MAYERLING Tickets and Dates

Cast Announcement: Edward Watson will be replaced by Ryoichi Hirano as Crown Prince Rudolf for three performances of Mayerling on 8, 13 and 19 October. Ryoichi Hirano will be replaced by Matthew Ball as Crown Prince Rudolf for the matinee performance on 13 October and the evening performance on 20 October. Mayerling is based on the true story of the deaths of Crown Prince Rudolf and his teenage mistress Mary Vetsera in 1889. This dark and intense ballet was created for The Royal Ballet in 1978 and is regarded by many as among Kenneth MacMillan's finest works. Orchestrated and arranged by John Lanchbery, the music of Franz Liszt sweeps the story to its intense conclusion, and sumptuous designs by Nicholas Georgiadis bring to life the formal, oppressive world of the Austro-Hungarian court. The large-scale crowd and court scenes show the whole Company off at its dramatic finest. But it is MacMillan's choreography for Rudolf, 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, his wife and Mary Vetsera - choreography that pushes classical ballet to its limits.

The Story

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary is emotionally unstable and haunted by his obsession with death. He is forced to marry Princess Stephanie. Soon afterwards his former lover Marie Larisch introduces him to a new mistress, Mary Vetsera, a young woman who shares his morbid fascination.

Important Information

BOOKING PERIOD: 8-30 October 2018

RUNNING TIME:The performance lasts about 3 hours, including two intervals

VENUE: Royal Opera House Bow St, London WC2E 9DD