La Bayadère is one of those long, sumptuous, romantic entertainments that were so loved by up-market Russians in the late 19th century. With choreography by the great Marius Petipa, and music by the ever-tuneful Ludwig Minkus, it has never been out of the Kirov’s repertoire, but was unknown in the West until they brought just one act, The Kingdom of the Shades, in 1961. Since then there have been authentic stagings of the complete work by two of the Kirov’s famous defectors, Rudolf Nureyev, and Natalia Makarova, whose production this is.

Nureyev himself was unforgettable as Solor, the Indian warrior who loves Nikiya, a temple dancer, but is forced to get engaged to the Rajah’s daughter.She, learning where Solor’s affections lie, has Nikiya poisoned by a snake. This leads to one of the most stunning sequences in classical ballet, when Solor, high on opium, dreams he has descended to the Shades to meet his lost love once again.

The stage is empty. Then one white-clad spirit appears and dips into ‘arabesque’ (arm stretched forwards, leg extended back), very difficult on a sloping ramp. She steps forward, and a second appears, then another, until finally the whole corps de ballet is on stage, each continually repeating the step in unison, to Minkus’s swoony music. By the end, the first dancer will have done 36 successive arabesques; the effect is sensational.

What Petipa has gone for all the way through is spectacle; willowy girls in harem-pants and bare midriffs, resplendent costumes for the men, and an exotic solo for the ‘Bronze Idol’ (pictured) – a virtuoso performance by Jose Martin, entirely covered in gold. This is the nearest we come to the dance style of India, and the music reminds us that Minkus came from Vienna – there are even a couple of lilting waltzes. But who cares? We’re here to feast on the glamour, and the story is touching. Tamara Rojo dances Nikiya with a creamy smoothness and makes her difficult role look easy. Her temple dancer is a gentle soul who knows her place, but is driven forwards by the strength of her love.

Alexandra Ansanelli is the Rajah’s daughter, a gutsy but spoiled little rich girl, who is aghast when she sees the beauty of her rival in love. You can’t help feeling for her, even though she has Nikiya killed, because she too is able to convey the strength of her passion.

At the centre of all this is the remarkable Carlos Acosta as Solor; powerful, dramatic and exotic; whirling through his first act solo like a released leopard to cheers from the packed opera house.

La Bayadère runs at the Royal Opera House until January 29.