A Month in the Country is a narrative ballet created in 1976 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to the music of Frédéric Chopin (three works for piano and orchestra) arranged by John Lanchbery.
[3] The ballet was first performed on Thursday, 12 February 1976, by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Lynn Seymour and Anthony Dowell in the leading roles; later interpreters have included Merle Park and Sylvie Guillem as Natalia and Michael Coleman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bruce Sansom and Ivan Putrov as Belaiev.
The story concerns the emotional disturbance caused by the presence of a tutor in the home of a country Russian family.
Alone on stage, Natalia despairs at the young man's departure, but he returns unseen and unheard and leaves her the rose she had given him.
[3] An audio recording of the ballet score prepared by Lanchbery and conducted by him, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Philip Gammon (piano) was issued on the HMV Greensleeve label in 1977.