After the millionth tour, the expression on Côté's face was less one of sweet bewitchment than of mounting panic. "If this solo doesn't end soon," it seemed to say, "would someone please shoot me?"

Her Prince, Guillaume Cote, is a guest from the Canadian National Ballet - decently trained but sometimes too fancy in manner. He partnered Romagna well, even though she is a bit tall for him.

After a shaky start, Côté danced well, although Marta Romagna's Aurora had a stridency from start to last.

Despite all of this the production fails to ignite. Wednesday’s opening performance, fielding the first of three casts, felt brittle beneath the glitter. The dancing was often under par, steps occasionally fudged, characterisations rarely reaching beyond cliché.

…Her prince, Guillaume Côté, a guest from the National Ballet of Canada, fared better, even if he did have to cope with a fiendish but pointless solo that Nureyev interpolated into the second act.

The evening began with excerpts from Kenneth MacMillan’s whimsical and light-hearted “Elite Syncopations”. Former principal dancer Rex Harrington returned to the stage as the Principal Man, much to the audience’s delight. He was so at ease with the choreography and the other dancers, it was as if he had never left. Although he can have a tendency to be a bit of a ham, it is totally appropriate in this ballet, and what’s more, the joy he finds in performing is palpable and infectious. Nevertheless, Xiao Nan Yu, as the Red Hot Woman, did not allow him to steal the show. Her dancing was spot on and had attitude to spare. She is impossible to take your eyes off of. Tanya Howard, newly promoted to first soloist, gave a notable performance in the cheeky Calliope Rag. Julie Hay and Jeremy Nasmith were perfect in the comical Alaskan Rag, with their gaping height difference.