Birmingham Royal Ballet director David Bintley rather likes it when people ask how on earth are you going to do a ballet about Cyrano de Bergerac?', he told my colleague David Bellan in an Oxford Times interview last week. It's a fair question though - the intimate tale of a nobleman with an extraordinarily long nose who composes beautifully written love letters on behalf of a young friend doesn't necessarily lend itself to large-scale ballet treatment.

Bintley combines the two Cyranos, the real-life French dramatist and soldier, and the partially fictional hero of Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. His Cyrano reflects both the celebrated swordsmanship of the soldier, and the swashbuckling character of Rostand's hero. And it's by no means only Cyrano who gets the chance to wield a sword with a flourish: Bintley and fight director Malcolm Ranson have produced several crowd scenes that memorably combine choreographic invention with sheer excitement.

Christian, a raw army recruit (expertly portrayed by Iain Mackay as a handsome fellow, but perhaps not of the highest intelligence) is deeply in love with Roxane. The only trouble is that he cannot read or write, so Cyrano, who has already written a poem declaring his own love for Roxane, reluctantly agrees to write Christian's letters for him. But Roxane's guardian, the Comte de Guiche (another swashbuckling character, played with great glee and panache by Dominic Antonucci) has every intention of marrying his ward himself. It's not long before de Guiche's aide (Valentin Olovyannikov) challenges Cyrano to a duel.

The scene is set for much colourful action, in a production that remains firmly set in the 17th-century lifetime of the real Cyrano - the show looks gorgeous (designer Hayden Griffin). Cyrano inhabits a decidedly male-dominated world, but choreographer Bintley gives Elisha Willis plenty of space to shine as Roxane. The role was created for her, and her fluid dancing, and radiant body language are just right for the part. There is a splendid cameo role for Roxane's chaperon too - taken with hilarious relish by the seemingly immortal Marion Tait. There are many other comedy cameos too, in a production that is full of humour. Yet Bintley effortlessly switches gear to provide tender moments as each letter is written and delivered.

But all revolves round Robert Parker's Cyrano. There is only one word to describe his performance: stunning. His whole body seems built round That Nose, yet it in no way does he seem like a crude caricature. His athletic dancing is breathtaking. It's all the more ironic, therefore, to learn that this is his last role - he shortly leaves BRB to train as an airline pilot.

Last and by no means least, Cyrano benefits greatly from Carl Davis's descriptive score, conducted and played with verve by Paul Murphy and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. The only pity is that this production was in Oxford for only two days, for it clearly shows that Bintley has triumphantly met the challenge he set himself, and that BRB is running on top form.