From the opening waltz for the corps de ballet it is plain that this company is in great form — highly disciplined, but also musical and engaging; and at the centre of this excellent production is a stunning performance by Maria Kuimova. But it also contains some perplexing oddities. Instead of a birthday present of a crossbow, Prince Siegfried’s mother gives him a more ‘politically correct’ necklace: “Can’t have you going around shooting lovely swans, dear!”

But without a crossbow in his hand, why does Odette tremble with fear rather than welcome Siegfried as a potential saviour? And what has sent Siegfried down to the lake if he hasn’t gone shooting? This is ‘solved’ by having von Rothbart appear as a shadowy figure at the birthday party, magically drawing Siegfried to the lakeside. But why? Does von Rothbart want to have his prize captive liberated? If not, what’s his motive?

Later, when Siegfried rushes back to the lake to find his betrayed love, the swans’ feathers have all turned black; how did they do this? And, finally, the end has been changed. Instead of dying together in the lake, Siegfried throws himself alone into the stormy waters, leaving Odette grieving amid her now-white-again companions.

But these glaring lapses in logic do little to reduce one’s pleasure in the performance. The minor roles are consistently satisfying, and the national dances in Act III beautifully done in Christina Fyodorova’s lavish costumes.

Anastasia Kazantseva and Elena Zubrilina are outstanding as the Hungarian and Spanish Princesses, and Elena Tcherkashina is enchanting in the exuberant Neapolitan dance.

Kirill Litvinenko is a powerful von Rothbart. I would like the character to be given more dancing, but he’s a menacing figure all the same. As Prince Siegfried, Yuri Vyskubenko dances very well, but lacks the aura of a fairy-tale prince, and the blend of awe and passion of a man who has suddenly found love with a swan-woman by the (horribly over-lit) lake.

Maria Kuimova, however, lacks nothing at all. Beautiful, slender, musical, authoritative, her dancing as Odette is a masterpiece of expressive lyricism, and, with looks like that, she has no bother at all turning into the sexy seductress Odile. Her big solos in Act III are effortlessly exciting, and her silent cackle of glee, when Siegfried has been tricked, is one of the many moments when she shows she is also an actress.

n The company is at the Wycombe Swan from January 31 to February 2 (01494 512000, www.wycombeswan.co.uk); the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, from March 14 to 16 (01793 524481, www.wyverntheatre.org.uk) and Aylesbury Waterside Theatre from March 24 to 26 (0844 8717677, www.ambassadortickets.com/aylesbury).