Paris was one of the great centres of European art, and Sergey Dyagilev and his Ballet russes brought to the city a succession of epoch-shattering productions that revolutionised ballet. Whilst composing The Rite of Spring for Diaghilev, Stravinsky broke off its composition to write Petrushka, the story of a puppet suddenly brought to life. Choreography was by Fokin and Nijinsky danced the title role. It remains one of the twentieth century’s greatest ballets. Using music from Acts I and II of his opera Le rossignol, Stravinsky’s Song of the Nightingale is a brilliantly orchestrated symphonic poem, richly evoking Chinese music and the allure of the Orient.