Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet received its world premiere in Brno in 1938.
Prokofiev composed the ballet in the 1930s, using Shakespeare’s tragedy as its narrative foundation. The work was originally prepared for the Kirov Ballet, but production plans changed, and the ballet was eventually staged by the Ballet of the State Theatre in Brno, Czechoslovakia.
The premiere took place on 30 December 1938. The ballet later became strongly associated with major Soviet and international companies, especially after a successful 1940 production by the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad. Its best-known musical numbers include “Dance of the Knights,” which is frequently performed independently in concerts.
Moscow is a common wrong answer because Prokofiev was a major Soviet composer and the ballet later entered the Soviet repertory. Paris is linked to other important episodes in his career, but Brno is the city of the first stage performance.