A weekend of classics culminated in a romantic Valentine's Day ballet when the Charter Theatre in Preston presented a hat trick of classics.

It featured operas from the Music Theatre London (MTL) on Thursday and Friday, and a ballet by Adonais Ballet Company on Saturday.

The operatic double, Puccini's La Boheme and Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, created a stir among lovers of traditional opera.

They were updated, set in the nineties with costumes, characters and stories to match.

The only thing that wasn't set in the nineties was the music, but for some, it wasn't enough - one couple I noticed left at the interval and didn't bother coming back. They obviously hadn't read the small print when buying their tickets.

For me, MTL's visit was a chance to enjoy the finer points of opera without struggling to understand the plot.

The actors were well versed, well rehearsed, and the stories easy to relate to. The live orchestra provided the finishing touch to two excellent productions which made a change to the usual portrayal of the classics.

For St Valentine's day, I went to see Adonais Ballet Company's production of the romantic story Orpheus.

Bach with Bite provided a short prelude, but for me it proved to be the highlight of the evening. The dancers were thoroughly professional, the music well selected and exquisitely delivered.

It was a real mix of power and drama and the dancers appeared to enjoy it as much as I did. Orpheus was, by contrast, a romantic story, beautifully played by the nimble crew who made the most of their roles.

The set was simple but the story was easy to follow regardless, and when one of the props threatened to collapse, the lead player proved his professionalism by leaping to its rescue before it came tumbling down.

On the whole a superb evening and a beautiful climax to three days of classics.

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