Boston Ballet's Swan Lake

"Swan Lake," originally premiered in 1895, is a sensory enchantment, but the emotional fireworks were lacking in a recent Thursday night performance by the Boston Ballet.

We follow the confused love life of Prince Siegfried (danced on the night by Eris Nezha), whose formidable mother is determined to get him to marry. In the Prologue, we are introduced to the lovely Odette (danced by Ashley Ellis) as she is dragged away from a lakeside picnic by the dastardly sorcerer Von Rothbart (danced by Bo Busby) who turns her into a swan.

In Act I, Prince Seigfried's mother throws a celebration of his coming-of-age in the gardens of her gorgeous castle, announcing that by the next night he must pick a bride. The highlight of the party is the pas de trois of Maria Baranova, Petra Conti, and especially the gravity-defying Junxiong Zhoa, whose leaps and spins are dazzling. They set the tone of the choreography -- originally by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and augmented by Boston Ballet's Mikko Nissinen -- in its precise relationship to Tchaikovsky's lush score. The Boston Ballet Orchestra performed with its usual distinction, led by music director Jonathan McPhee.

When he goes off hunting late at night to a lake with his crossbow in Act II, Prince Seigfried runs into a flight of swans. A bright sliver of the moon cuts through the fog, while mist shrouds the ground. The Queen of the white swans turns into the fetching human Odette and confesses to the Prince that she cannot escape Baron Von Rothbart's spell until she marries. Prince Seigfried is smitten. He tosses away his weapon and all dance for joy.

One of the brilliant moments of the performance is the dance of the four Cygnets (young swans): Diana Albrecht, Maria Alvarez, Jillian Barrell, and Corina Gill. Their unison staccato movement is flawless, building a moment of magic that is rewarded by perhaps the most sustained audience applause of the evening.

Ashley Ellis is a soft, graceful Odette (the white swan) and a confident, strong Odille (the black swan). Since she joined the company in 2011, she has moved from second soloist, to soloist (2012) and then to Principal dancer (2013). Unfortunately, there really isn't much romantic chemistry between the couple. Nezha does not convey the confidence of an aristocrat or the drive of a man in love.

For Act III, we are invited into the castle's great hall where his mother continues to try to fix up the Prince with a suitable woman. When Odile, the Black Swan, arrives on the arm of the nasty Von Rothbart, her father, she looks so identical to Odette that the Prince is enticed and the two of them get it on. As Odile, Ashley Ellis dances with an assurance and power that is contagious, and Eris Nezha shows improved passion in his work with her.

Before the Prince can run off with Odile, there is a wavy projection of Odette on the curtain over the hall which confuses him and reminds him who he really loves.

Act IV takes place back at the lake, under the slice of the new moon, where the swans rise up from the ground mist. Odette is highly annoyed that the Prince got so involved with Odile, until he explains that he was tricked. Von Rothbart arrives to demand that the Prince marry his daughter. There is a major kerfuffle in which Odette and the Prince kill their enemy, leaving the swans under the spell. Heartbroken, the Prince succumbs to the waves.

Overall, this ballet is full of eye candy. The sets are luscious, but do not overwhelm the stage. The costumes are a rich cornucopia of luxurious fabric and sparkly embellishment. Both sets and costumes were designed by Robert Perdziola.

The Boston Ballet is a highly polished, top-notch company whose work is almost always impressive. On this night, though, it was somewhat underwhelming. But "Swan Lake" is about the swans. And when the corps fills the stage with dancing swans, they are a gorgeous wave of white grace and ultimately the dance is theirs.

Boston Ballet's Swan Lake continues through May 26, 2016 at the Boston Opera House, 539 Washington Street, Boston, MA. For more information, the Boston Ballet website.