Mayerling

Mayerling description

What happens when burning passion becomes a royal scandal? Mayerling awaits you.

Mayerling at the ROH is conducted by Martin Georgie, who delivers a particularly blistering blend of intoxicating desire, dark family secrets, and political intrigue. When this heady mix spirals into a royal disaster, Kenneth MacMillan's psychological thriller gets even darker. Inspired by real life events, this ballet is dramatic stuff.

The story goes like this. Crown Prince Rudolf is tormented by his own mortality. Nobody can ease his anguish except the young, beautiful, and equally morbid Baroness Mary Vetsera, who is just as obsessed with death. Both keen to escape the restrictions of the Austro-Hungarian court, the couple starts meeting in secret. But the desire that grows inside them, and their fascination with dying, soon hurtle them towards tragedy.

This legendary 1978 ballet tells the true story of a scandal that became known as the Mayerling Affair, and it comes with all the operatic magic you'd expect. Dazzling ensemble scenes and beautifully presented lead roles combine with the murky depths of the human psyche, all created by a cast that varies with the date.

The cast includes Matthew Ball, Melissa Hamilton, Mayara Magri, Kristen McNally, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Steven McRae, Sarah Lamb, Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Annette Buvoli, Viola Pantuso, William Bracewell, Fumi Kaneko, Leticia Dias, Lara Turk, Sae Maeda, and more. There's Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan, and Franz Liszt's lovely score is Arranged and Orchestrated by John Lanchbery. The Designer is Nicholas Georgiadis, the Scenario is by Gillian Freeman, and the Lighting designer is John B. Read.

Come sample the darker side of passion with Mayerling tickets, a complex real life story of love, obsession and the horror of our own mortality.

Playing at Royal Opera House

Bow Street, London, WC2E 9DD GB (venue info)

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