Eight classic tracks, including Paranoid, Iron Man, War Pigs and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, have been re-orchestrated, with new compositions inspired by the band also to be played live by an orchestra.

Birmingham Royal Ballet's artistic director, Carlos Acosta, said: "One of the things that I wanted to do when I joined Birmingham Royal Ballet was to bring awareness of the treasure that this city had give to the world, and Black Sabbath is a perfect fit.

"It's a subject that opens curiosity because we come from the ballet world, and then the heavy metal world - what's going to be the negotiation, what's going to be the product at the end and that excites me."

The idea for the project had come to the Cuban-born dancer while he was on a flight to Havana about 10 years ago.

"I found myself with Jimmy Page and my actor friend Clive Owen, and I started to, back then, play with the idea of doing a ballet with rock music.

"At the time the more I thought about it, Black Sabbath was the way to go."

He added the band's music had a "lot of melodic feels" and there was a lot to choose from.

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