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

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

Don Carlo contains a host of vividly drawn characters, depicted through some of Verdi’s most complex music. The chilling Grand Inquisitor imposes his will in thunderous, dark-toned music, while the revolutionary Marquis of Posa sings a stirring duet with Don Carlos in praise of freedom. And in Eboli and Elizabeth, Verdi created two of his most sympathetic heroines. Verdi's music masterfully controls the twisting and turning story. Vivid orchestral colours and affecting melodies manipulate his audience to devastating effect: we love, we hate, we turn and sympathise as each note reveals a little more of these complex, charismatic characters. Full info

Don Carlo contains a host of vividly drawn characters, depicted through some of Verdi’s most complex music. The chilling Grand Inquisitor imposes his will in thunderous, dark-toned music, while the revolutionary Marquis of Posa sings a stirring duet with Don Carlos in praise of freedom. And in Eboli and Elizabeth, Verdi created two of his most sympathetic heroines. Verdi's music masterfully controls the twisting and turning story. Vivid orchestral colours and affecting melodies manipulate his audience to devastating effect: we love, we hate, we turn and sympathise as each note reveals a little more of these complex, charismatic characters. Full info

Raymonda is one of the most elegant and celebrated ballets of all time – and rarely seen in its entirety.It was the creation of Marius Petipa (the renowned Maître de Ballet to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres), the composer Alexander Glazunov, the director of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and the author and columnist Countess Lidiya Pashkova.Scenario is based on medieval knight's legends. Full info

The libretto of the opera is based on the jewel of ancient Russian literature - The Tale of Igor's Campaign. Text and music were being written for 18 years but were finished by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov after the composer’s death. The opera also includes famous The Polovetsian Dances – a bright vocal-choreographic scene that has become a legend. For the 1890 premiere of Prince Igor the spirit of the wild dances was conveyed by choreographer Leo Ivanov, a co-author of the famous ballet Swan Lake. Full info

Raymonda is one of the most elegant and celebrated ballets of all time – and rarely seen in its entirety.It was the creation of Marius Petipa (the renowned Maître de Ballet to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres), the composer Alexander Glazunov, the director of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and the author and columnist Countess Lidiya Pashkova.Scenario is based on medieval knight's legends. 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

The unique author's ballet theater - the State Academic Theater of Classical Ballet under the direction of Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilev - is loved by audiences from different generations and different countries. Full info