Vilia Putrius and Alexander Akulov in Swan Lake.

Thomas Nola-Rion

PROVIDENCE

If you like lavish productions, leap into Swan Lake. The water’s fine. The dancing’s good. And the staging’s really something.

Festival Ballet Providence closes its 30th season this weekend at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in a big and ambitious way. The three-act, 2-hour-and-20-minute show, which opened last night, involves a cast of 55 in 85 roles, sumptuous sets and elaborate costumes that convey a rich, fairytale feel.

The classic work, featuring the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky, is set here by Mihailo Djuric and Milica Bijelic, Festival’s artistic director and ballet mistress, respectively. From beginning to end, there’s a sense of spectacle to the show, not just in scenery but in performance, with large and numerous ensemble dances. Mostly this involves a herd of swans, more than a dozen women in white tutus, and one who notably wears a tiara.

That’s the queen, Odette, played on this night by Vilia Putrius with suitable swan-like delicacy and gentility, imparted partly through a lovely wing-like undulating of her arms and a graceful arching of her back.

Alexander Akulov is a dashing and quite-able dancing Prince Siegfried. When we meet him he’s the subject of a coming-of-age party in an outdoor courtyard depicted by a few nice foreground trees and a painted background scrim, on loan from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

The prince’s friends take turns dancing and so does the court jester, on this night Ilya Burov, who shows good athleticism. There’s a lot of dancing in this ballet, which may sound odd. After all, it is to be expected.

However this is a story ballet. So if your focus is on the story, the extended dancing, which doesn’t push or advance the plot, may seem a digression, or, given its quality, perhaps a lulling and pleasing indulgence.

The story is of good and evil, and the triumph of love. An evil sorcerer, Von Rothbart, played on this night by Eivar Martinez, has put a curse on young women so that by day they live as swans in a lake of their tears. But at night they are women again. Only true love can break the curse.

Prince Siegfried meets Odette and falls in love. Later, at a ball for the prince, Von Rothbart presents his daughter who he has made to appear to be Odette. So the prince pledges his love to her. Odette’s dream seems dashed. The diabolical Von Rothbart and his daughter exit laughing. The drama begins.

The prince pursues and fights Von Rothbart, winning the battle, and his love.

In between all this, there’s a lot of flowing dancing. The big swan numbers are a graceful sight. And a quartet of swans, known as the Cygnets — Ashley Andries, Eric Chipp, Courtney Fraga and Lauren Menger — put on a brief but impressive and unusual line dance where each holds crossed hands with the next and performs some fast footwork.

At the ball, in the old-fashioned classical ballet fashion of such works as Nutcracker, we see an array of celebratory dance styles: Neapolitan, Hungarian and Spanish. And we see Putrius and Akolov, as the Swan Queen and prince, present many alternating solos, which are well done.

Festival has pared down the classic Swan Lake choreography of Marius Petipa, but still the production could be tighter, for those who like their storytelling direct. And for those who don’t, indulge in the dance.

Swan Lake will be performed tonight at 7:30 and tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Auditorium, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence. For tickets, $17 to $62, visit www.tickets.com or call (800) 919-6272, or Veterans Memorial at (401) 272-4862, or Festival Ballet at (401) 353-1129 or info@festivalballet.com.

brourke@projo.com