> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Review: Vienna Festival Ballet @ Lichfield Garrick
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/review-vienna-festival-ballet-lichfield-garrick/
- Published: 2012-11-22T09:30:47.000Z
- Updated: 2012-11-22T08:33:27.000Z
- Author: Phil Preece
- Tags: Reviews, What's On, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:24

Vienna Festival Ballet seems to be on a career high at the moment. In these tough times you might reasonably expect a small independent company to be a bit lightweight and make allowances. Not here. Their Swan Lake was excellent earlier this year so I was confident I was in for a good night but the result far exceeded my expectations.

[![The Vienna Festival Ballet](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/coppelia.jpg "Coppelia")](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2012/11/06/ballet-double-bill-coming-to-the-lichfield-garrick/coppelia/)

The Vienna Festival Ballet

I arrived at the Garrick to find the place buzzing. I must have got just about the last tickets because the main body of the house was packed.  
The tale of Dr Coppelius, maker of life-size mechanical figures and two star-crossed lovers is light and amusing with some dark notes. In the hands of choreographer Christopher Lee Wright it is pure charm.

Olga Petiteau in the long role of Swanhilda was delightful from start to finish with brilliant classical technique and an excellent way with mime.  
This is a long role but she seemed just as fresh at the end of the evening as she had been at the beginning.

Francesco Bruni as the likeably laddish Franz was an engaging lover with a lazy, loping elegance. Emily Hufton as the doll Coppelia was quite simply great. Fraser Gaterell gave a really thought-out performance as the self-deluding old dodderer Doctor Coppelius, while the rest of the supporting company never let their attention to detail slip. The last act showed a surprising array of pure classical technique that was the elegant icing on this well-made cake.

Given a lively young company, a comic tale with a nice clear story line, a clever set, good costumes, pretty young girls, handsome youths, Delibes’ great rousing score and lots of light as a feather dancing, what’s not to like? The smiling audience around me said it all.