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Balletoman, you are not alone being obssessed by Lopatkina's image in the white act of this ballet! I, too, have been unable to quite shed her shadows almost all the time as to my mind for this particular ballet other dancers cannot come to even a close second - I've long thought her Odette is some rare gift given to us ballet lovers.... That said, I enjoyed the last night's performance enormously. I thought it's one of those evenings all the elements of a performance just clicked, nicely; a leading pair, a supporting act, Corp de Ballet, Orchestra and visual effects.

From the very beginning of the first act a good sign was there - Corp de Ballet danced the Waltz with grace and in unison. The colours and shapes of the costumes and set designs might not be called provocative for today's standards and tastes but to someone like me, who hates to see on a ballet stage a "design for design's sake" type of approach, this very traditional aestheticism did work. It's easy to the eyes and, more significantly, didn't intrude on the most important element: Dance - which was great. Pdt was done in a good form though unlike other readers my eyes followed Zhelenkina most of the time - how light and subtle her dancing was. She is one of those rapidly dying species who gives me a sheer joy to watch classical ballets.

Igor Zelensky's Prince was very likable in character and looked really relaxed being a central figure in the picture. I've noticed his acting got better and better over the years; he's now more expressive than ever and has developed more rapport with his partners. (Incidentally after Act II, one friend of mine who saw the ballet for the second time commented that she didn't know this prince had Oedipus complex and was rather annoyed by that fact. Yes, that's one interpretation available to dancers, I said. Igor, your attempt to bring out a psychological drama was a success!) His dancing was - wow - suberb! Secure and ultra smooth - I particularly liked the way he used space so generously. And, as in Corsaire, the most exciting dance moment came when he did spins and jumps in a slow-motion-like speed; often he took time and executed these pas to almost impossibly s-l-o-o-o-w tempi even in allegro. The guy never rushed things, which I loved, and what's more, he didn't appear to do it to show-off his skills but it rather came very naturally from him. It's really great to see him matured into a very fine artist...

Now time to over to Zakharova - what an interesting dancer she is about to become! On Monday I gasped at her Medora - literally. By the time 2 hours' entertainment was close to end, I felt I was nearly out of oxygen, being bombarded with her highly charged, sulphurous dancing - apparently she overdid it (only precision machines could do that, I thought). My problem was that she danced the role way too intimidatingly and left no room for fantasy. Without a heart, her technical strength and physical gift could cause only a disastrous effect, I thought.

But last night, ironically she was more a human being as Swan Queen than as a beautiful slave girl. I saw Zakharova in Swan Lake several times in the past and was never pursuaded by her Odette. Her Odile was usually very impressive technically but weak in bringing out a character - that was my impressions. For the first time, last night, her Odette was more convincing than Odile. From the entrance scene, I could tell she concentrated and utterly indulged in the role - she looked so absorbed in the drama she was trapped in. Though I still couldn't find a poetry in her Odette, at least she succeeded in creating a heroine with whom we could sympathise. Thanks to her brilliant control of those impossibly flexible limbs and understated acting, together with wonderful Corp de, White Ballet scene was beautifully done. Zakharova proved she was worthy Swan Queen to have on the opening night of Kirov's Swan Lake.

Out of these two performances Zakharova has emerged to me as a dancer of an extraordinary strength, both physical and mental. This is not Zakharova as I thought I knew - but, interesting...