Mayerling review: A rich revival of MacMillan’s ballet of doomed obsession

Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling is a ballet of doomed obsession. This Royal Ballet revival marks 30 years since MacMillan’s death and pays powerful tribute to one of its defining choreographers. She and Natalia Osipova are extraordinary in the scene where she tells Mary’s fortune, grooming her to be Rudolf’s next lover. In her scenes with Rudolf, Osipova’s Mary is primed with his fantasies – but Osipova shows us how they become Mary’s, too, as she responds to his fascination with guns and death. open image in gallery Ryoichi Hirano and Natalia Osipova in ‘Mayerling' This revival makes some small changes: I miss seeing the coffin lowered in the grim funeral scene that frames the action.