Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet is most famous in the concert hall for its bleeding chunks, such as the march for the Montagues and Capulets, so Valery Gergiev's concert performance with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra was a rare chance to hear how Prokofiev dramatises the whole story. With Gergiev on inspirational form, and with the virtuosity and stamina of the Rotterdam players, this performance hardly flagged throughout its three hours.

Gergiev's brilliance was to characterise every section with such vividness that the stage action was never missed; in fact, his performance allowed listeners to concentrate on the subtlety and detail of Prokofiev's orchestration. There were moments of magic, such as the quiet string chords that appeared like a ghostly shadow after a terrifying brass chord - Prokofiev's realisation of the fate that ensnares the lovers; and the unstoppable frenzy of Mercutio's duel with Tybalt at the end of Act 2.

Over the course of all four acts, the coherence of Prokofiev's score was surprising. He was inspired by Shakespeare's narrative to compose some of his most immediate and affecting music - as in the balcony scene at the end of the first act, which Gergiev turned into an outpouring of orchestral opulence. But these moments were part of the narrative momentum of the whole performance, which generated a journey of inexorable tragedy, especially in the desolate music of the final act. After all the energy and action of the previous acts, the fourth opened with a tiny, tremulous string line that the orchestra seemed to conjure from thin air, before the music grew into a searing lament for Juliet.

Gergiev made this the emotional and structural climax of the piece, and a revelation of Prokofiev's gifts as a dramatist. Even after three hours, the musicians played with the same intensity, rejuvenated by Gergiev's apparently limitless enthusiasm and insight.