Swan Lake of course. This eighth wonder of the world first saw the light of day in Moscow in 1877, and whatever the changes wrought since then by time and producers (most of whom should fry in hell), the Bolshoi Ballet may claim it as their own.

The staging that we saw on Thursday night is that originally made by Yury Grigorovich three decades ago. Framed by Simon Virsaladze’s Gothic, golden designs, it offers a gloss on the more traditional versions by shaping the action as Siegfried’s tragedy, which is that of a man fighting a destiny which seeks to thwart his love for Odette, and finally triumphs. It is an intriguing view, well realised, and danced as always by the troupe with a sense of involvement that must be absorbed into each and every body with the rituals of daily class. The impeccable ranks of swans move as one, and are marvellous. The soloists invest their choreography with an unfailing authority – Natalia Osipova a shining example as the Spanish Princess in the ballroom scene; a cygnet (Chinara Alizade) with ravishing feet.

Its focus was the Siegfried of Ruslan Skvortsov, handsome, presenting the role and the dance through broad, weighted brushstrokes, and obsessed by Svetlana Zakharova’s Odette/Odile. Here is a ballerina of exceptional gifts. The rituals of the choreography are shown as fine-boned, exquisitely linear, drawn with an unerring and Ingres-like skill. I found her Odette wonderful in technical exposition, if somewhat cold to the touch, the Swan Princess’s tragedy almost too interiorised, too fearful to speak its secret to Siegfried. Her Odile, though, was far from the vamp more usually shown to us. Beautiful, smiling, serene in her malice, she was irresistible as villainess and as virtuoso dancer, the movement invincible as her wickedness. No Siegfried could stand a chance against her, and no audience resist such shining bravura.

Yes, another Swan Lake, but earning its right to the cheers, the flowers, the adoring public. ★★★★☆

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