Ask most people to name one ballet and they will say Swan Lake - and this production by Birmingham Royal Ballet reminds us of why the work remains the classic ballet.

Tchaikovsky’s soaring music alone would be enough to keep audiences in their seats for the nearly three-hour show. But this Sir Peter Wright and Galina Samsova production adds so much more. Created in 1981, it remains one of the great Swan Lakes with sumptuous sets and costumes and choreography that takes your breath away.

The ballet tells the story of Odette, a princess under a spell from the evil magician Baron von Rothbart to be a swan by day, only taking human form by night, until someone who has never loved before will swear eternal devotion for her. When young Prince Siegfried meets the princess one moonlit night it seems the spell will be broken - but von Rothbart sets out to thwart the lovers.

César Morales brings lots of personality to his role as the Prince. Not only is his dancing full of energy and timed to perfection, he also reveals a Prince who is troubled by a new world of responsibility after the death of his father, a responsibility he carries with heavy heart when he learns he must marry to fulfil the role. Meeting Odette he falls tenderly in love – a love he is prepared to give all for.

Miki Mizutani has the challenge of playing both Odette and the devious Odile, both of which parts demand technical brilliance and a great deal of stamina. Mizutani’s dancing is truly marvellous and she gives us a nicely balanced tremulous and then devastated Odette but her Odile would benefit from being more flirty and cunning as she sets out to lure Siegfried away from his one true love.

Overseeing the action and sweeping around the stage with fist-shaking menace, Jonathan Payn is the dastardly von Rothbart who is determined to keep Odette under his power.

The production is rich in set pieces where stages are filled with whirling courtiers or fluttering swans so is high in spectacle. Add in some magic touches - the swans appearing out of the mist in the final act brings a sigh of appreciation from the audience - and there is so much to love in the show.

Some of the corps dancing could be a bit sharper, particularly in the court scenes in Acts I and III, but the courtesans and the visiting princesses who attempt to charm the prince perform with dexterity and good characterisation.

Under the baton of conductor Philip Ellis and leader Robert Gibbs, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia give a rich and dramatic performance of Tchaikovsky’s wonderful score, catching the heart-breaking moments of tension but also the thunderous melodies so well-known to music-lovers.

More than 40 years after its creation, this Swan Lake rightly retains its place as one of the jewels in the crown for BRB and is a must for ballet fans. While some of the first performances are sold out, there are tickets remaining into the second week at Birmingham.

Four stars

Reviewed by Diane Parkes at Birmingham Hippodrome on Wed 15 February. BRB's Swan Lake continues to show at the venue until Saturday 25 February.

Performances feature different casts - for cast lists see www.brb.org.uk and for tickets see birminghamhippodrome.com