13 replies to this topic

[sylvia]

I'll want to post something more detailed later but I have to say I thought Kobborg was incredible, just absolutely brilliant. He totally made the role of Rudolf his own. Mara Galeazzi too as Larisch, and I can't wait to her see her as Mary Vetsera herself. The surprise for me was Cojocaru - I went in prepared to be disappointed but instead I found her so very convincing. In spite of this sweet exterior, it felt like there was this hint of deviousness behind it. I feel like I really watched her dance as a woman in the ballet, even though Vetsera is supposed to be only 17 (and I wasn't totally convinced in Onegin). Really have to hand to whoever coached her. And of course their pdds did not disappoint. I thought the whole cast were wonderful and the music so, so beautiful - you really feel it in the pit of your stomach! I'd only seen Mayerling on video myself and it just does not compare - you don't see how sumptuous the velevety drapes are and what a gorgeous production it really is.

[Alexandra]

Thanks for posting that, Sylvia.  I'll look forward to your longer report.

Anyone else go?

[anoushka]

Sylvia, I am glad to hear that the production is better in life than on the video-I have only seen the video and had my reservations about it. But I'm really looking forward to going on Friday- its the

Cope, Rojo, Tapper, Burn, Nunez, Maloney

cast, which should be good. I am especially looking forward to seeing Marianela Nunez and Brian Maloney, so I'll let you how it goes! xx

[sylvia]

Saw Rojo & Cope last night and was suitably impressed. It was actually quite hard to see him as Rudolf at first - I've seen him on stage for so long in so many things it's a little hard to not see him as Jonathan Cope, but his pdd with Tapper's Larisch in the first scene was so beautiful and moving he sorta snapped into character in my head. I'll wait til his next performance though to post more when I have a better seat. Just wanted to mention how happy Jonathan and Tamara were at the curtain calls! They had the biggest smiles on their faces and were SO affectionate, rehearsals must have been a ball. And that Zenaida Yanowsky was really terrific. This is silly but I couldn't keep my eyes off the way she moved her arms in her solo in the bedroom. She deserves bigger and betterroles than this I think.

[Lolly]

Sylvia, you weren't the only one looking at Zenaida's arms! I know exactly the part you mean, I was mesmerised by her too. She is lovely.

I am terribly confused by the relationships all the people have with each other - and there are so many people in it! My friend kindly read me the synopsis substituting the character names with the dancer names, so I would know what was going on! But I think anyone who doesn't recognise the dancers would have a hard time working out who everyone was.

It was a great performance, so grand, gorgeous costumes, great entrance with a procession across the stage. It looked like the whole company were there!    Brian Maloney impressed me greatly as Bratfisch (it amused me to read Bratfisch's occupation in the cast sheet - "Rudolf's personal cab driver and popular entertainer" How cool would that look on your CV?!) He looked rather like a lion tamer and seemed expert at tricks with his top hat. And OH! He moves so quickly! And he broke my heart at the end - the look on his face when the coffin was lowered was horrifying.

During the ballet I felt very sorry for all the women who got mixed up with Rudolf and thought they must be very silly. Then at the end I felt sorry for him, it was so sad. But he brought it all on himself! He didn't behave much like a Prince in my opinion.;)

I am very glad I will be seeing it again - I did like it a lot, and I do need another viewing to work out who is who! I can't wait.

[Giannina]

Green, green, green!

Giannina

[Mme. Hermine]

i saw this ballet years ago when the royal ballet came to new york, with alessandra ferri.  i remember georgina parkinson being in the cast; what  part would she have played?  she was very good and the entire ballet just mesmerizing.

[Jane Simpson]

She would have been the Empress Elisabeth, Prince Rudolph's mother - she created the role.

[sylvia]

Now I'm green. Who did Ferri dance with? Would have loved to have see that.

[beckster]

I went to see Mayerling on Friday, my first ever visit to the ROH.  And I suppose my first ever non-fairytale ballet. There was a change in cast due to Kobberg being injured but not knowing any better, it didn't make any difference to me. I thought it was fabulous, not like anything I've seen before. The PDDs were amazing - especially the wedding night and the first one with his mistress.  I thought Cope played the prince very well; there was kind of an air of restrained violence about him.  I'm afraid I don't really have any intelligent comments to make though, especially since everyone else here is such an expert.

Now I have to admit that I missed the prologue, because it took me a few minutes to work out that the left hand side of the stage was visible only if I knelt up on my seat (gotta love the upper slips).  What happened?  Or was it exactly the same as the epilogue?

[Jane Simpson]

It's more or less the same as the epilogue, except that it starts a bit later so you don't see Mary Vetsera being taken out of the coach and put in the coffin.

[beckster]

Oh, that's ok then.  When it got to the end, I thought I must have missed something at the beginning (perhaps the prince being put in the first coffin?) but obviously I didn't.

[Lolly]

I saw Thursday's performance, which was Robert Tewsley's last one with RB. I thought he was excellent, he was so mad! I think I liked his interpretation even better than Jonathan Cope's. Robert's eyes were truly wild. Even his hair  looked mad at the end! Mara Galeazzi was very good too, their final pdd with the gun was wonderful, terrifying. They worked very well together.

Ricardo Cervera was great as Bratfisch - the part where he tries unsuccessfully to entertain Rudolf and Mary and gets sent away almost broke my heart, he looked so despondent. I think I would like Bratfisch to be my friend - it would be nice to have someone to dance for you and do tricks to cheer you up!

Even after a second viewing I am still confused about who everyone is - but I don't think it matters, I think it adds to the general confusion and unfortunate chaos of the story. It is a bit cluttered though - was it really necessary to have so many people named in the cast sheet? - I didn't notice half of them so they can't have been exactly vital in the plot! The lady sitting next to me asked me several times who various people were and I could only tell her the dancers' names and not the characters'.

I thought it was sad that Robert didn't get a last curtain call on his own - he only had the first one. The lights came up very promptly, and I had been ready to applaud for that performance all night! I am sorry I won't see the Kobborg/Cojocaru cast, it would be nice to have seen them all. Oh well. Hopefully it might be back soon and won't need a significant anniversary to revive it again, as it was very well received. I'll do my homework next time and be sure of what is going on! And goodbye Robert - great performance for his last one here.

[Kevin Ng]

I saw Mayerling twice this time round, but only with one cast - Jonathan Cope and Tamara Rojo.  Cope danced Rudolf magnificently, and I think his moving interpretation was as good as the creator of the role David Wall whom I saw in the 1980s.  I never saw Lynn Seymour as Mary Vetsera, and the best cast that I saw was Alessandra Ferri before she left the Royal Ballet.  Rojo was good, but nowhere as enticing as Ferri in the pas de deux.  The whole Royal Ballet company danced wholeheartedly.