Mayerling (Blu-ray)

Kenneth MacMillan authored and choreographed the 1978 ballet Mayerling, which serves as the basis of this 2009 stage production by Britain's Royal Ballet ensemble. The work itself (which was universally acclaimed from its debut) depicts the final years of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia (1858-1889), a young man trapped in a deathly spiral of homicide, drugs and political conspiracy that ended in his own suicide pact with his teenage mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera. This version stars Edward Watson as Rudolf, Mara Galeazzi as Mary, and Sarah Lamb as Countess Marie Larisch. The score utilizes the compositions of Franz Liszt, here arranged and orchestrated by John Lanchbery, and performed by The Royal Opera House, with Barry Wordsworth conducting.