Kirov brings ‘Swan Lake’ with a happy ending

When the Kirov Ballet begins its four-day engagement at the Wang Theatre tonight, it will perform its extraordinary Soviet-era version of "Swan Lake" -- with a happy ending. Yes, prince Siegfried and his swan maiden Odette don't die.

With its impassioned score by Tchaikovsky and its unforgettable love story, "Swan Lake" has long enthralled audiences. First choreographed by the now - forgotten Wenzel Reisinger and performed in Moscow in 1877, the ballet gained status as a masterpiece after the great choreographer and ballet master Marius Petipa and his assistant Lev Ivanov reworked it in 1895 for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. They refined the dramatic solos, pas de deux, and enchanting moonlit scenes, full of fluttering swans.

Since then, many other choreographers have been unable to resist creating their own visions of the classic , introducing everything from radical musical changes to questionable psychological twists. The Kirov Ballet, presented by Bank of America and the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, will perform Konstantin Sergeyev's 1950 version .

A former director of the Kirov Ballet and one of its stars until the 1960s, Sergeyev had to bow to the Soviet dictum that all stagings end on a positive note. (Leaders said any work that could be interpreted as negative or sad undermined society. ) But however controversial the altered climax, Sergeyev's "Swan Lake" is considered by many to be one of the most artistically satisfying interpretations. In part, that's because it maintains the legacy of the definitive Petipa-Ivanov choreography, whose simplified concept lets the dancing and drama shine through, free of extraneous sequences and characters.

The Kirov's visit is also remarkable because the company's base, the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, is being renovated, so an unusual number of its stars are on this tour, including prima ballerinas Uliana Lopatkina , who dances tonight, and Diana Vishneva , who dances tomorrow night.

Vishneva, who also appears with such other major companies as American Ballet Theatre, exemplifies the Kirov style, which is characterized by remarkable technique, incredible fluidity and musicality, and a keen sense of theater. These qualities, along with her dark, intense beauty, have led many critics to call her one of the greatest ballerinas of our time.

"I have performed many 'Swan Lakes,' " said Vishneva by phone recently. "They all teach me something new about the ballet. In each one, I try to go deeper into the character and emotions of Odette. The most important thing is the love story. That's what keeps the ballet new -- the intensity of Odette and Siegfried's passion ."

Lopatkina treasures the Kirov's legacy. "We are at a very high point," she said by phone. "It is an honor to be part of it. I never take it for granted. "

So how does the Kirov version depart from the source? In the Petipa-Ivanov "Swan Lake," the headstrong Siegfried must choose a bride. One night, the swan maiden Odette appears to him. The magician Rothbart, who has her under a spell, appears to make a mockery of their love by tempting Siegfried with Odile, Odette's evil twin . But the lovers eventually recognize the ruse and -- denied each other in life -- plunge together to the depths of the lake , breaking the spell forever. It is an enchanted, romantic vision underlaid with powerful themes of good and evil, reality and illusion.

In Sergeyev's ballet, Siegfried struggles with Rothbart and breaks his wing, destroying his power. Rothbart dies and the spell is broken. Siegfried, Odette, and all the swans who have been under Rothbart's spell are free to live happily ever after.

In a sense, other versions of "Swan Lake " also end happily; the lovers just have to wait until they reach the land of eternal love to unite . In American Ballet Theatre artistic director Kevin McKenzie's recent staging, for example, Siegfried's mistaken pledge of fidelity to Odile consigns Odette to eternity as a swan. Realizing her fate, she commits suicide , and the prince follows suit. By their act of sacrifice and love, Rothbart's power is broken and he is destroyed. In the final scene, the lovers rise together to heaven.

The New York City Ballet's "Swan Lake" takes a dark er turn. In this ballet, choreographed by Peter Martins after Ivanov, Petipa, and George Balanchine , the prince's declaration that he wishes to marry Odile represents a betrayal that condemns Odette to remain a swan forever. Siegfried is left alone to mourn in despair.

Changing the ending is one thing; reinterpreting the entire ballet is another. Several recent major productions, from St. Petersburg to San Francisco, streamline the narration until it hardly exists and appear uncomfortable telling a fairy tale at all.

In a 1999 staging by James Kudelka , artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, the ballet has new psychological complexities. Kudelka interprets the story as a conflict not between good and evil but between man and nature. Rothbart, symbolizing the earth, is the hero, and Siegfried the enemy, the human destroyer . The action includes a gang rape and white slavery. One might describe it as Oedipus meets the Sierra Club by way of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit."

In a "Swan Lake" choreographed in 2002 by David McAllister, artistic director of the Australian Ballet, the roles of Rothbart and Odile are combined in a baroness. After Siegfried and Odette marry, Odette learns he has had an affair with the baroness. Devastated, she has a mental breakdown and is institutionalized. Romance never has a chance.

In changing little but the ending of this "Swan Lake," Sergeyev left audiences to concentrate on the magnificent elegance and passion that the Kirov brings to the work. If any company understands the ballet's depth and beauty, it is this famous troupe from the dance's birthplace.

Bank of America Celebrity Series and the Wang Center for the Performing Arts present "Swan Lake" tonight through Sunday at the Wang Theatre. Tickets: 800-447-7400, telecharge.com, celebrityseries.org, wangcenter.org.