The second, and longest, of Tchaikovsky’s three ballets, Sleeping Beauty was first performed in St Petersburg in 1889. Again, the theme of good versus evil is to the fore, in the form of the character

‘I accepted the commission partly for the money, and partly because I have long wanted to try my hand at this sort of music,’ wrote Tchaikovsky to Rimsky-Korsakov. For the sum of 800 roubles (around £

Zémide*; Pygmalion** Ema Nikolovska, Virginie Thomas et al; A Nocte Temporis, Chœur de Chambre de Namur/ Reinoud Van Mechelen Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS174 80:10 mins Readers may be grateful

Sitting in an American diner in Derbyshire seven years ago, Caroline Thompson had a brainwave. The mum of two had recently retrained as an NHS Talking Therapist, and while she loved her new role, she

Maria Falconer considers…

The power and glory of Parisian art