Stalin would have been pleased – his favourite ballet, “The Flames of Paris”, which was not staged for almost 50 years, has made its return to the Bolshoi theatre, which closes the season with the long-awaited premier.

But despite colourful pictures of revolutionary France, this time it has less rebel pathos, also telling personal love stories against the background of historic turmoil.

Among the 140 characters are King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, peasants with fagots of brushwood, affected aristocrats, members of the revolutionary Convent and famous painter Jacques-Louis David.

First staged in 1932 by Vasily Vainonen, it has now been revived by the Bolshoi Ballet’s artistic director Aleksey Ratmansky. As most of the choreography has been lost, he had to create most of the dances himself: both classical duos and solos and traditional folkloric pieces – carmagnole, farandole, Marseille and Auvergne dances.