be necessary to add a curly-haired "whore chorus".  Mitzi's costume and the choreography she is given are sufficient to mark her profession and make a distinction between her and the 'respectable' court ladies.  Why have the corps dressed so suggestively and have them engage in far lewder choreography than that given to Mitzi?  It would surely have been sufficient, if a 'crowd scene' were really needed here, to use less cartoonishly titillating costumes and more subtle choreography?

 

I don't actually find the costumes 'cartoonishly titillating' - more vivid and maybe even crude, which may well be appropriate in the circumstances. And I'm not sure why the choreography needs to be more subtle. It wasn't a subtle environment - as you later say, it was a 'seedy netherworld'.

[Lindsay]

Seedy netherworlds can be subtle and interesting too.  I suspect this issue is just a matter of differing tastes though and am happy for people to return to discussing the performances.

[MAB]

2 hours ago, Mary said:

The scene with Empress Elizabeth is very involving -when so well danced as it has been this run it can be brilliant- but, taking it all in all, are we meant to feel that because his mother was a bit chilly towards him, it is ample explanation for Rudolf's turning into a drug-addled bully and rapist, for whom we can feel sympathy?

If so it doesn't work for me. (Certainly as danced by Yanowsky and Avis, these imperial lovers seemed to me the most attractive characters on the stage-their pas de deux a very moving portrayal of a pair who are not just lovers, but friends- but I am sure that had to do with the dancers concerned.)

 

 

Elizabeth having a lover is total fiction, she had a pathological aversion to sex,  A complex character in her own right, poor Elizabeth was as much a brood mare as Stephanie, her relationship with her children might have been healthier were it not for being the victim of the mother in law from hell.  Her Bavarian cousin Otto was King of Greece and she fled there to build her palace in Corfu, the only place where she found any happiness.  She is one of the few characters in the ballet that in real life was in any way sympathetic.

 

 

[penelopesimpson]

I don't wish to offend but Lindsay I wonder why you go to see a ballet that contains whores/prostitutes/ladies of the night, whatever you wish to call them, when clearly they upset you.

 

Mayerling is a story woven around actual events.  Very possibly it contains dramatisations that were not part of the real tragedy but it is just that, a dramatic fantasy.  Inevitably much-loved ballets sometimes include elements that some of us might prefer were either removed or changed in concept.  I find some of the character dances in Sleeping Beauty utterly banal, but I accept them for what they are, part of the whole.  However, I don't book for this ballet unless there are very particular attractions (Naghdi and Ball) because I find it unsatisfying.

 

Macmillan developed Mayerling as a dark work that allowed him to create extraordinary choreography.  It never fails to move me and I am blown away that this country has as its resident ballet company a team of dancers capable of fielding four excellent casts, which include some absolutely astonishing performances.  I find the tavern scene utterly appropriate and the three different companions who have shared the experience with me have been enthralled from beginning to end.  And none of them are ballet phobes.  To try to start taking pieces out of the ballet as if it were some sort of pick and mix seems to me to miss entirely the point of this hugely emotional unleashing of passion through dance. 

[penelopesimpson]

3 hours ago, RuthE said:

Catherine Carby has written a nice article today on her website about the experience of playing Katharina Schratt:

 

https://catherinecarby.com/news/2017/5/3/ballet-and-all-that-jazz

Thank you for posting that.  I think she sums it up well:  lavish, intense, brooding.  Absolutely.

[penelopesimpson]

54 minutes ago, alison said:

I'm getting desperately sad at the thought that that might be the last one of his I ever see ...

Me, too.  Can hardly bear it.  I was thinking of flowers on May 11th.  If I take them in earlier, does anybody know if they will get to him (I know the men don't get them on stage)?

[Lindsay]

Depictions of prostitution don't upset me Penelope, it's simply that I found elements of this particular scene gratuitous.  I have said several times that there was much that I enjoy about Mayerling but was also responding to a suggestion from someone upthread that posters might share negative as well as positive responses.  It is possible to  perceive flaws in a work and still find it interesting.  It was not my intention to upset you or anyone else and I'm genuinely sorry if I have done so.

