Spartacus

29,30,31 July and 1,9,10 August at 7.30pm
10 August at 2pm

The Bolshoi opens the season with Yuri Grigorovich’s sensational staging of Spartacus which first took London by storm in 1969. This spectacularly monumental ballet displays the Bolshoi Ballet at its most powerful, as well as demonstrating the astounding individual talents of the Company’s great stars. Spartacus leads a rebellion of gladiators and slaves against ancient Rome. This epic portrayal of the uprising, with marching battalions, gladiatorial combat and the heroic death of Spartacus, set to Khachaturian’s thrilling music, is now an established classic of the Russian contemporary ballet repertoire, epitomising the Bolshoi’s unique style.

Swan Lake

2,3,5,6,12,13,14 August at 7.30pm
3 August at 2pm

Yuri Grigorovich’s spellbinding adaptation of Swan Lake set to Tchaikovsky’s ravishing score and based on the renowned choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, is a masterpiece of beauty, poetry and drama. The role of Odette/Odile celebrates the consummate lyricism of the supreme Bolshoi prima ballerinas in this timeless favourite which embodies all the elements that have made Swan Lake the world’s best-loved ballet, as Prince Siegfried and the swan-princess Odette conquer the forces of evil and affirm their love for each other.

The Bright Stream

7,8 August at 7.30pm

The Bolshoi’s dazzlingly imaginative production of The Bright Stream returns to once again amuse, surprise and enchant. In an exuberant homage to the Russian people, Shostakovich’s massive, colourful score provides the canvas for this irrepressibly mischievous comedy of life and love in which intrigues, impersonations and complications combine in a celebration of folklore, fun, nostalgia and joy. Alexei Ratmansky’s vibrant staging combines acrobatics, disguise and farce, in a kaleidoscopic whirl of sparkling virtuosity which showcases the Bolshoi’s spectacular vitality.

Don Quixote

15,16,17 August at 7.30pm
17 August at 2pm

The Bolshoi’s sparkling restaging by Alexei Fadeyechev of Petipa’s magnificent Don Quixote is a favourite of London audiences, acclaimed for its breathtaking display of virtuoso dancing and enchanting choreography, perfectly conveying the excitement, colour and wit of Cervantes’ masterpiece. Drama, comedy, love and merriment combine in this enchanting classic, a high-spirited account of the love between Kitri and Basil who must overcome all Kitri’s father’s fruitless attempts to engineer his unwilling daughter into a more lucrative match.