Italy’s illustrious Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company will perform in Australia for the first time ever in its 240-year history, when it presents a season in Brisbane from November 7 ­to 18. Announced today by the Queensland Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch and Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones, the visit is part of the 2018 Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) International Series and is exclusive to Brisbane.

Nicoletta Manni as Kitri in Don Quixote. Photograph © Marco Brescia and Rudy Amisano 

The Company will perform two classic ballets: Rudolph Nureyev’s Don Quixote and a revival of Giselle by Yvette Chauviré, with music played live by Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Audiences will have the chance to see both productions in one weekend, between November 16 and 18.

The performance of Don Quixote on November 10 will be simulcast through the Live from the Lyric Queensland program so that people in regional Queensland can experience it. The 2018 tour will also include an extensive accompanying program of events called La Scala Plus.

Since its inception in 2009, the QPAC International Series has presented some of the world’s finest ballet companies including the Paris Opera Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, American...