The Firebird / Petrushka Tickets

Dubai Opera, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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Available Dates: 24 - 26 Apr, 2026 (3 events)

Important Info

Type: Ballet

City: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Duration: 1h 30min with 1 interval

Intervals: 1

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

Choose the date to see the peformers

Creators

Composer: Igor Stravinsky

Choreographer: Michel Fokine

Librettist: Alexandre Benois

Choreography: Edward Clug

Librettist: Igor Stravinsky

Librettist: Michel Fokine

Overview

Dubai Opera is proud to present The Firebird / Petrushka, a landmark ballet double bill performed by the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, running from 24 to 26 April 2026.

This exceptional programme pays tribute to one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky, through two of his most iconic scores, reimagined by leading contemporary choreographic voices.

Bringing together The Firebird and Petrushka, this refined diptych offers a compelling dialogue between heritage and modernity, showcasing how Stravinsky’s revolutionary musical language continues to inspire new artistic visions for our time.

In The Firebird, choreographer Maša Kolar transforms the celebrated fairy tale into a contemporary, abstract and symbolic journey, set to Stravinsky’s 1919 suite. Her interpretation explores themes of power, metamorphosis, and transcendence, guiding Prince Ivan through a dreamlike world where myth becomes a poetic reflection on transformation and human desire.

Edward Clug’s Petrushka offers a visually striking and emotionally resonant reinterpretation of the tragic puppet’s story. While echoing the spirit and theatrical legacy of the Ballets Russes, Clug’s version speaks to a contemporary sensibility, delving into questions of identity, alienation, and the fragility of the human condition through a language of refined minimalism and profound expressiveness.

Together, these two masterworks form an evening of exceptional artistic depth, where classical repertoire is re-envisioned through a contemporary lens, reaffirming ballet’s enduring power as a living, evolving art form on the stage of Dubai Opera.

Both Stravinsky's score and Mikhail Fokine's choreography were ground breaking. Fokine shifted from classical ballet towards a more realist and folk-derived style of movement, while Stravinsky incorporated elements of folksong into his music. The role of the Firebird is challenging to dance and mesmerizing to watch - she enters the stage in a flash of movement, and her steps are bold and full of a powerful energy. The strange characters that accompany Kostcheï transform the stage into a spectacular blaze of colour and folkloric detail, and this unique ballet ends with tableau that is as vivid as it is distinctly Russian.

History

Premiere of this production: 25 June 1910, Théâtre de l´Opéra, Paris

The Firebird is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, with a scenario by Alexandre Benois and Fokine based on the Russian fairy tales of the Firebird and the blessing and curse it possesses for its owner.

Premiere of this production: 13 June 1911, Théâtre du Châtelet Paris

Petrushka is a ballet, or more exactly scènes burlesques, in four scenes. It was composed in 1910–11 and revised in 1946. Igor Stravinsky composed the music, and, with Alexandre Benois, fashioned the libretto. Michel Fokine choreographed the ballet; Benois designed the sets and costumes. Petrushka was first performed by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 13 June 1911. Vaslav Nijinsky portrayed Petrushka with Tamara Karsavina as the Ballerina. Alexander Orlov portrayed the Moor, and Enrico Cecchetti the Charlatan.

Synopsis

The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by keeping his soul in a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for her life and he spares her. As a token of thanks, she offers him an enchanted feather that he can use to summon her should he be in dire need.

Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them. The next day, Ivan confronts the magician and eventually they begin quarrelling. When Koschei sends his minions after Ivan, he summons the Firebird. She intervenes, bewitching the monsters and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance").

The creatures and Koschei then fall into a deep sleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg containing Koschei's soul is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg and with the spell broken, the magical creatures that Koschei held captive are freed and the palace disappears. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken and with one final hint of the Firebird's music (though in Fokine's choreography she makes no appearance in that final scene on-stage), celebrate their victory.

Venue Info

Dubai Opera - Dubai
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd - Downtown Dubai

Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format, performing arts center, which is located within The Opera District in Downtown Dubai. It was developed by Emaar Properties to host a variety of performances and events including theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, conferences and exhibitions.

Dubai Opera is part of The Opera District within Downtown Dubai. The 1901-seat performing arts center was designed by Janus Rostock of Atkins. The theatre was conceived and briefed by Theatre Projects Consultants, it can be converted into a traditional theatre, concert hall, banquet hall or exhibition space. Using hydraulic lifts and seating wagons to relocate 900 of the 2,000 seats, the space can be used for other events while the extra seating is stored in garages beneath the theatre.

Dubai Opera is designed to resemble a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel, in which the 'bow' of the structure houses the opera's main stage, orchestra and seating, while the elongated 'hull' has waiting areas, taxi drop-off areas, and parking. It also boasts a rooftop restaurant with views of the Burj Khalifa.

The first Emirati singer to appear at Dubai Opera was Hussain Al Jassmi on 10 October 2016.

Shortly after that, the award-winning hit musical Les Misérables graced the stage for a three-week run.

In 2017 the venue staged the inaugural BBC Proms Dubai - just the second time ever that the United Kingdom's premier classical music series hosted events abroad in its 112-year history.

Dubai Opera's longest running show was the Phantom of the Opera in late 2019.