Artiste: Nicol Edmonds

Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon with The Royal Ballet looks every bit as good as it did back in 1974. There is a reason why it’s stood the test of time. 

Centuries after her beheading by her English cousin, Mary Stuart remains a potent symbol of Scottish exceptionalism and historical grievance. Weak production design weighs down Sophie Laplane's imaginative choreography for Scottish Ballet.  

Natalia Osipova, a seasoned Tatiana, is joined by Lukas B Brændsrød, making his debut as Onegin in the summer return of John Cranko's take on Pushkin's classic verse novel. 

Thomas Adès' score does most of the storytelling in this epic production, though the dancing is superlative.

Every decade or so, The Royal Ballet creates a new work that will endure in its signature collection, and there's little doubt that Woolf Works deserves its place among that elite.   

The whole Company exudes bravura and panache in gala programme headlined by a Zucchetti premiere and a Wheeldon classic.