The most lyrical Verdi’s work is La traviata, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils The Lady of the Camellias. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman Who Goes Astray. The title character of the play is Marguerite Gautier, who is based on Marie Duplessis, the real-life lover of author Dumas, fils. Duplessis was both a popular courtesan and the hostess of a salon, where politicians, writers, and artists gathered for socializing. Alexandre Dumas, père allegedly insisted on his son splitting up with Duplessis: and when he returned to Paris, she had already died of consumption. Since its debut as a play, numerous editions have been performed at theatres around the world. Giuseppe Verdi attended the Paris première of the play and soon turned to composing the opera. When Dumas, fils heard La traviata, he said: “Nobody would have remembered my Lady of the Camellias in 50 years but for Verdi, who made it immortal”. Full info

There’s a good reason why Swan Lake is so often called the ‘ballet of all ballets’. The combination of pure romanticism, the story about love and deception and Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet music all continue to reach new generations of audiences. Swan Lake was Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky's first score for ballet. Its 1877 premiere was poorly received, but it has since become one of the most loved of all ballets. The twinned role of the radiant White Swan and the scheming, duplicitous Black Swan tests the full range of a ballerina's powers, particularly in the two great pas de deux of Acts II and III. Other highlights include the charming Dance of the Little Swans performed by a moonlit lake and sweeping ballroom waltzes in the splendour of the royal palace. Full info

Khachaturian was just hitting his fiftieth birthday when he produced his music to the ballet Spartacus. The plot of the ballet had been around for some fifteen years and was suggested to him by a critic called Volkov. The composer finally got to work ‘with a feeling of enormous creative excitement’, but his preparation had been nothing if not extensive. He’d had a blast of a trip around Italy, visiting the very places at the centre of the famous story of a slave rebellion. Despite taking a fair few liberties with the plot, the ballet score won Khachaturian the Lenin Prize in 1954, and was premiered in what is now the Mariinsky Theatre, in St Petersburg, just two years later. By far the most captivating moment comes in Act II when Spartacus manages to free his wife Phrygia and the lovers celebrate with the heart-rending Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia. Full info

Jewels is unique: a full-length, three-act plotless ballet that uses the music of three very different composers. Balanchine was inspired by the artistry of jewelry designer Claude Arpels, and chose music revealing the essence of each jewel. He explained: “Of course, I have always liked jewels; after all, I am an Oriental, from Georgia in the Caucasus. I like the color of gems, the beauty of stones, and it was wonderful to see how our costume workshop, under Karinska’s direction, came so close to the quality of real stones (which were of course too heavy for the dancers to wear!).” Each section of the ballet is distinct in both music and mood. Emeralds, which Balanchine considered “an evocation of France — the France of elegance, comfort, dress, perfume,” recalls the 19th century dances of the French Romantics. Rubies is crisp and witty, epitomizing the collaboration of Stravinsky and Balanchine. Diamonds recalls the order and grandeur of Imperial Russia and the Maryinsky Theater, where Balanchine was trained. Mary Clarke and Clement Crisp have written: “If the entire imperial Russian inheritance of ballet were lost, Diamonds would still tell us of its essence.” Full info

There’s a good reason why Swan Lake is so often called the ‘ballet of all ballets’. The combination of pure romanticism, the story about love and deception and Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet music all continue to reach new generations of audiences. Swan Lake was Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky's first score for ballet. Its 1877 premiere was poorly received, but it has since become one of the most loved of all ballets. The twinned role of the radiant White Swan and the scheming, duplicitous Black Swan tests the full range of a ballerina's powers, particularly in the two great pas de deux of Acts II and III. Other highlights include the charming Dance of the Little Swans performed by a moonlit lake and sweeping ballroom waltzes in the splendour of the royal palace. Full info

The most lyrical Verdi’s work is La traviata, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils The Lady of the Camellias. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman Who Goes Astray. The title character of the play is Marguerite Gautier, who is based on Marie Duplessis, the real-life lover of author Dumas, fils. Duplessis was both a popular courtesan and the hostess of a salon, where politicians, writers, and artists gathered for socializing. Alexandre Dumas, père allegedly insisted on his son splitting up with Duplessis: and when he returned to Paris, she had already died of consumption. Since its debut as a play, numerous editions have been performed at theatres around the world. Giuseppe Verdi attended the Paris première of the play and soon turned to composing the opera. When Dumas, fils heard La traviata, he said: “Nobody would have remembered my Lady of the Camellias in 50 years but for Verdi, who made it immortal”. Full info

Although best known for his oriental fantasy Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov principally considered himself a composer of opera. In his autobiography Chronicle of My Musical Life, he wrote, “Snegurochka is not only my best opera, but perhaps the best contemporary opera in general”. It was not a view shared by the press. “The critics treated Snegurochka with scant sympathy… I ‘possessed talent’ as a symphonist, but not as an operatic composer.” Full info

The epitome of Romantic ballet, Giselle is a poignant tale of unrequited love, remorse, and forgiveness. The role of Giselle, often described as the Hamlet of the ballet world, requires an exquisite stylist with daring dramatic and technical skills. Giselle (by Marius Petipa) is one of the world's favorite romantic ballets, and tells the story of a beautiful village girl who falls in love with a powerful Count, who is disguises himself as a fellow villager. When Giselle learns of his deception and that their love will never be, her world falls apart and she descends into madness. Full info