In the 1960s and '70s, the Palais hosted live acts, films, opera and ballet. The Bolshoi Theatre, the Kirov Ballet and the Stars of World Ballet performed, and it was the Melbourne venue for The Australian Ballet, who premiered Anne Woolliams' production of "Swan Lake" on 19 October 1977, and its first commissioned "Nutcracker" choreographed by Leonid Kozlov and Valentina Kozlova on 8 October 1982. The Melbourne Film Festival was based at the Palais from 1962 until 1982. "Jesus Christ Superstar" played at the Palais in 1973 and 1976, and Joan Sutherland appeared with the Australian Opera in "The Merry Widow" in 1979.