Horror as ballet fan was repeatedly punched in the face and left in line with a broken eye socket for talking during Swan Lake

A brawl during a performance of Swan Lake left a ballet fan with a broken eye socket and blood all over his face.

The fight started when an onlooker told a 25-year-old woman to be quiet – and then punched her in the arm.

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Her shocked husband waited until the break before confronting the man and repeatedly punching him in the face.

Businesswoman Heather Marsden, 38, who was nearby, said: “The man's glasses exploded.

“There was blood everywhere.

“It looked like his eye socket was broken.”

Adrian Jefferies added: “That's outrageous, nothing is safe anymore.

“The ballet is not a football terrace.”

Police were called up Manchester Opera House and the injured man received first aid.

A spokeswoman said: “Officers attended the scene on Sunday, January 21 and a 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault.

“He was later released pending further investigation.”

Swan Lake is perhaps the most popular ballet in the world and tells the story of how Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette, the Queen of the Swans, only to be seduced into betrayal by the evil von Rothbart and his daughter Odile.