Mayerling may not be for everyone, but it is an undeniable example of how ballet can go beyond technical prowess or fairy-tale narrative, geometrical patterns or musical convention. Kenneth MacMillan’s work reaches for the core of human emotions, both the good and the bad, digging deep into the grittiest, the most horrific and perverse of [...]
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Franz Liszt
Arriving at Covent Garden last night and glancing at my Mayerling cast sheet I wondered if the audience – mostly non-ballet-regulars thanks to a promotion ran by The Sun newspaper – had any idea of their lucky draw with this particular cast: principals Laura Morera as Mitzi Caspar and Steven McRae as Bratfisch, soloists Sergei [...]
Is this ballet for you? Go if: You are tired of white ballets and of seeing male dancers perennially overshadowed by the ballerina. Mayerling, a tale of a crown prince’s descent into madness and murder, definitely puts the man on the spot. Think Hamlet with guns in lieu of swords & added drugs and you [...]
