The Royal Ballet
Mayerling
May 5th, 2017
I have spent more than a year looking forward to Mayerling, and on
May 5th, I was lucky enough to finally take my seat and watch this
remarkable ballet unfold.
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| © ROH |
There was very little I didn’t like about Mayerling, so I’ll start
with that. I felt the third act was less well put together than the rest of the
ballet. It lacked the clean transitions between scenes that made the first two
acts so smooth, and there was a bit of waiting around in darkness for sets to
reassemble for the next scene. I also felt the third act lacked intensity, and
was somewhat anticlimactic. The hunting scene, in which Rudolf accidentally
shoots a companion, came out of nowhere and didn’t make sense contextually. The
second scene, in Rudolf’s apartment with Countess Larisch and Mary Vetsera, was
beautifully crafted and very visceral and powerful, but the following – and
final scene – at Mayerling Hunting Lodge felt flat by comparison. The real
climactic moment was hidden behind a screen at the very back of the stage – if
they had to use the screen, they could’ve done something cool with shadows or
fake blood or something. It was the one moment of the ballet that felt false
and crafted rather than emotional and real, and because it came at the very end
of the ballet, that was the final impression you were left with. It was a
shame, because the rest of the ballet is so, so strong.
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| Sarah Lamb as Mary Vetsera © ROH |
My other issue was costuming. Although it’s a period piece, and they
were clearly going for a ‘look’, everyone ended up looking the same with
everyone in shades of brown and orange. If you didn’t know the dancers, it
would’ve been difficult to discern who the main players in the story were. If I
had designed the ballet, I would’ve given Larisch, Elisabeth, and Stephanie
each a unique colour that all their costumes were in – muted enough to blend
in, but still different enough to distinguish their character. Stephanie in
white or pale gold maybe, Elisabeth always in red or blue, Larisch in green.
Aside from those small issues, Mayerling was an absolutely stellar
ballet. Easily in my top 3. I could easily write for hours about much I loved
it, but I’ll have to narrow it down to a few things.
The leading dancers were all absolutely stellar. Federico Bonelli played Rudolf, and
while I was initially unsure about him after a few mistakes in his opening
variation, Bonelli quickly regained his confidence and completely owned both
the emotional and physical part of his character. Despite occasionally becoming
entangled in costumes, he executed lifts flawlessly, partnering four different women
– and a few men – across the ballet with seemingly effortless finesse. I
honestly could not pick out a favourite partnership, he worked so well with
every dancer. His acting was wonderful, and displayed Rudolf’s descent into
madness with great realism. Laura Morera
played Rudolf’s lover Mary Vetsera; though she blended into the background
early on, Morera’s performance quickly became a highlight. She was so entirely
in her character, there isn’t a moment where you could see the dancer – it was
just Mary Vetsera onstage (if that makes sense). I felt that she established a believable
character that was characterized by her obsession with Rudolf – it was very
teenagerish. You got the sense that she and Rudolf were so twisted that they
were meant to be together.
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| Olivia Cowley as Countess Larisch |
Olivia Cowley as Countess Larisch was a revelation – bright, spunky, and sassy,
she brought real light and character to an otherwise dark piece. She was almost
the antithesis of Mary Vetsera in her very brightness, and her very presence
brought new energy to the stage. Her eye rolls were also my favourite, and she
projects her facial expressions such that they’re not overwhelming for the
front row, but can still be seen in the back. That said, you also got the sense
that she had a really special relationship with Rudolf, almost motherly. She
wasn’t scared of him like Stephanie or Elisabeth, but tried to protect him from
himself. Their final dance together in Act III was heartbreaking. Though her
acting was stellar, Cowley’s technique was also shown to its full excellence in
this ballet. She was so clean and effortless, and her dancing is light as air.
A true all-around dancer, I feel that her performance in Mayerling proved that
she should be given more leading classical roles (Juliet and Giselle please!).
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| Beatriz Stix-Brunnell as Mitzi |
Meaghan Grace Hinkis also gave a very strong performance as Princess Stephanie. Her
technique is clearly strong, but it was her emotions and acting in the dance
with Rudolf at the end of Act I that truly made her performance special. It was
a heartrending performance. James Hay
as Bratfisch was another bright light in the piece; his technique is rock
solid, so you could watch him entertain and just enjoy, without worrying
something would go wrong. He’s one of the few male dancers that doesn’t have to
stop and think before doing a tour jump. He’s just a joy to watch, really. Beatriz Stix-Brunell as Mitzi Caspar was also
technically stellar – the only thing holding her back from really excelling was
an apparent case of nerves. She spent a great deal of time looking at the floor
as if checking her feet or her placement. It was odd as she executed
challenging lifts and partnering with ease and confidence, but looked down
during basic steps. Aside from that, she was brilliant. Her character work with
Rudolf was great.
My only complaint re: dancers would be the corps de ballet, in
tavern scene. Aside from two girls (one of whom was Anna Rose O’Sullivan, I’m
not sure the name of the other) the dancers playing the whores looked so
frightfully bored. It’s the end of the run and I’m sure it’s not fun to play
whores, but Anna Rose and unnamed dancer managed to find something to do with
the characters, making them fun and sassy. The rest just looked tired, like
they wished they were anywhere else.
I loved the set of Mayerling – for the most part, the transitions
between scenes were seamless, but each set was perfectly suited for the given
purpose. It wasn’t overdone or clunky, but was still intricate enough to give a
real opulence and realism to the ballet. I loved Elisabeth’s apartments, with
the dresses and mannequins strung up from the ceiling. I also liked Rudolf’s
apartments and the Tavern. Everything was just the perfect set for each scene.
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| © ROH |
I also cannot praise the choreography highly enough. It was so
clever and intricate, and perfectly balanced storytelling with actual dancing.
One of my favourite parts was the parallel between the bedroom Pas de Deux of
Rudolf and Stephanie and Rudolf and Mary. A lot of the lifts and movements and
choreography was almost exactly the same, but Stephanie and Mary reacted
entirely differently. For example, at one point Rudolf lifts the dancer from
the floor – Stephanie remains stiff as a board and tries to wriggle away, while
Mary arches back and throws an arabesque into the lift. It created an
interesting dichotomy that enables the audience to see that Mary was just the
perfect woman for Rudolf, while also realizing that something isn’t quite right
with Mary. Stephanie’s reaction to Rudolf’s aggression was normal, Mary’s was
not. This dichotomy helps to further establish all three characters. I also
really enjoyed all of the lifts – it sounds a bit weird to say the manipulation
of dancers was good, but that’s the best way to describe it. MacMillan was so
creative in thinking of different ways of moving bodies around each other. I
also really liked the parallels between Larisch, Stephanie, and Mary that
happened, in which they’d each perform the same routine in quick succession
around each other and Rudolf, vying for his attention and affection. I could
easily go on forever about all the choreography I loved, but in short, Mayerling
was a masterclass in choreography and crafting a ballet.
All in all, Mayerling was absolutely incredible. I so wish I could
have a video of this cast on DVD as I absolutely adored everyone who performed,
and can’t imagine anyone else dancing these roles. The choreography and set
design were beyond amazing, and while I would make a few changes to costuming
(and the corps needs to be pepped up somehow), as a whole, Mayerling is about
as close to flawless as a ballet can be.
★★★★★
