Last Updated on November 23, 2025
Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet – a true life story – the Mayerling incident
It’s too easy to see the mental health issues of today’s world as a contemporary phenomenon. That’s at least partly because previous generations were shamed and sometimes even imprisoned for attempted suicide and, for the most part, any mental instability was covered up. The Mayerling incident, the murder-suicide of the 30-year-old Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and his 17-year-old lover Baroness Mary Vetsera at the Imperial hunting lodge Mayerling in 1889, was an international scandal and a trigger for the increasing destabilisation of the Habsburg line. And, that can be seen as key to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which was at the heart of the July Crisis which lead to the start of the First World War. It’s the love story behind the Mayerling incident, though, which is at the core of the 1978 ballet created by Sir Kenneth Macmillan for the Royal Ballet.
After a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, the curtain lifted to a funeral scene. A prologue to the ballet with a coffin being lowered into the ground on a bleak night. Then, the first act, a state ball, introduces the audience to the setting for this melodrama. The Crown Prince of Austro-Hungary – Rudolf (Ryoichi Hirano) has married Princess Stephanie of Belgium (Francesca Hayward). Everyone is there, including Baroness Mary Vetsera (Natalia Osipova) and the evening is intended to celebrate the marriage. The married couple takes to the floor, dancing a waltz, with other members of the cast joining the dance. Rudolf flirts with Stephanie’s sister Princess Louise (Letitia Diaz), dancing a brief pas de deux which is interrupted when Stephanie finally loses patience. He is reprimanded for his behaviour by his father Emperor Franz Joseph (Christopher Saunders) but goes on to reject the advances of his former lover Countess Marie Larische (Laura Morera) in another impassioned pas de deux.
Next, we see Rudolf in the chambers of his mother, Empress Elisabeth, played last night by Itziar Mendizabal. He’s trying to explain that he is not happy with the arranged marriage, but Elisabeth is cold, returning to her couch to read. At one point he grabs her wrist but then leaves the room dejected and makes his way to the Bridal Chamber. Here, the disturbed Prince terrifies his bride, dancing with a skull at one point and randomly firing a revolver before forcing himself on her. By now Hirano has really characterised his role perfectly. Deranged and fragile, desperate and vulnerable, but in a position of power where he can make demands of the women in his life.
Act two opens with Rudolf insisting Stephanie accompanies him to a tavern. She does so but leaves in disgust, chaperoned by Bratfish, Rudolf’s private driver and confidente. That leaves Rudolf in the company of the whores and their clients who frequent the tavern. Mitzi Caspar (Marianela Nunez) his courtesan is terrified when Rudolf again pulls out a revolver and proposes that they commit suicide together. But, the evening is interrupted by a police raid.
It’s on the way home that Rudolf is first introduced to Mary Vetsera, a 17-year-old baroness by his previous lover Marie Larish. Mary becomes obsessed with Rudolf and we next see her pining over his portrait. She’s set up by Larish who persuades her to write to Rudolf.
At the Emperor’s birthday celebrations we begin to see the complex relationships in the court at that time. Elizabeth presents her husband with a picture of his mistress and then spends the rest of the evening cavorting with her own lover, an English cavalry officer, Bay Middleton, played by Gary Avis. Rudolf, who has contracted syphilis, is increasingly unbalanced and unstable in this sanctimonious and hypocritical court.
In his bed chamber that night, Mary Vetsera arrives wearing a coat that she removes to reveal nothing much more than a scanty black lace negligee. She sets the scene by playing with the skull and revolver just as Rudolf had done earlier in his wife’s bed chamber, before the pair dance ”The Bedroom Pas de Deux’ a highly charged and erotic duet that leaves little to the imagination. For once, the dancing is powerful and stable, both Hirano and Osipova characterising the impassioned lovers beautifully. The lifts are light and line immaculate with dancers becoming increasingly entwined.
The opening of act three is set in the country. Rudolf plays with a revolver again, this time fatally wounding a courtier and narrowly missing the Emperor. Back in his chambers, in disgrace, he’s joined by Larisch. When the Empress discovers them together she makes Larisch leave. But, instead, she ushers in Mary Vetsara. The pair conspire to meet at the hunting lodge at Mayerling. Rudolf waits there and Mary arrives escorted by Bratfish. For a while, Bratfish tries his best to distract them, dancing with his hat as a prop to one side, but eventually leaves as the deranged Rudolf makes plans for the suicide/murder. He pulls Mary behind a curtain and shoots, first her and then himself.
Mayerling is regarded as one of the most demanding roles for any male dancer and Hirano performed magnificently last night, with contrasting moments of power, passion, despair and fragility. His many partners were equally stellar in their performance. It’s rare to see so many stars from the Royal Ballet on stage in lead roles in the same show. Osipova was a great pairing for Hirano and a convincing deranged adolescent girl who fell in love with a prince. Francesca Hayward as Princess Stephanie was fragile, restrained and elegant while Marianela Nunez danced a splendidly flamboyant and flirtatious Mitzi Caspar. Later performances in this run will see Vadim Muntagirov and Marcelino Sambé making their debuts as Crown Prince Rudolf and Francesca Hayward taking on the role of Mary Vetsera. I may just sneak in the back to see another performance!
This production marks the 30th anniversary of MacMillan’s death. A splendid, opulent and beautifully staged production by Nicholas Georgiadis with stunning costumes and atmospheric lighting, the complex story and graphic choreography make this a ballet that can be enjoyed by everyone. The score, an arrangement of Franz Liszt’s music by John Lanchbery, is seamless and entirely appropriate.
Opening the first night of the Royal Ballet 2022/23 season, Mayerling was live broadcast across the world to more than 500 cinemas both Internationally and around the UK. There’s an encore screening on 9th October 2022 when Mayerling will also be widely broadcast – check the ROH website for more information.
The Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House
Bow St, London WC2E 9DD
Wednesday 5 October 2022 – Wednesday 30 November 2022
Tickets: £7 – £135
Leave a Reply