Synopsis

From 1978 to 1982, the charismatic Russian Gennady Rozhdestvensky served as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Tonight, known affectionately as 'Noddy' by the orchestra, he returns to lead them in Rossini’s Overture to the 1817 comic opera *La Cenerentola* and Act I of Prokofiev’s celebrated ballet, *Cinderella*. During the broadcast, Rozhdestvensky discusses Prokofiev with the renowned Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova, who was principal dancer in all of his full-length ballets, a