What did you think of the show?
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theatreguys 
Mayerling
Thanks Fredo and Mike for the wonderful seats at the ROH and for the synopsis which greatly helped to unravel Rudolf’s many relationships as they appeared on stage. The dancing was superb, the music beautiful and although a very long ballet, the whole performance kept you mesmerised from beginning to end. I loved it.
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Mayerling was an unforgettable experience at the Royal Opera House !
I had read Fredo`s very helpful pre show information but every aspect of Mayerling exceeded my expectations!
From the Overture with a wonderful orchestra to the more sombre final scene I was enthralled – impressive scene changing and lighting, colourful costumes ( ? how did the girls dance with such agility wearing elaborate dresses etc ) and the surprising piano and solo singing on stage
It was however the performances of the male dancers which enthralled — athleticism, precision, energy and a wide range of emotions – some troubling, some amusing which contributed to a wonderful experience for me. Thank you Fredo and Mike
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Mayerling
Thank you Fredo and Mike for an unforgettable trip to see Mayerling!
Romeo and Juliet with epaulettes, we loved the choreography of this classic ballet performed in such a deliciously dark and captivating way.
Packed with political intrigue, intense pas de deux and a sense of foreboding that rippled throughout the performance, one that was expertly heightened by the brooding score by Liszt.
Stylistically, the glamour and artifice of the imperial pageantry contrasted superbly with the outrageous tavern scenes and the inner turmoil of the tortured Prince, culminating in the tragic murder-suicide of the two lovers.
Calvin Richardson in his debut role as the Crown Prince was also a highlight and will surely be one to watch!
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MAYERLING
We loved the production; a fabulous full orchestra playing beautiful music and a large company in exquisite costume. The ballroom scene was mesmerising from our vantage point [great seats]. It seemed to us that some of the lifts and holds were quite different from shapes in other ballets,
they certainly had their work cut out but the result seemed faultless and spellbinding. As ever, thank you to Mike and Fredo.
Richard & Lynn
PS I think it’s a pedal harp or concert harp.
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Mayerling
I’m not a regular at the ballet but the opportunity to see Steven MacRae dancing in the male dancer’s equivalent of Hamlet was too good to miss. Sadly, MacRae was injured so Calvin Richardson stepped in. I don’t know enough about the technicalities of ballet dancing to judge Richardson’s performance on those grounds but I thought he, along with his many female partners (as other have said, Sarah Lamb’s performance was heartbreaking), conveyed the emotional turmoil and, let’s be honest, lust experienced by Prince Rudolf so very well. The ballet was long and the story was complicated (thank you so much Fredo for the helpful synopsis) but the emotional intensity didn’t falter and carried us through to the inevitable tragic ending almost without daring to take a breath. The sumptuous staging, costumes and orchestration were of the first class calibre one would expect of the Royal Ballet.
My only quibble with the production was the splendidly monogrammed curtains; should the King visit the Opera House at some point will he be just a little disappointed to see that the royal motif has not been updated for Charles III? Or will he, as we did yesterday, appreciate the traditions which the Royal Ballet obviously holds so dear. A splendid afternoon and a fantastic start to the Easter weekend.
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Mayerling,
Think the instrument was possibly a lute or perhaps a dulcimer…?
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Mayerling
Thank you so much Fredo and Mike for this return to the Opera House and putting up with the difficulties they caused you, we appreciate it very much much
We had never seen Mayerling before and it did turn out to be as dark as expected. The story of an entitled son of royalty using his position to abuse women and it all ended badly! A long ballet but so much to take in. Calvin gave a creditable performance but Sarah Lamb was just exceptional, surely the human body should not be able to do those things!
Like some others, we did find it hard to identify several of the characters and having no printed cast list made it difficult to do so. The opera house are ‘reducing their carbon footprint’ but we do miss the cast list being handed out.
We always like a view of the orchestra too and they gave their usual impressive performance. The arrangement of Liszt’s score was very subtle, fitting and dark too. We were intrigued by the large pear shaped stringed instrument that took the harp part. Any advice on its name would be very welcome.
We are not sure if we would want to see this again for the plot but we thoroughly enjoyed this performance and the beautiful dancing, choreography, costumes and music and, of course, the day in Covent Garden.
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Mayerling
Only one word needed fab u lus ! We’d seen it before but can’t remember enjoying it quite so much, a beautiful production in every way albeit a tragedy. Music was sublime and the dancing was mesmerising. Thanks again Fredo and Mike, lovely to catch up with you both x
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Mayerling,
Excellent music,especially the beginning at the burial.
Thought the Crown Prince was first class especially considering it was his first outing in that role.Sarah Lamb brilliant as always,ethereal…
Good seats too…
Many thanks Fredo n Mike
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Broken Glass.
Totally agree with the ending Mike and all that you have said.
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BROKEN GLASS
At the top of the list of Current Concerns in this troubled year of 2026 are two important subjects – Antisemitism and Mental Health Issues. And here is a play about both. It is set in 1938, was written by Arthur Miller in 1994 and is now revived looking not a moment out of date. The times of course have changed but the problems remain. The play takes a symbolic moment of history, Kristallnacht in Germany, when Jews were being persecuted by the Nazis and the news was spreading around the world. But this is not the play’s subject. That focuses on the troubled marriage of Philip and Sylvia Gellberg. Philip hates himself for being a Jew, has changed his surname from Goldberg, wishes to focus on his work on mortgage foreclosures, and disassociates himself from the Jewish situation. It should be remembered that members of many persecuted minorities wish they were not who they are. Philip’s wife Sylvia, loved yet bullied, and ignored in the marriage bed, is unhappy and further disturbed by the news headlines from Germany. She finds herself paralysed, unable to walk. Doctor Harry Hyman is on hand to try to understand and resolve the issue.
Audiences may respond differently to the play and the problem it explores – believe or disbelieve in the situation. Some factual details we have to accept – the historical situation and the view from America at that time as reported in the News – but the psychology is not so easy to understand. Remember that doctor Harry categorically rules out any physical reason for Sylvia’s paralysis so, consciously or subconsciously, the trouble must be in her head. We observe Philip and recoil – an incredible intense and short-fuse performance from Eli Gelb of aggression used as a defensive reaction . We can see why Sylvia, Pearl Chanda portraying the wife’s warmth and fragility, is emotionally disturbed with a need to protect herself from her husband and the world news – both are inseparable in her mind as Jewish problems. Her immobility is her barrier of self-defence.
Central to the play is Doctor Harry Hyman, the middle-man between Philip and Sylvia who is friends with the couple. He admits he’s “not a psychologist” but neither are we so he is in a good position to investigate the situation for us, and of course for his ‘patients’. Alex Waldmann plays him with an amiable persistence, and we can easily understand any trespass across the doctor/patient border.
The production is simple and direct, casting the audience as close observers of every forensic detail in this fracturing marriage, in this battle of opposing Jewish responses to a troubling world situation. The threats in Germany are viewed as personal back home in Brooklyn. The other players manoeuvre the plot’s jigsaw pieces to gradually complete the full picture. It’s an emotional and tense two-hour progress which never falters.
There has to be a solution to the play’s somewhat complex and some would say psychologically dubious set-up. For me the chosen resolution brings the play to a sudden and satisfying solution. Others may disagree. Given Miller’s premise and the entangled Jewish opinions he presents us with, Sylvia’s ‘cure’ when it comes is theatrically inevitable. That’s great writing. And all involved here create a knock-out experience. Shattering, some might say.
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Broken Glass
A spiral of emotions ,such an intense play with tremendous acting Impossible not to remain absorbed.
I agree with Monica those who didn’t go missed a treat.
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