Mayerling - Royal Opera House (2018)

Mayerling is based on the true story of the deaths of Crown Prince Rudolf and his teenage mistress Vetsera in 1889 and is regarded among many as Kenneth MacMillan’s finest work. The large-scale crowd and court scenes show the whole Company off at its dramatic finest – but it is MacMillan’s choreography for Rudolf (Steven MacRae), one of the most technically and emotionally demanding roles in the repertory for male dancers, that makes this ballet so iconic. Rudolf’s emotional decline is charted through daring and visceral pas de deux with his mother (Kristen McNally), his wife (Meaghan Grace Hinkis) and Mary Vetsera (Sarah Lamb) – choreography that pushes classical ballet to its limits. Crown Prince Rudolf: Steven McRae Baroness Mary Vetsera: Sarah Lamb Countess Marie Larisch: Laura Morera Empress Elisabeth: Kristen McNally Princess Stephanie: Meaghan Grace Hinkis Artists of the Royal Ballet Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Conductor: Koen Kessels Composer: Franz Liszt Arranged and orchestrated: John Lanchbery Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan Designs: Nicholas Georgiadias Plus: An Introduction; Darcey Bussell talks to ballet coach Leanne Benjamin; Steven McRae discusses his return from injury