[Sunrise]

I don't find the tavern scenes offensive or distasteful myself, just a bit dull and very long, and the music and choreography very repetitive. I think MacMillan could have set the scene and made his point much more quickly. I feel the same somewhat about Manon, but I adore the harlots in R&J, I guess because the music is amazing, and they have so much more personality and life in them. 

 

Conversely, for me the Juliets friends scene is the low point after the climax of Juliet's poisoning, of an otherwise fabulous ballet. But I love the maids leading up to Stephanie's solo - they seem to build up the tension of what is to come.

 

I wouldn't want to cut whole scenes from Mayerlings as I can see the purpose they serve to the narrative and layer building - I just wish they could be generously snipped ;-)

 

Watson last night, I agree, was fabulous.

[bridiem]

I used to think that there was a fair bit of padding in Mayerling; now, I find every moment adds another detail to the whole and I wouldn't want to lose anything. I suppose the ballet as a whole is a bit like the empire it depicts - a huge, glittering, self-destructive maelstrom. 

[penelopesimpson]

30 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Depictions of prostitution don't upset me Penelope, it's simply that I found elements of this particular scene gratuitous.  I have said several times that there was much that I enjoy about Mayerling but was also responding to a suggestion from someone upthread that posters might share negative as well as positive responses.  It is possible to  perceive flaws in a work and still find it interesting.  It was not my intention to upset you or anyone else and I'm genuinely sorry if I have done so.

Lindsay you haven't upset me and yes, I absolutely love the discussions - whether I agree or not is absolutely of no consequence.  I was only going into detail because you seemed to have such a problem with this scene.  There are many reasons why I like it - change of pace, less intensity amidst all that passion, vulgarity contrasted with the stifling correctness of the Austrian court and, above all, a rare chance in this ballet for the corps to shine.

 

I think there is a distinct difference between what we like and flaws.  I don't enjoy the dances I referred to in Sleeping Beauty but I regard that as personal preference rather than a flaw.

[Lindsay]

I suppose I consider this a flaw rather than a mere preference because of what it says about women in ballet and the fact that Macmillan's approach is still influencing and being perpetuated by current choreographers. But I don't want to derail this thread onto that issue so I shall say no more on the subject! I am glad that I did not upset you.

[Johnpw]

41 minutes ago, bridiem said:

I used to think that there was a fair bit of padding in Mayerling; now, I find every moment adds another detail to the whole and I wouldn't want to lose anything. I suppose the ballet as a whole is a bit like the empire it depicts - a huge, glittering, self-destructive maelstrom. 

According to Jann Parry's biography of McMillan most reviewers of the first performances recommended cuts and, along the way, cuts have been made. According to her, one was to omit Katherina Schratt's song "to speed the action and spare the expense of a singer"(!). (Perhaps those with long historical memories of the work remember that).

Some cuts were restored and I'm certainly glad that the song was. In choosing it out of all Liszt's song repertoire, I think it shows once again John Lanchbery's unerring taste in selecting music that contributed appropriately to the drama and the mood. It allows Rudolf some rare moments of "expressive stillness". One doesn't need to understand all the words - just the title ("Ich scheide" - "I am leaving") and the harmonic language tell us what we need to know at what may be intended to be a "turning point".

I don't know when the "final version" of the ballet was settled but apparently it does include cuts to scenes with the Corps, compared with the 1978 version. (I think someone mentioned the Hunting Scene, as an example)

[penelopesimpson]

1 hour ago, Lindsay said:

I suppose I consider this a flaw rather than a mere preference because of what it says about women in ballet and the fact that Macmillan's approach is still influencing and being perpetuated by current choreographers. But I don't want to derail this thread onto that issue so I shall say no more on the subject! I am glad that I did not upset you.

I am interested in your phrase 'because of what it says about women in ballet.' I can't see that it says anything other than that great dancers show enormous versatility.  As I said before, I detect that you have strong feelings about prostitution which is fine.  I feel equally strongly about other issues in life.  But you can't surely start retrospectively bring political correctness into either history or fantasy?  This is a trend which seems to have started, oddly, in our Universities and is something I deplore.  The current controversy around the re-naming of the Colston Hall in Bristol is just one example.  

