Mayerling (Royal Ballet - 1994)

Introduction

The Royal Ballet at the top of its form, filmed over two nights in February 1994.

My friend Francesca often told me that this was her favourite ballet, and that she was at the performance in 1992, at which the choreographer Kenneth MacMillan died backstage. This little titbit of information however was always mentioned as an afterthought, as she waxed lyrical about how the work had affected her.

Finally, I have seen it myself, albeit in a production filmed a couple of years later, but the sheer 'luck' of having such dancers as Viviana Durante, Lesley Collier, Darcey Bussell, Irek Mukhamedov, and Jane Burn perform makes this DVD a class act.



The story revolves around the tragic deaths of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary and his 17 year old mistress, Mary Vetsera, at the Mayerling hunting lodge in January 1889. Rudolph was obviously a very unstable character, but as his upbringing involved being marched around in the snow first thing in the morning and being shot at (just as a character-buildiung exercise I'm sure), this is hardly a wonder.

Political intrigues in the form of Hungarian seperatism, and sexual intrigues in the form of lovers left, right and centre (they were all at it you know) seemed to have been the attraction for MacMillan, and so the subject fits in well with many of his other ballets.

Visual

For a 1993 recording, the quality is highly acceptable, and does not show its age. Admittedly, 14 years is not a long time ago, but it's amazing how standards have improved in that relatively short time.

Audio

Stereo is the only option, but the absence of sound on stage (not counting Linda Finnie's fine rendition of a song) makes it possible to balance the orchestra reasonably effectively. The percussion (notably the cymbals) are a little too present, but there's a great dynamic range and an impressive bass sound.

Extras

None. This is disappointing. Even some more information within the booklet would have been welcome. Also a little proofreading is advisable, as Colonel 'Bay' Middleton is described as Elisabeth's mother, rather than Elisabeth's lover.

Subtitles during the song on stage would also have been useful.

Overall

This is another example of a great 'historical' recording which cried out for a DVD release. The dancing and acting is exemplary (although one of the Hungarian officers almost comes a cropper in the tavern scene) and John Lanchbery's orchestration of Liszt's music is incredible, making everything sound as if it was written specifically for this work.

Mukhamedov makes for a powerful and believeably dangerous character, brought up in a corrupt and debauched society with just a glimmer of respectability. Watching this performance makes his treatment by the ballet 'establishment' a few years later even more shameful, but it's good to see him and Lesley Collier dancing together.

No-one really comes out of this story smelling of roses, apart from perhaps the put-upon Princess Stephanie (Jane Burn), but I'm sure even she had a lover or two to make up for things. Burn throws herself into the role (quite literally) and easily matches the grace and versatility of the rest of the principal cast.

Darcey Bussell (a high-class prostitute) is, as usual, great to watch and oozes sexuality when necessary, which considering her role, is rather a lot.

Viviana Durante (Mary) has such a powerful stage presence that it's not difficult to see why she was so popular, and the respect between herself and Mukhamedov is tangible. She has one of those faces that grabs your attention, and when the cameras are pointing at you, the ability to show emotions while flinging yourself about the stage is vital. Durante has it in buckets.

Barry Wordsworth directs the orchestra with great skill, and even though there are some scrappy moments in ensemble, mainly in the strings whose sound isn't all that cohesive,the playing is exciting. Sometimes an uneven live performance is much better than a sterilised studio-job.

So, despite the fact that there are no extras (and there is no excuse for no extras, especially on reissues on new media), this comes with the highest recommendation. Watching performances such as this on DVD is a great pleasure. Seeing them live must have been something else altogether.

My dear friend Francesca counted herself one of the luckiest people alive having done so, and I would have been very happy to tell her that I finally watched it last night. Sadly, she passed away this morning, aged just 36, after having bravely fought cancer for the past few years. It's always good to have something to remember people by, and this great performance of Mayerling will now always remind me of her.