Mayerling, Royal Ballet Autumn 2022

[art_enthusiast]

Also forgot to add that I loved Leticia Dias as Mitzi last night!

[TomS]

I was at Mayerling with Akane Takada and Ryoichi Hirano who replaced Steven last night. Their 2nd act bed room PDD, especially, was so fluid and intense. Having able to seen all combinations this season so far, pending Sambe/Hayward tonight, I would rate it among the best I’ve seen. Wow. Wow. Wow. 

The conducting was interesting as I was also there on Friday (Akane and Matthew) and I believe the tempo was faster last night which partially contributed to added vibrancy overall. The orchestra did the entrance of Baroness Larisch to Vetsera home in the 2nd act right this time. 

Yasmine’s was very convincing Baroness Larisch compared to her first appearance in my opinion, and overall, it turned out to be one of my best viewing of 7 Mayerlings so far. It’s so sad that tonight is the last day of the performances, but I hope Sambe/Hayward/Lamb would do it even better.

Edited December 1, 2022 by alison
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[JohnS]

I too enjoyed last night’s Mayerling although I didn’t think it was quite as scintillating as some recent performances this run.
Stand out performance for me was Itziar Mendizabel’s Empress Elisabeth - she’s been great throughout the run.

It was very good to see Yuhui Choe’s Stephanie, James Hay’s Bratfisch and Leticia Dias’s Mitzi.

There was much to admire in the three main roles - Riochi Hirano, Akane Takada and Yasmine Naghdi. But I wasn’t as convinced as some performances where I’ve felt the drama to be more compelling. I thought some of the dancing where steps are repeated by two or three characters not as tidy as some performances (Larisch, Mary and Valerie dancing with Rudolf in Act 1 and the card scene).

Looking forward very much to tonight’s performance.

[Sim]

So interesting to hear the different points of view about last night!  

[Rob S]

As I’ve got Flickr to work again I can post a pic or three!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Mary]

I always enjoy your marvellous photos Rob, but that second picture is particularly lovely: it really captures Akane's beauty and gracefulness (perfectly positioned between the motifs on the curtain) in a tiny moment of stillness as she sweeps off stage - and the hard work and pain are visible in that shoe....

 

[emmarose]

56 minutes ago, Mary said:

I always enjoy your marvellous photos Rob, but that second picture is particularly lovely: it really captures Akane's beauty and gracefulness (perfectly positioned between the motifs on the curtain) in a tiny moment of stillness as she sweeps off stage - and the hard work and pain are visible in that shoe....

 

 

I agree, this is an amazing photo!

[Richard LH]

49 minutes ago, emmarose said:

 

I agree, this is an amazing photo!

Definitely a "keeper"....thanks Rob!

[Richard LH]

4 hours ago, TomS said:

Their 2nd act bed room PDD, especially, was so fluid and intense.

Yes from their remarkable performances in these extremely physically demanding PDDs  you would never have guessed that Takada/Hirano were short-notice pairings, and the same can be said for Takada/Ball on Friday...the latter perhaps even more so given that (as far as I know) they haven't danced together in any major lead roles before.

[Henry]

12 hours ago, LinMM said:

Yesterday evening was waiting for a friend ( very into ballet) in the Almeida Theatre bar in Islington as we were going out for a birthday meal (not to see the show) when to my surprise  I saw a certain dancer who will be dancing tonight in the queue to enter Auditorium. I am 99.9 per cent sure it was him except I thought would a dancer with such an important night tonight go out to the theatre the night before🤔 At one point he was so close I nearly said I’m coming to see you dance tomorrow but realised how ridiculous this would sound if it wasn’t him. 
Also at that point I thought it was a play on called the Doctor in which suicide is talked about!!  Would he need this before performing in Mayerling? But later discovered it was a musical so a bit more cheery!! 
Anyway if anyone thinks the ROH is bad you should have seen the bar area at the Almeida at the three minute bell ….still 100,000 people milling around and people still trying to  buy tickets 😳

I was hoping my friend would arrive in time to say “yes it’s definitely him!!!” 
But alas at the one minute bell most of the queue and the bar were more or less inside ( how they managed it heaven knows!) 
Anyway if it was him and am sure it was hope Marcelino Sambe enjoyed the play before his big performance later on tonight!! 

May I ask, did Marcelino Sambe have a beard?  Just curious about the way that there is a beard for Act I and not for Act III.  Do they grow one and then shave at the interval?  Or is it fake?  I was disappointed to see that the make-up department had decided that he needed blusher on his cheeks this evening.  It really didn't look right.  (Not for the first time that ROH Make-up have made a mistake in my opinion...sorry.  Maybe that should be a separate thread.)  