 

How do you cope with Manon?

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, Johnpw said:

According to Jann Parry's biography of McMillan most reviewers of the first performances recommended cuts and, along the way, cuts have been made. According to her, one was to omit Katherina Schratt's song "to speed the action and spare the expense of a singer"(!). (Perhaps those with long historical memories of the work remember that).

Some cuts were restored and I'm certainly glad that the song was. In choosing it out of all Liszt's song repertoire, I think it shows once again John Lanchbery's unerring taste in selecting music that contributed appropriately to the drama and the mood. It allows Rudolf some rare moments of "expressive stillness". One doesn't need to understand all the words - just the title ("Ich scheide" - "I am leaving") and the harmonic language tell us what we need to know at what may be intended to be a "turning point".

I don't know when the "final version" of the ballet was settled but apparently it does include cuts to scenes with the Corps, compared with the 1978 version. (I think someone mentioned the Hunting Scene, as an example)

 

Yes, the hunting scene is definitely shorter than it was. I'm not actually convinced it was necessary to cut it since the longer build-up to the climax was very effective. I don't remember the song being cut, but I'm glad it was restored - it's beautiful and haunting. But the ballet still runs to 3 hours with two average-length (for the ROH) intervals, so I assume the other cuts couldn't have been that significant - or did it run for much longer than 3 hours originally? (I don't remember that being the case, but it is a long time ago...).

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Johnpw said:

According to Jann Parry's biography of McMillan most reviewers of the first performances recommended cuts and, along the way, cuts have been made. According to her, one was to omit Katherina Schratt's song "to speed the action and spare the expense of a singer"(!). (Perhaps those with long historical memories of the work remember that).

Some cuts were restored and I'm certainly glad that the song was. In choosing it out of all Liszt's song repertoire, I think it shows once again John Lanchbery's unerring taste in selecting music that contributed appropriately to the drama and the mood. It allows Rudolf some rare moments of "expressive stillness". One doesn't need to understand all the words - just the title ("Ich scheide" - "I am leaving") and the harmonic language tell us what we need to know at what may be intended to be a "turning point".

 

 

It has been cut, it used to have more than one verse.

[Vanartus]

I've always thought that the role of  prostitutes in his ballets were his Bob Fosse moments. There's a style line which links their image portrayal with Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin in photographic terms. The tart with the heart/honest harlot is a constant thread in so many artworks, and by the 60's and 70's the stage and cinema presentation  of women's liberation was often  - for our 21c eyes - reduced to portraying overt sexuality and loucheness  as a reaction against bourgeois values. OK - I'm wildly oversimplifying a complex issue...There's a lot of good stuff out there by writers who try to chart and interpret the plus and minus values of the way women are portrayed, used and/or presented in post-war dance. Are MacMillan's prostitutes a valid leitmotif or a cliché? My feeling is that they are a product of their time , but I don't find them offensive. 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Vanartus
Missed words

[Lindsay]

Since you asked Penelope, this is truly not about me being 'upset' by prostitution. It is me disliking the rather lazy dramatic cliche of "jolly whores", with groups of women, unnamed characters, presented as mere decorative objects strutting to entertain men.  It is a very old-fashioned and somewhat misogynistic  device that you very rarely see presented in such an un-nuanced way in modern theatre. It is not that female sex workers shouldn't be portrayed - Manon (and Mitzi Caspar) are properly drawn characters given real choreography through which to express themselves. But the way Macmillan portrays the female corps in Mayerling is one-dimensional with choreography designed only to titillate (the male corps are never asked to wiggle their bottoms at the audience or open their legs suggestively). 

 

Of course this kind of 'chorus scene' was more generally acceptable in the 1970s (it was after all the age of Benny Hill chasing bikini-clad models around parks!) but what dismayed me was the realisation that Macmillan's trope still serves as a model for some contemporary choreographers, thereby perpetuating outdated one-dimensional portrayals of women.

