Five Things To Do in Edinburgh: Thursday 30 August

• BALLET: Cinderella. The Mariinsky Ballet brings Charles Perrault’s classic fairytale to the Festival, in this large-scale production Cinderella is forbidden from going to the ball, and forced to do the household chores. When an old tramp appears and Cinderella takes pity on her, she reveals herself to be a fairy and grants Cinderella her greatest wish. But there is one condition: she must leave by midnight or the magic spell will be broken.

Artist in residence with American Ballet Theatre and former director of the Bolshoi Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky is one of the most sought after choreographers in the world. Prokofiev’s musical score is performed live by the Mariinsky Orchestra and led by Valery Gergiev.

Festival Theatre, Nicolson Street, 7.30pm, £12-£46 (returns only), www.eif.co.uk 0131-473 2000

• MUSIC: Llyr williams. The intense performances of pianist Llyr Williams have thrilled audiences with their power and insights. For this concert, he scales the heights of 19th-century piano virtuosity in contrasting pieces by one of the greatest ever composers for the instrument, Liszt, playing Vallée d’Obermann, Les jeux d’eaux à la villa d’Este, and the Sonata in B minor.

The Queen’s Hall. Clerk Street, 11am, £8-£29 www.eif.co.uk 0131-473 2000

• MUSIC: Philharmonia Orchestra. Principal conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the Philharmonia Orchestra in Bruckner’s magnificent Fourth Symphony, one of the composer’s most popular works, and the Violin Concerto by South Korean-born composer Unsuk Chin

Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 8pm, £12-£42 www.eif.co.uk 0131-473 2000

• TALK: Nationhood Today. Broadcaster Sheena McDonald discusses the changing face of nationhood today in Scotland with professor of constitutional law Christine Bell, Grierson Professor of Literature Susan Manning and Alvin Jackson, Richard Lodge professor of history.

The Hub, Royal Mile, 5pm, £6, www.eif.co.uk, 0131 473 2000

• OPERA: In the Locked Room and Ghost Patrol. Presented as a double bill, these two short operas explore the capacity of the mind to shape our lives. Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 8pm, £25 (returns only), www.eif.co.uk, 0131 473 2000