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© Ann Ray / OnP
Mayerling
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First part
Prologue
In the middle of a rainy night, a coffin is buried in the cemetery of the abbey of Heiligenkreuz (Lower Austria).
Act 1
Scene 1: The ballroom at the Hofburg Imperial Palace
Crowned heads, political dignitaries and courtiers parade through the ballroom. At the party celebrating his marriage to Princess Stephanie of Belgium, the Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf offends his parents and his wife by openly flirting with Stephanie’s sister, Princess Louise. Left alone, Rudolf encounters Countess Larisch and Baroness Vetsera.
Baroness Vetsera introduces him to her young daughter Mary, aged seventeen. They are interrupted by four Hungarian officers, friends of Rudolf, who forcefully plead for their country’s separatist cause. Countess Larisch seeks to revive the intimacy of her past relationship with Rudolf. The emperor discovers them and orders Rudolf to return to his wife.
Scene 2: The empress’s apartments at the Hofburg
Empress Elisabeth has retired from the ball and is enjoying the company of her ladies-in-waiting. Rudolf visits her and tries to elicit his mother’s sympathy by sharing her grief.
Scene 3: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg
Princess Stephanie is preparing for her wedding night. Rudolf finds her and, before making love to her, torments her with a skull and terrifies her with a revolver.
Second part
Act 2
Scene 1: A tavern
Rudolf takes Stephanie to a tavern where there are prostitutes and their customers. Seeing that Stéphanie is unhappy, their coachman Bratfisch does his best to amuse her, but she leaves the place in disgust. Rudolf devotes his attention to his mistress, Mitzi Caspar, and his Hungarian friends.
A police raid occurs, during which Rudolf, Mitzi and the Hungarian officers hide. In a mood of despair caused by the constant surveillance, Rudolf proposes a suicide pact to Mitzi. The Prime Minister, Count Taafe, arrives at the tavern, having been informed of Rudolf’s presence. The latter hides again, but Mitzi indicates his presence to the Count, with whom she leaves.
Scene 2: Outside the tavern
As Rudolf leaves the tavern, Countess Larisch introduces him to the young Mary Vetsera.
Scene 3: The Vetsera house
Countess Larisch visits her friend, Baroness Vetsera, and finds Mary absorbed by a portrait of Rudolf. She takes a pack of cards and tells Mary’s fortune. She assures Mary that her romantic dreams will come true. She encourages her to write a letter to Rudolf.
Scene 4: The Hofburg
During Emperor Franz Josef’s birthday celebrations, Count Taafe confronts Rudolf with a political pamphlet. At the same time, Colonel Bay Middleton offers the Prime Minister a joke cigar, which amuses Rudolf. A firework display is set off, which entertains everyone. Countess Larisch gives Rudolf Mary’s letter.
Scene 5: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg
Mary and Rudolf meet in secret for the first time. Moved by Rudolf’s torments and fantasies, Mary takes the skull and revolver with which he had terrified Stephanie.
Third part
Act 3
Scene 1: In the countryside, in the snow
While out hunting, Rudolf accidentally shoots and kills a member of the court. He almost kills the emperor.
Scene 2: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg
The empress discovers Countess Larisch and Rudolf together. She separates them, unaware that Mary is waiting outside. Mary joins Rudolf. The latter proposes a suicide pact.
Scene 3: The Mayerling hunting lodge
Rudolf, drinking with Count Hoyos and Prince Philipp, tells them that he is unwell. Bratfisch arrives with Mary, and Rudolf orders him to entertain them. But Bratfisch soon realises that he is losing their attention. In a frenzy of passion, Rudolf makes love to Mary.
Calming his nerves with an injection of morphine, he embraces her one last time and then shoots her. Loschek, Hoyos and Philipp, alerted by the shot, come running. But Rudolf hides the truth from them and reassures them. Left alone, the prince kills himself.
Epilogue
The final scene takes up the prologue and reveals its meaning. The coffin laid in the ground is that of Mary Vetsera, buried by night in the rain.
Program and cast
Ballet in three acts
Creative team
Kenneth Mac - MillanChoreography
Franz Liszt - Music
Gillian Freeman - Libretto
Martin Yates - Conductor
Nicholas Georgiadis - Set design and Costume design
John Lanchbery - Arrangements and orchestration
Jacopo Pantani - Lighting design
With the Paris Opera Étoiles, Premières Danseuses, Premiers Danseurs and Corps de Ballet
The Paris Opera Orchestra
Duration : 2h45 with 2 intervals
- Opening
- First part - 40 minutes
- Intermission 20 minutes
- Second part - 55 minutes
- Intermission 20 minutes
- Third part - 30 minutes
- End
Paris Opera Palace Garnier
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The Paris Opera (French: Opéra de Paris, or simply the Opéra) is the primary opera company of Paris. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique. Classical ballet as we know it today arose within the Paris Opera as the Paris Opera Ballet and has remained an integral and important part of the company. Currently called the Opéra national de Paris, it primarily produces operas at its modern 2700-seat theatre Opéra Bastille which opened in 1989, and ballets and some classical operas at the older 1970-seat Palais Garnier which opened in 1875. Small scale and contemporary works are also staged in the 500-seat Amphitheatre under the Opéra Bastille.
The company's annual budget is in the order of 200 million euros, of which 100 million come from the French state and 70 million from box office receipts. With this money, the company runs the two houses and supports a large permanent staff, which includes the orchestra of 170, a chorus of 110 and the corps de ballet of 150
Each year, the Opéra presents about 380 performances of opera, ballet and other concerts, to a total audience of about 800,000 people (of which 17% come from abroad), which is a very good average seat occupancy rate of 94%In the 2012/13 season, the Opéra presents 18 opera titles (two in a double bill), 13 ballets, 5 symphonic concerts and two vocal recitals, plus 15 other programmes. The company's training bodies are also active, with 7 concerts from the Atelier Lyrique and 4 programmes from the École de Danse.
The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier. The theatre is also often referred to as the Opéra Garnier, and historically was known as the Opéra de Paris or simply the Opéra, as it was the primary home of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when the Opéra Bastille opened at the Place de la Bastille. The Paris Opera now mainly uses the Palais Garnier for ballet.
The Palais Garnier is "probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica." This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and, especially, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical. Another contributing factor is that among the buildings constructed in Paris during the Second Empire, besides being the most expensive, it has been described as the only one that is "unquestionably a masterpiece of the first rank." This opinion is far from unanimous however: the 20th-century French architect Le Corbusier once described it as "a lying art" and contended that the "Garnier movement is a décor of the grave".
The Palais Garnier also houses the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera Library-Museum). Although the Library-Museum is no longer managed by the Opera and is part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the museum is included in unaccompanied tours of the Palais Garnier.
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