 

But unlike some of the protest campaigns you refer to, I was at no point arguing that this ballet should be cut or not staged.  I absolutely believe in freedom of speech and of artistic expression.  And that also includes the right of each of us to express our responses to a piece of work.  Although I enjoyed Mayerling, parts of it made me uncomfortable. It may be there are things I enjoy which you strongly dislike and I would absolutely defend your right to say so and explain why.  I hope that I have answered your questions - I don't want to take the discussion any further off topic.

 

Edited to add: I cross posted with Vanartus and agree with much of their post.  I don't think I find Macmillan's prostitutes offensive so much as dated and rather wearisome. I am really more dismayed by the same thing appearing in new ballets....

Edited May 3, 2017 by Lindsay

[Vanartus]

Yep - agree - Scarlett's Frankenstein brothel scene didn't work and it seemed just wrong. 

[loveclassics]

6 hours ago, David said:

 

Rudolf’s Great Grandson outlined six reasons for his suicide: “his troubled relationship with his mother who cared little for him, his bad relationship with the Emperor his father, his catastrophic marriage, his many love affairs, none of which led to fulfillment, his bad health and the frustration of his political objectives”. adding “he was a total failure as a human being, as a husband, as a son and as a father.” It seems to me that MacMillan reflects this perspective pretty well. If anything he offers a slightly more redeeming portrait - particularly as, for example Bonelli portrays him.

 

I have read a number of books on the history of this particular section of the Hapsberg history and I'm not sure it helps.  On the one hand we have the accepted view of Rudolf, drug and sex addicted with a catastrophic family background which is what Macmillan shows us.  On the other hand, there are several well-researched books that show a completely different view.  Much of the Crown Prince's personal documents are still in the Vienna State Archives - including his tender love letters to his wife and his passionate political writings about the need for a more liberal government and the evils of anti-Semitism (very prevalent at the time).

 

I've just finished 'The Reluctant Empress' about his mother, which reveals a very sad woman who hated all forms of human intimacy and was only happy alone and far away from Austria.  The author maintains she was forced into marriage too young,  had no lovers and only admired Bay Middleton for his skill as a horseman.  She also cared nothing for her first daughter or Rudolf.   The Emperor, in contrast, was capable of rape until his 60s, possibly because his wife gave him so little physical affection.  But the Empress definitely encouraged his relationship with Katherine Schratt as it made it easier for her to escape for long periods.  As a portrait of a dysfunctional family it could hardly be bettered.

 

I'm just starting 'A Hapsberg Tragedy' which focuses more on Rudolf himself but I have mixed feelings about reading too much before I see the ballet.  Another book I read last year: 'The Road to Mayerling' suggested that much of the lurid stories we read about Rudolf are disinformation put about by the secret police of the time who were afraid of Rudolf's liberal ideas.  (There are even suggestions that he was murdered by the state but I don't want to get into the wilder fringes of conspiracy theory).  The author of that book suggested that Rudolf was driven to suicide by despair over the political situation and his remote chance of changing this for the better.  A repressive upbringing and no family support added to his lack of confidence and led to his ultimate suicide but even then he needed a willing accomplice to help him on his way.

 

It's all so sad and my overriding feeling at the end of the ballet is usually relief that it's finally over!  But I'm going to see Soares and Cuthbertson tomorrow in the hope the amazing pdds will make it all worth it.

 

Linda

 

Would like to add that I too find Macmillan's too-frequent use of prostiitutes a little tiresome but it's the Keystone Cops that really annoy me!

Edited May 3, 2017 by loveclassics
Postcript

[alison]

4 hours ago, Johnpw said:

According to Jann Parry's biography of McMillan most reviewers of the first performances recommended cuts and, along the way, cuts have been made. According to her, one was to omit Katherina Schratt's song "to speed the action and spare the expense of a singer"(!). (Perhaps those with long historical memories of the work remember that).

 

I remember at least one run where that happened.  Given that I didn't see the ballet until 1992, and then only once in that run, I'd guess it must have been some time between 1994 and the early-ish 2000's.  I've just flipped through my cast sheets, but can't be certain whether any of the listed performers were non-singers.

