Giselle Kirov Ballet Cultural Centre Ends tomorrow Sheer perfection. There is no better description of the opening night of Giselle by the Kirov Ballet from St Petersburg, the greatest classical ballet company in the world - making a welcome return visit to Hong Kong. The leading roles of Giselle and Albrecht were performed by a beautiful partnership of the two leading young stars, Diana Vishneva and Andrian Fadeyev. Vishneva was a touching village girl in Act 1, full of tenderness in her scenes with her lover Albrecht. Her solo was strongly danced. In Act 2 she was superlative, dancing with a pearly luminance, an inner calm, and a spirituality that was transcendent. She was a sublime mistress of adagio work, her duet in Act 2 most poetic. Vishneva was ideally matched with Fadeyev, an intense dramatic presence that makes for a real star. His grief and dejection in Act 2 were breathtaking. His solo was splendidly danced, dazzling in virtuosity and emotional intensity. The Kirov's glorious corps de ballet of 24 Wilis is still the best in the world, dancing so harmoniously and uniformly that it projects a vision of infinity. They were splendidly led by Elvira Tarasova, Queen of the Wilis. Other highlights included Vasily Sherbakov's high and clean jumps in the Act 1 peasant duet, and the villagers' exhilarating ensemble dances. How can one not love the Kirov Ballet? Fortunately there is still their second programme, Jewels, to look forward to on Sunday.