[Guest oncnp]

4 minutes ago, Henry said:

May I ask, did Marcelino Sambe have a beard?  Just curious about the way that there is a beard for Act I and not for Act III.  Do they grow one and then shave at the interval?  Or is it fake?  

It's fake

The historical Rudolf shaved off his beard to spite his father. 

[LinMM]

No Marcelino Sambe (or his nearly identical twin) did not have a beard last night for sure!! 
I thought he was very good tonight in the role and just loved Francesca Hayward. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by LinMM

[Henry]

11 minutes ago, oncnp said:

It's fake

The historical Rudolf shaved off his beard to spite his father. 

Thanks.  That's interesting.  The Emperor Franz Joseph is usually depicted with moustache and sideburns - but no beard.   Though I suppose that in the ballet, all this is done to show the passing of time.  

[ellyb]

I thought Sambe was fantastic, and got better and better as the evening wore on. Whilst his partnering was always strong I did feel some of the das de deux could have flowed slightly more but his tormented solos were outstanding – I really felt his turmoil and angst, like he wanted to crawl out of his own head! And the final pas de deux was absolutely wonderful, and I think actually the most secure that I’ve seen this run; those terrifying final lifts where all too often I’m out of the moment because I’m thinking how exhausted he looks or even worried he’ll drop her, thankfully tonight Hayward was definitely in safe hands. I enjoyed her Mary, especially in the card scene; she managed to come across as very young and excited. I’m not totally sold on the chemistry however, at least until that final scene. I really liked Lamb’s Larisch, obsessive and slightly unhinged - you could see why they would’ve been attracted! Increasingly desperate in her attempts to keep him interested her procuring Mary made sense which it doesn’t always, I don’t think most ‘normal’ women would arrange for their partners to have affairs with teenage girls however much they might want to maintain the relationship. Also loved Magri’s Mitzi and Medizabal’s Empress, both very well suited to their roles. Another night, another triumphant Rudolf. Looking forward to the next run!

 

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

 … Marcelino Sambe … I thought he was very good tonight in the role and just loved Francesca Hayward. 

I’ll second that. A mature, intense and very physical performance from Sambe, who blitzed the road to ruin with a powerhouse display of strength and virtuosity amidst a moral vacuum of disillusionment, despair and the inevitable decline.
 

If it didn’t leave me in quite as many pieces as Vadim the other week, that was because this Rudolf was a victim of his own demons from the start: no other outcome was possible; there was nowhere else to go. But what a way to go! The pas de deux with Hayward were electrifying and their chemistry, for me, was blisteringly hot. 

So, yes, I too loved Hayward, once again the perfect conduit for the complex women that we recognise from so many of MacMillan’s works: that singular mixture of dubious morality, naivety and a reckless spontaneity that should carry an automatic health warning or come with a sign stating “doesn’t end well”.

 

What an extraordinary roll call of debuts we have had and how thrilling to see the strength in depth at all levels in the company right now. Long may it continue!

[Rob S]

 

 

[Cescablue]

It was my first time in the House for Mayerling for about 25 years (Mukhamedov and Durante!). I loved it - I thought Sambe and Hayward had chemistry in spades, and the whole thing was emotionally devastating!  I was also struck by how engaged the audience was - those final moments when Mary and Rudolf hold the gun and just look at it - not a sound, except for their breathing from the stage.

 

I loved Itziar as the Empress - I believe she must have been in many of the performances this run.  She and Marci totally deserved their applause after the first act pas de deux, so very moving.

 

An aside - I believe Queen Margarethe of Denmark was in the royal box, ushered in by Kevin O'Hare.  In fact I think they may have held the curtain for her. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Cescablue

[alison]

I'm not sure whether that had anything to do with it or not: there appeared to be some major problem with tickets going on in the Orchestra Stalls - plus there were a lot of latecomers.

 

I see RobS was there after all ...

[Cescablue]

Yes, there was definitely something going on with tickets in the stalls.  I can't understand why so many people leave it so late to get to the auditorium - I'm always just so excited to be there I go and take the atmosphere in as soon as I can! 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Cescablue

[capybara]

25 minutes ago, Cescablue said:

Yes, there was definitely something going on with tickets in the stalls.  I can't understand why so many people leave it so late to get to the auditorium - I'm always just so excited to be there I go and take the atmosphere in as soon as I can! 

 

The problems usually arise because people with stalls Circle tickets are mistakenly occupying Orchestra stalls seats.

[Guest oncnp]

10 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

The problems usually arise because people with stalls Circle tickets are mistakenly occupying Orchestra stalls seats.