 

I printed off the lyrics for Ich Scheide: 4 verses, only the latter two of which I recognised.  But does she really begin with "Ist Alles nur ein Kommen und Gehen" (writing from memory, so that may not be accurate), or is there some alternative verse she sings before that?

[Johnpw]

22 minutes ago, alison said:

I printed off the lyrics for Ich Scheide: 4 verses, only the latter two of which I recognised.  But does she really begin with "Ist Alles nur ein Kommen und Gehen" (writing from memory, so that may not be accurate), or is there some alternative verse she sings before that?

Yes, at the performances I've seen, she begins at the third verse  ("Ist Alles etc"). I had assumed that Lanchbery deliberately decided on that as it's the last two verses that are "heavy" with words of farewell  ("Lebt wohl") and that he could do without the first verses about "herbs in the meadow". Now that I've read about cuts I don't know. But even if truncated by subsequent cuts, the song remains effective for the dramatic purpose, I think. 

[Sim]

6 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Me, too.  Can hardly bear it.  I was thinking of flowers on May 11th.  If I take them in earlier, does anybody know if they will get to him (I know the men don't get them on stage)?

Yes....the flowers will be delivered to his dressing room if you take them early.

[Geoff]

5 hours ago, loveclassics said:

 (There are even suggestions that he was murdered by the state but I don't want to get into the wilder fringes of conspiracy theory). 

 

The tragedy at Mayerling is a rare example of a historical event where new and dramatic evidence has emerged, not so long ago. Not only is any speculation about murder (including that promoted by, for example, the Empress Zita) now known to be nonsense, much of the rest of pre-2015 writing on the affair needs to be either revised or (the more outre work) abandoned. Why? The sources are in German but briefly summarised in English on Wikipedia (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayerling_incident ):-

 

>>On 31 July 2015 the Austrian National Library issued copies of Vetsera's letters of farewell to her mother and other family members. These letters, previously believed lost or destroyed, were found in a safe deposit box in an Austrian bank, where they had been deposited in 1926. The letters - written in Mayerling shortly before the deaths - state clearly and unambiguously that Vetsera was preparing to commit suicide alongside Rudolf, out of "love". They will be made available to scholars and are likely to be exhibited in public in 2016.

 

The case now seems to be finally closed (it is generally accepted the letters are authentic and they are certainly entirely clear on the matter). I had a quick look in the present ROH programme but it does not seem to have been updated. Interesting that Macmillan should have left us two ballets which are subject to new historical evidence: Anastasia is the more serious case, as the DNA evidence led to revisions to that ballet when it was revived recently.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by Geoff

[penelopesimpson]

9 hours ago, Lindsay said:Since you asked Penelope, this is truly not about me being 'upset' by prostitution. It is me disliking the rather lazy dramatic cliche of "jolly whores", with groups of women, unnamed characters, presented as mere decorative objects strutting to entertain men.  It is a very old-fashioned and somewhat misogynistic  device that you very rarely see presented in such an un-nuanced way in modern theatre. It is not that female sex workers shouldn't be portrayed - Manon (and Mitzi Caspar) are properly drawn characters given real choreography through which to express themselves. But the way Macmillan portrays the female corps in Mayerling is one-dimensional with choreography designed only to titillate (the male corps are never asked to wiggle their bottoms at the audience or open their legs suggestively). 

 

Of course this kind of 'chorus scene' was more generally acceptable in the 1970s (it was after all the age of Benny Hill chasing bikini-clad models around parks!) but what dismayed me was the realisation that Macmillan's trope still serves as a model for some contemporary choreographers, thereby perpetuating outdated one-dimensional portrayals of women.

 

But unlike some of the protest campaigns you refer to, I was at no point arguing that this ballet should be cut or not staged.  I absolutely believe in freedom of speech and of artistic expression.  And that also includes the right of each of us to express our responses to a piece of work.  Although I enjoyed Mayerling, parts of it made me uncomfortable. It may be there are things I enjoy which you strongly dislike and I would absolutely defend your right to say so and explain why.  I hope that I have answered your questions - I don't want to take the discussion any further off topic.

 

Edited to add: I cross posted with Vanartus and agree with much of their post.  I don't think I find Macmillan's prostitutes offensive so much as dated and rather wearisome. I am really more dismayed by the same thing appearing in new ballets....

