The latest performances of the ballet come from the Latvian National Ballet

BELFAST may not have secured a reward for culture but it is rapidly becoming a place where one can see popular opera and ballet at very regular intervals. The latest performances of the ballet come from the Latvian National Ballet and this is a very complete performance indeed in which the final curtain does not drop until 10.30pm. The standard of presentation is good, the scenery, if not lavish is helpful, and the dressing all you would expect from a company of this standing while the performances of all the principals was well up to the standard we had been told to expect. In addition, the orchestra of the National Opera and Ballet, under the baton of Fahards Stade, gave a very satisfactory account of Tchaikovsky's splendid score. The cast was headed by Julija Gurvica's touching performance as Odette/Odille and she had a very handsome Prince Siegfred in Aleksei Avechkine and smaller parts all added to the success of the performance. Needless to say the Divertimente and the famous Pas de Trois scored their usual success and it is obvious that the entire performance was exactly what the audience expected and got. In other words a very successful performance of Swan Lake.