You can see why Anthony Dowell, when he was director of the Royal Ballet, was so keen to revive Frederick Ashton's Ondine. After all, a three-act ballet by the founder choreographer of Covent Garden is a precious thing, too precious to consign to history. But you can also see why Ashton was reluctant to bring it back, for Ondine is the least satisfying of his full-length works.

It starts with the music. Hans Werner Henze's score was commissioned by Ashton for the 1958 premiere because he wanted his ballet to have a modern feel. Fifty years later it seems gloomy and stifling, and frequently acts like a drag on the dancing, despite the enthusiasm of Barry Wordsworth's conducting.

Elsewhere, Lila de Nobili's painterly designs look old-fashioned and oppressive, though Act II's superb shipwreck is a masterpiece of low-tech stage engineering. But Ashton is Ashton and who can argue with the chance to see some of his most deliciously feminine choreography.

Ondine is the story of an enchanting water nymph who falls in love with a mortal and, against the odds, marries him and acquires a soul. The only problem is that the mortal in question, Palemon, is being pursued by the jealous Berta, and once he thinks that Ondine has been reclaimed by the sea (in that aforementioned shipwreck) he is quick to marry his mortal lover. Having thus betrayed Ondine he will, of course, have to die, and it's her supernatural kiss that dispatches him to a watery grave.

Aqueous imagery is everywhere in the choreography, literally and figuratively, especially in the rippling arm movements, the darting feet and that adorable fountain tableau in Act I. So, too, is a dramatic passion inspired, no doubt, by Ashton's original Ondine, Margot Fonteyn.

Tamara Rojo took the role on the opening night of this 50th anniversary revival. She captures the strange appeal of Ondine's child-like spirit, encapsulating the curiosity, impetuosity and ultimate sorrow in the voluptuous stretch of her dancing. Edward Watson, as he showed recently with Des Grieux in Manon, is a dancer who isn't afraid to be softly romantic, poetic even, while still being assertively physical. Genesia Rosato is a very determined Berta, while Ricardo Cervera is a colourfully vengeful Lord of the Mediterranean.

Box office: 020-7304 4000. To Dec 6

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