Melodramas receive supposedly clever and intellectual criticisms. Despite this, they gain a new dimension on stage through the magic of live performance. Ballet is an immersive experience. It offers a full fusion of senses and emotions.
Midway through the first act, I found myself moved to tears—a rare experience for me with contemporary production. For the first time, I realized how adulthood had dulled my capacity for aimless joy and creativity.
Mayerling remains a masterpiece of modern ballet. Its eruption of sensuality captivates the audience, and the unpredictable actions of a troubled protagonist keep them intrigued. After all, the brilliance of MacMillan’s vision is undeniable.
Même si je reconnais le haut niveau esthétique et et la manière innovante de revoir ce classique, je ne suis pas exactement fan de la mise en scène « zen » de Robert Wilson. Néanmoins, même pour moi, qui préfère toujours les décors flamboyants, le suicide de Cio-Cio-san à la fin de l’opéra représente l’apogée de toutes les mises en scène modernes.
Since that night, in the glow of the stars, the enchantment resides eternally in the soul.
In Béjart’s creations, it is the shifting of the group of dancers, body movements, particularly the arms, and the lighting design that establish the illusion of animality and the wildness within humans.
Dance is a kind of language without a voice. Up in the box seat on the fourth floor, the facial expressions of dancers are unclear unless with binoculars. Nonetheless, these dancers on stage have delivered us strong emotions of the characters in Mayerling.
“Bravo! Stéphane!” The auditorium room sparkled while glitter fell down endlessly on stage. The standing ovation lasted for almost twenty minutes because audiences were not prepared to say goodbye to this marvellous étoile.
Rudolf’s choreography performed by Ballet Opera de Paris is so far, the one that shows the most childlike and impish air of the characters in this tragic love story.
Moreover, I can finally be a half classical ballet pupil again.