The Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet

The Mariinsky's mixed programme opens with their production of Mikhail Fokine's 1910 fairytale ballet The Firebird, a masterpiece of early 20th-century dance set to Stravinsky's brilliant score.

At the centre of the programme is the soaring romanticism of Ashton's Marguerite and Armand, created on Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev for The Royal Ballet in 1963. The ballet features two of the most treasured dramatic roles in the ballet repertory.

Alexei Ratmansky's 2008 work Concerto DSCH brings the programme to a close in a burst of exuberance, with a setting of Shostakovich's vibrant Piano Concerto no.2.