Beethoven was commissioned to write his first stage work- a ballet score for Die Geschopfe des Prometheus (‘The Creatures of Prometheus’)- for the dancer and choreographer Salvatore Vigano, nephew of composer Luigi Boccherini. In the myth, Prometheus is punished by Zeus for stealing fire for the benefit of mankind; in the allegorical ballet, Prometheus brings Enlightenment ideas of art and science to humanity. The overture remains popular and the finale- the theme of which Beethoven was later to use in his ‘Eroica’ Symphony- offers a heroic conclusion.