'Mayerling' at the Royal Opera House

I saw 'Mayerling' danced a couple of years ago by the Royal Ballet so I knew the broad outline of the ballet when I went to see the current production, but there are always sequences and details that you forget, and I'd forgotten a lot. I was there largely to see the return of Steven McRae to the stage with his Royal Ballet colleagues and a long time away with an injury. It was a delight to see him leap about, throw ballerinas around in exotic shapes and jump up to the rafters again. Especially so in this ballet which is really all about the leading man who is on stage for most of the ballet.

The ballet is based on the real tale of Crown Prince Rudolph of the House of Habsburg and his rather strange manias around death and guns. And sex, lots of sex. And getting his own way in everything. He's not a terribly attractive character but seemed to have been popular with the ladies at court and less popular with their husbands. He is forced into a loveless dynastic marriage and treats his wife appallingly, even taking her to his favourite bawdy house to meet his favourite strumpets. He's not a happy person and, despite treating everyone badly, still seems to be popular with some young women. one in particular who shares his morbid fascinations.

It all comes to a head when he shoots one of the courtiers on a family game shoot in the woods and his oddities can no longer be hidden. In the hunting lodge he's assigned to while the Emperor considers his fate he's visited my his latest young lover and they dance up a storm then he shoots up and grabs his pistol that's never far from his hand...

Phew. This an intense ballet, very dark and dangerous. It has a large cast, some exotic costumes and a lot going on around the stage, with sub-plots aplenty to build a rich and compelling tale of power and intrigue, psychological drama and uncontrolled lusts and passions. It's all in there.

Key to the whole thing, of course, is the choreography and dancing. This is one of Kenneth MacMillan's great ballets and deservedly gets revived regularly. It's a star vehicle for the lead male dancer and Steven McRae is certainly one of the Royal Ballet's finest. He's been a Principal since 2009 and knows his stuff, bringing characterisation to every role - it's about acting as well as dancing and there's some spectacular dancing in this ballet. Steven was accompanied by Akane Takada as his lover and together they pulled some amazingly athletic feats of dance, sometimes getting close to gymnastics. I had the pleasure of seeing Akane dance the Swan in 'Swan Lake' early in the summer and it was delightful to see her grace and athleticism again.

It's a very intense ballet and the long applause at the end as the dancers took their bows and the ballerinas received flowers helped to come down from the tense peak. It was a treat to see Steven on stage, alone, to take the first bow which he so richly deserved. Welcome back!