Opening night of Pennsylvania Ballet's all-Balanchine program belonged to Philip Colucci and Riolama Lorenzo, dancing the leads in the Expressionist-era masterpiece Prodigal Son. Colucci caught every sharp edge of the rebellious son, his hand shooting away from his mouth with fingers extended toward the father—rage turned into pure movement. After being thoroughly debauched, robbed and abandoned by half-demented drinking companions (skittering creatures out of a nightmare) as well as a steely seductress, Colucci crawled pitifully to his forgiving father. Lorenzo added silky sensuality to the role of predatory siren. In a marvelous small gesture, she carefully wiped her hands after scooping up the last of his belongings.

Prodigal Son debuted in Paris in 1929 (Balanchine was just 25 years old), and reflects the lush atmosphere of its times. The vibrant sets and costumes designed by painter Georges Rouault and the haunting score by Sergei Prokofiev speak to an earlier era's notion of stark modernity. Colucci and Lorenzo made this material vividly contemporary, deserving every bravo that erupted.

Theme and Variations, the program opener, is Balanchine's homage to his Imperial Russian ballet heritage, complete with Tchaikovsky's music. There are snippets and references to specific ballets, like a brief revisiting of Swan Lake's cygnets (baby swans) as well as dazzling corps work including a grand promenade around the stage by the full cast. Julie Diana and James Ady performed the lead variation with grace, but this is a ballet about corps dancing, and it was the corps that truly glittered.

Western Symphony is pure Americana, with Balanchine turning not to Russian composers but old American song favorites like "Red River Valley." It's cowboy hokum performed within the structure of classical ballet. So while there's a lot of boot-slapping and skirt-flipping, the form remains the pas de deux set within large-scale corps work. It's a neat balance, and it works. Ballet people see ballet; others see pure theater. Amy Aldridge and Alexei Borovik were both excellent leading the Allegro section. The comic flirtation of the Adagio was a star turn for Julie Diana and Meredith Rainey. Honors for leading the finale went to Arantxa Ochoa and Alexander Iziliaev, bringing the whole shebang to a close with panache. Live orchestral music under the baton of music director Beatrice Jona Affron made the small Merriam space seem less cramped for this full-scale evening of dance.

Pennsylvania ballet Feb. 1, Merriam Theater