Ballet in Buxton

I was recently invited by my sister Lorenzo the Llama and her husband Peter to join them for a performance by the St. Petersburg Ballet Company of Swan Lake in the Buxton Opera House. Buxton is a Roman spa town situated in the beautiful Peak District of England. The Opera House was built in 1903 and designed by Frank Matcham, one of Britain's finest theatre architects. Since that time it has been extensively refurbished, and plays host to a number of annual festivals and to opera and ballet companies on tour.

After an "interesting" drive from Lorenzo's house to Buxton in heavily falling snow (which the next day brought the London area and many airports to a standstill) we arrived in good time to enjoy a pre-performance drink before locating our splendid seats in the centre of the front row of the Circle.

Arrival at the Buxton Opera House in the snow

Welcoming headlights

Tonight's performance: The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre in Swan Lake (after Petipa/Ivanov, music by Tchaikovsky) with Astghik Ogannesyan as Odette/Odile; Dmitry Akulinin as Prince Siegfried and Dymchik Saykeev as the Baron von Rothbart

Grand staircase to the Circle

The magnificent early 20th Century theatre design by architect Frank Matcham

Splendour of the gilt ornamentation of the presidium arch

Detail: with pipes and drums and harps and cymbals, gentle soothing flutes....

Lorenzo the Llama and Peter settle down in superb seats to watch the performance

A scene from the magical fourth act of Swan Lake in the Buxton Opera House