For the 2024/25 season, the Royal Opera House’s 1978 production, choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan, returns to the Palais Garnier’s stage after a two-year hiatus. Mayerling made its Paris debut in 2022 (Mayerling depicts a madman yearning for destruction). Hugo Marchand portrayed Prince Rudolf, Dorothée Gilbert portrayed Baroness Mary Vetsera, and Hannah O’Neil was Countess Marie Larisch.
This year, audiences had another chance to experience the ballet Mayerling with a completely different cast. Tonight, Prince Rudolf was danced by Germain Louvet. Through his performance, we witnessed a prince so sorrowful that he moved us to tears. His gentle dance showed the deep affliction of a man. He was tormented by his incurable romanticism and his inability to marry a woman he might love. Despite the violence he inflicted on his wife, Princess Stéphanie, portrayed by Inès McIntosh, Louvet’s artistry reveals his inner torment. She suffers a traumatic assault by her husband on their wedding night. The audience grasps the inner torment of a man consumed by unfulfilled desires. He channels his anguish into cruelty towards an innocent princess.
In Louvet’s interpretation, we discover a romantic figure incapable of coping with his grief and psychological pain. Tonight’s ensemble created an atmosphere of melancholy and soul-searching.
Opposite Louvet, was Bleuenn Battistoni as Baroness Mary Vetsera. Her performance brought to life a noble and elegant young woman. Through her movements and body language, Battistoni’s portrayal showed a well-educated and graceful aristocrat. It blended youthful innocence with an underlying maturity. Her poised demeanor suggested a hidden sexual desire, one that would shatter moral barriers when she encountered Prince Rudolf.
Nevertheless, the story of Mayerling is, in itself, deeply problematic. Particularly, Prince Rudolf’s violence towards Princess Stéphanie contrasts with our social norms. This is neither a fairytale of princes and princesses nor a story that supports equitable gender relations. The performance demands moral awareness and critical reflection from the audience. Without this, one might mistake Rudolf’s behavior as acceptable, when it is not.
Furthermore, the narrative structure of Mayerling lacks refinement. The ballet features too many secondary characters whose purposes and relationships are vague, making the first act unnecessarily lengthy. The production finds its rhythm and emotional depth only at the end of the first act. This happens during a sudden and nearly violent pas de deux between Rudolf and Stéphanie.
Despite these narrative shortcomings, the beauty of the choreography and the dancers’ exceptional talent overshadow them. 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.
