Jewels at the Royal Opera House

George Balanchine's 1967 ballet is a glittering triptych of one-act ballets individually entitled Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds Photograph: David Levene/freelance

The ballet has an unusual place in the Balanchine canon. His defining works possess a visionary leanness at odds with Jewels' visual decadence Photograph: David Levene/freelance

Balanchine found his idea while passing the window displays of New York's Fifth Avenue: three plotless ballets, each set to a different score (Fauré, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky) and each inspired by a different gem. Photograph: David Levene/freelance

The Royal Ballet's production features a list of principal dancers as dazzling as Jewels' subject matter, including Tamara Rojo, Alina Cojocaru and Carlos Acosta Photograph: David Levene/freelance

Notoriously hard to design for, Peter Harvey, who created the sets for the first production of Jewels in 1967, referred to the ballet as the most 'embarrassing pain' of his career Photograph: David Levene/freelance

Renowned designer Jean-Marc Puissant was asked to create the sets for the new production Photograph: David Levene/freelance

Jewels runs at the Royal Opera House from tomorrow (November 23) until December 7 Photograph: David Levene/freelance