#ballet #royal ballet #natalia osipova #crown prince rudolf #mary vetsera #mayerling #ryoichi hirano #oh rudy my darling boy #she's less of a sweet ingenue than e.g. alina cojocaru #but so passionately obsessively devoted to rudolf #the other female roles were just as wonderful #the maternal dimension to her love for rudolf #or the coquettishness of marianela nunez as mitzi caspar #all her movements are rich and sweet as cream #which made the act one pas de deux darker than usual #but it's certainly a new and interesting interpretation #if only ryoichi hirano had been more emotionally expressive