 

Compounded by the lack of ushers at the stalls doors to redirect them

[Rob S]

13 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

The problems usually arise because people with stalls Circle tickets are mistakenly occupying Orchestra stalls seats.

 

Although the one last night must've been row F-G so not sure how they could do that on this occasion.

[Richard LH]

22 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

The problems usually arise because people with stalls Circle tickets are mistakenly occupying Orchestra stalls seats.

Really? Presumably that would only apply to people having a row A, B or C Stalls Circle ticket....Imagine happily sitting in say C23 in the Orchestra Stalls then realising you have to move to C23 in the Stalls Circle! 

I can't understand people not being sufficiently interested in where they will be sitting in a theatre until the  last minute!

Edit...From Rob's post, other rows were involved for some reason...

Edited December 1, 2022 by Richard LH
Rob's post just overtook mine

[San Perregrino]

To add a postscript to this incredible run of Mayerling performances by everyone on stage, it struck me that if ever there is a ballet of ‘Gone With The Wind’, in his white tie and tails, Lukas BB is perfect casting for Rhett Butler (the Clark Gable role).

[LinMM]

Hmm not sure PeterS …..what about Calvin Richardson …with his moustache!! He kept catching my eye last night just for his sheer stage presence though the dancing from all the Hungarian officers was really very good. 
As for the ticket thing maybe it’s just me but I’m a bit neurotic about knowing exactly where to go so if not already clued up will always seek out an usher to double check and there’s no reason for me to be neurotic because I sort of know the ROH reasonably well anyway….but almost certainly if in any strange to me theatre it would be the first thing I’d do on arrival though when you actually go in these days at ROH there isn’t always an usher on the door but they are always downstairs in the main entrance area and usually very knowledgeable. 
I get really annoyed with people getting into seat as lights going down after an interval. Arriving could have some excuse if there has been real hold up on public transport but there’s no excuse for being late back to seat from an interval!! 

[SPD444]

1 hour ago, alison said:

I'm not sure whether that had anything to do with it or not: there appeared to be some major problem with tickets going on in the Orchestra Stalls - plus there were a lot of latecomers.

 

I see RobS was there after all ...

That is because the Piccadilly line was closed between Hyde park and Arnos Grove. I was sitting on a train from 6.30 until 7.30 so missed the first Act. Points failure at Covent Garden.

[Lizbie1]

2 hours ago, Cescablue said:

Yes, there was definitely something going on with tickets in the stalls.  I can't understand why so many people leave it so late to get to the auditorium - I'm always just so excited to be there I go and take the atmosphere in as soon as I can! 

 

I think there's a learned behaviour problem emerging: people leave it late because they know that the performance never starts or re-starts on time these days.

[Cescablue]

The Hungarian officers were really good last night and I agree that Calvin Richardson is very eye-catching on stage. Their dance with Mayara was a wonderful moment of light in the middle of it all.  

 

Seeing Mayerling again has reminded me of one time I went 30 years ago (eek!) when Stephen Jefferies and Leslie Collier were in the main roles.  All was, obviously, very dramatic until the terrible finale when Jefferies fell against the screen and onto the floor - and the screen panels from either side closed over the top of him and trapped him in! Probably not the first or last time it happened, but the giggling from those around me did kind of end the drama of it all!

[alison]

I've always been desperately worried in case one of the two dancers catches the screens and they all fall down.  Averted for this run, at least.

[Beryl H]

17 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Yes from their remarkable performances in these extremely physically demanding PDDs  you would never have guessed that Takada/Hirano were short-notice pairings, and the same can be said for Takada/Ball on Friday...the latter perhaps even more so given that (as far as I know) they haven't danced together in any major lead roles before.

 

I believe that Ryoichi Hirano and Akane Takada learnt the roles last time round but although Ryoichi didn't get a chance then, Akane Takada did on the last night, with Steven McRae, a fabulous performance!

 

 

[capybara]

9 minutes ago, Beryl H said:

 

I believe that Ryoichi Hirano and Akane Takada learnt the roles last time round but although Ryoichi didn't get a chance then, Akane Takada did on the last night, with Steven McRae, a fabulous performance!

 

 

 

I don’t understand. Hirano had three shows as Rudolf in 2018, replacing Edward Watson.

[alison]

And I thought Takada was scheduled to dance it last time, as well?  Or am I confusing it with another MacMillan ballet?

[Emeralds]

Does Beryl H mean last last (could be last last last) time around when Akane stepped in at the last minute to replace (I think) Sarah Lamb who was injured? This was just before Akane’s promotion to principal.