Shakespeare’s enduring love story Romeo and Juliet will be shown live from the Royal Opera House exclusively at the Eden Cinemas, Paceville, today, with an encore show taking place on Sunday.

Kenneth MacMillan’s passionate choreography for Romeo and Juliet shows The Royal Ballet at its dramatic finest. Sergey Prokofiev’s iconic score provides the basis for the ballet’s romantic pas de deux and vibrant crowd scenes, while 16th-century Verona is created by Nicholas Georgiadis’s magnificent designs.

In 1965, MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet premiered at Covent Garden by The Royal Ballet and was an immediate success: the first night was met with rapturous applause, which lasted for 40 minutes, and an incredible 43 curtain calls.

The title roles were performed by Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, although the ballet had been created on Christopher Gable and Lynn Seymour. It has been performed by The Royal Ballet more than 400 times since, as well as touring the world, and has become a true classic of the 20th-century ballet repertory.

Today’s screening will take place at 8.15pm, while the Sunday performance will be transmitted at 3pm. For tickets, visit www.edencinemas.com.mt.