Thanks for the detailed reply, Lindsay.  I would just say that this, of course, is NOT Modern Theatre, and, more pertinently, it is depicting life in an earlier century.  I see nothing wrong with the tillitation (the actual moves are rather amusing) and provide light relief amidst all the intensity.  Importantly, the whores blatant exposition of sex provides an excellent contrast with the upright straightjacketed Austrian court.

 

i do get tired of this business of singling women our for special treatment under the so-called stereotyping argument. Whores were and are female.  You might just as well argue that men are always fighting in ballet and opera and that seeing them do so or even picking up a sword is stereotyping the male!

[penelopesimpson]

3 hours ago, Geoff said:

 

The tragedy at Mayerling is a rare example of a historical event where new and dramatic evidence has emerged, not so long ago. Not only is any speculation about murder (including that promoted by, for example, the Empress Zita) now known to be nonsense, much of the rest of pre-2015 writing on the affair needs to be either revised or (the more outre work) abandoned. Why? The sources are in German but briefly summarised in English on Wikipedia (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayerling_incident ):-

 

>>On 31 July 2015 the Austrian National Library issued copies of Vetsera's letters of farewell to her mother and other family members. These letters, previously believed lost or destroyed, were found in a safe deposit box in an Austrian bank, where they had been deposited in 1926. The letters - written in Mayerling shortly before the deaths - state clearly and unambiguously that Vetsera was preparing to commit suicide alongside Rudolf, out of "love". They will be made available to scholars and are likely to be exhibited in public in 2016.

 

The case now seems to be finally closed (it is generally accepted the letters are authentic and they are certainly entirely clear on the matter). I had a quick look in the present ROH programme but it does not seem to have been updated. Interesting that Macmillan should have left us two ballets which are subject to new historical evidence: Anastasia is the more serious case, as the DNA evidence led to revisions to that ballet when it was revived recently.

 

 

Thanks for the info, Geoff.  Absolutely fascinating.

[ninamargaret]

9 hours ago, loveclassics said:

 

I have read a number of books on the history of this particular section of the Hapsberg history and I'm not sure it helps.  On the one hand we have the accepted view of Rudolf, drug and sex addicted with a catastrophic family background which is what Macmillan shows us.  On the other hand, there are several well-researched books that show a completely different view.  Much of the Crown Prince's personal documents are still in the Vienna State Archives - including his tender love letters to his wife and his passionate political writings about the need for a more liberal government and the evils of anti-Semitism (very prevalent at the time).

 

I've just finished 'The Reluctant Empress' about his mother, which reveals a very sad woman who hated all forms of human intimacy and was only happy alone and far away from Austria.  The author maintains she was forced into marriage too young,  had no lovers and only admired Bay Middleton for his skill as a horseman.  She also cared nothing for her first daughter or Rudolf.   The Emperor, in contrast, was capable of rape until his 60s, possibly because his wife gave him so little physical affection.  But the Empress definitely encouraged his relationship with Katherine Schratt as it made it easier for her to escape for long periods.  As a portrait of a dysfunctional family it could hardly be bettered.

 

I'm just starting 'A Hapsberg Tragedy' which focuses more on Rudolf himself but I have mixed feelings about reading too much before I see the ballet.  Another book I read last year: 'The Road to Mayerling' suggested that much of the lurid stories we read about Rudolf are disinformation put about by the secret police of the time who were afraid of Rudolf's liberal ideas.  (There are even suggestions that he was murdered by the state but I don't want to get into the wilder fringes of conspiracy theory).  The author of that book suggested that Rudolf was driven to suicide by despair over the political situation and his remote chance of changing this for the better.  A repressive upbringing and no family support added to his lack of confidence and led to his ultimate suicide but even then he needed a willing accomplice to help him on his way.

 

It's all so sad and my overriding feeling at the end of the ballet is usually relief that it's finally over!  But I'm going to see Soares and Cuthbertson tomorrow in the hope the amazing pdds will make it all worth it.

