Watch HDToday. Lucien, a young composer, sets out to conquer the Parisian scene in search of glory. His success soon blinds him, and he betrays his friends and his love. Lost Illusions is a new ballet created in Moscow in 2011 by Alexei Ratmansky with dramaturgical advice from Guillaume Gallienne. This stylised adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s novel features thwarted love, ambition, and disillusionment, with 19th century Paris as its backdrop.