Artiste: Maria Allash

While the ballet's libretto is dated, The Golden Age can, when performed by great artists, be both an entertaining and emotionally satisfying ballet.

The 30 members of the male corps de ballet almost stole the show at the Bolshoi with the astonishing power of their dancing, alongside a leading quartet of soloists in Legend of Love.

The Bolshoi are back in town and, judging from yesterday’s opening performance of Spartacus, they are here to show off their characteristically big and bold style of ballet. Spartacus is a spectacle of grand scale, a thrilling combination of physical power and drama.