 

Linda

 

Would like to add that I too find Macmillan's too-frequent use of prostiitutes a little tiresome but it's the Keystone Cops that really annoy me!

Thanks for the book recommendations - always interested in what my husband rudely called 'mouldering royalty'! Would also recommend the old DVD published by the BBC called Fall of Eagles, about the Hapsburg, Romanov families.

[Beryl H]

10 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

Yes, the hunting scene is definitely shorter than it was. I'm not actually convinced it was necessary to cut it since the longer build-up to the climax was very effective. I don't remember the song being cut, but I'm glad it was restored - it's beautiful and haunting. But the ballet still runs to 3 hours with two average-length (for the ROH) intervals, so I assume the other cuts couldn't have been that significant - or did it run for much longer than 3 hours originally? (I don't remember that being the case, but it is a long time ago...).

 

I found a 1991 programme and the finishing time was 10.25pm, don't know if the cuts were in place then but I can't remember it ever exceeding 3 hours, the intervals used to be strictly 20 minutes of course, Sylvia used to be given with another ballet and interval and finished within 3 hours!

 

 

 

 

 

[Josephine]

18 hours ago, Lindsay said:

Thanks Josephine.  I was really referring to the music hall dancers in Sweet Violet, who looked far more glamorous and healthy than I would expect if we were supposed to see them as downtrodden.  In addition, I don't think they were given very much to do choreographically - I only saw this ballet once when it was first staged a few years ago, but recall them mostly standing around in Degas-like poses - apologies if my recollection is patchy.  I agree that in the asylum and other scenes, the women had an important dramatic role.

Thanks Lindsay for your reply. I think you are right about the music hall corps dancers being given rather limited choreography, although Little Dot is given an extended solo. I agree that they looked a little too glamorous in their costumes when compared to the images in Sickert's music hall paintings. Interesting thread - I have enjoyed reading your comments in the various posts.

[Tatiana]

On 5/3/2017 at 07:44, Mary said:

 

Hello Tatiana

I'd be interested to hear more, if you felt like it, about why you say that.. I do know what you mean ( I think)...I am not wholly convinced by Mayerling either.

There has been overwhelmingly positive reaction on the thread and most reviews but perhaps less positive feelings are not being posted up? Maybe.

 

Hi! Replying a little late, sorry. I was excited to see Mayerling despite how much I disliked Anastasia, which is the only other Macmillan proper I've seen, but it did end up disappointing me. I think my problem with Mayerling, (and Anastasia, for that matter,) is that it felt very much like performance art theatre and not dance. Far too many characters, all dressed too similarly, lots of static scenes and heavy staging. Even knowing the historical context very well, I found it hard to follow, and it failed to really grab my attention until the last act.

I do think it was a beautiful spectacle though, especially the costumes, and of course the cast (when they actually got to dance...) were absolutely wonderful. It's just not something I'd go and see twice.

[Anna C]

On 03/05/2017 at 11:35, bangorballetboy said:

See here for the useful relationship tree: Mayerling

 

Thank you, BBB - this is great.  Dd seeing Mayerling for the first time so this will be very useful for her. 

[JohnS]

Apologies for the delay in posting and I see so many interesting posts in the last 48 hours.  Hope it's not too late to add my comments on Tuesday's Mayerling.  Another scintillating performance, with Ed utterly convincing as Rudolf. Stellar cast all on great form and no costume/props problems that I noticed (although not as close to the stage as for the opening night so couldn't vouch for Rudolf's moustache).  

 

A special mention for Martin Yates' conducting and the superb orchestral playing, and of course the marvellous Listz score orchestrated by John Lanchberry.  What a tremendous contribution the score makes to Mayerling.  A better aural perspective from Stalls Circle rather than front row stalls. 

 

I do hope penelopesimpson is successful with Ed's flowers and that they may get presented on stage.  Why not?  I can't see Ed dancing Widow Simone (or such like) which is of course one way of ensuring a bouquet is presented to a favourite male dancer.  We were delighted to take such an opportunity to do something for Bennet not so long ago - Bloomsberry Flowers came up trumps as always, complete with cabbages if you look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by JohnS
Trying to post photo but failing