MAYERLING Wraps Up at Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa
Performances ran through March 20.
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 21, 2022
Stage fright made life difficult for many artists, even the best virtuosos were not free from it, it also destroyed many great talents. Kenneth MacMillan began his ballet career as a dancer at Sadler's Wells Ballet in London, where he was predicted a bright future, but stage fright cut his wings. He gave up dancing and a great choreographer was born, the creator of 10 full-length ballets and over 50 one-act plays with original choreography. He was most closely associated with London's The Royal Ballet, first as the artistic director of the stage, and later as its principal choreographer, until his death in 1992.
It was for this group that in 1978 he created a three-act ballet performance Mayerling based on one of the most mysterious love stories - the relationship of Archduke Rudolf, son of Emperor Franz Joseph I, with the teenage baroness Mary Vetsera. The couple were found dead in Rudolph's hunting lodge - the lovers probably committed suicide, but the whole story became the starting point for speculation about the alleged murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. This spicy story has become a favorite subject of filmmakers, including Mayerling Terence Young starring Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve, as well as journalists and writers.
MacMillan, who was inspired by George Mark's book The Eagles Die , wanted to show the beauty of love and passion of two aristocrats, but also social pressure and the lack of prospects for the development of their feelings in the face of higher, monarchist reasons, and this could lead lovers to a tragic decision . In his Mayerling , MacMillan used the music of Franz Liszt, his Faust Symphony using as the leitmotif of Archduke Rudolph's obsession with weapons and death.
Present only on selected ballet stages of the world, Mayerling will be shown at the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera by dancers of the Polish National Ballet in a performance conducted by Patrick Fournillier.
Performances ran through March 20.
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