Balanchine wanted the name of every dancer listed in alphabetical order on a program, despite his or her role in a work. He believed there should be no stars in his company, but the company itself should be a star. For Maria Tallchief, this was understandably a sore point; the tactic was much kinder to Merrill Ashley. Both ballerinas were allegro dancers with undeniable star power, and on both, Balanchine mounted particularly stunning roles – the lead in “Allegro Brillante” for Ms. Tallchief, and for Ms. Ashley, the queen in “Ballo della Regina.”

But in “Ballo della Regina,” which made its season premiere at the New York City Ballet on Thursday, two queens reign. The work is a virtuoso set of variations for a lead ballerina, her partner, four soloists, and a corps de ballet. But Balanchine took as his score an excerpt which Verdi cut from Act III of his “Don Carlos,” transforming the narrative into an abstract rendition in dance. The scene featured a woman’s daydream in the Queen’s Garden. She imagines Don Carlos, unlucky in love, as a fisherman looking for the perfect pearl. Ms. Ashley’s solos, fleet and whimsical, were intended to stretch her agility to the breaking point with combinations that require great speed and precision. Her bright flourishes and quick phrasing almost seemed to bend the light around her.

This season, Ashley Bouder (whose name would appear high in the line-up anyway) tackled Ms. Ashley’s role. Compact and muscular, Ms. Bouder has a solidity to her movements, each of which she approaches with authority. She accomplishes the bravura steps, but some of the combinations that require an interpretive wit lose their beguiling quality. Rotating in a sequence of pirouettes, she shoots out her working leg, holding it there as she continues to spin.

The movement is wacky and energetic. But what might appear spontaneous looks instead like the daunting, obligatory stunts of a gymnast. Still, if she looks studied, at least she is accurate. Sometimes she is even bracing in her attack. Benjamin Millepied partnered her well, leaping into his duets and kicking in joyous declaration with both his heels in the air as he promenaded Ms. Bouder. His solos produced a grand ronde de jambe and exultant brise voles.

Underwater imagery permeates the work. In Ronald Bates’s original lighting design, a borealis of shifting hues decorates the backdrop. The corps rises toward the audience in ice-blue leotards with a lifted port de bras, forming a crescent wave. Frozen for a moment, the music begins to melt the tableau. Four soloists surge forth, whirring their hands in front of them. The four soloists – Amanda Edge, Sterling Hyltin, Carrie Lee Riggins, Ana Sophia Scheller – each pulled off with candid excitement the sometimes difficult combinations. They shifted their weight expertly out of a turn, managed awry codas that often follow classical phrases.

Balanchine’s choice of Verdi was part of an ongoing tutorial with opera. (Earlier he had choreographed ballets to the music of “La Sonnambula” and “Don Sebastian.”) His identification with the bel canto style in particular – its embellished tones and brilliant technique – translates well into the personalities of the female leads in his allegro roles. But he also learned from opera (“from Verdi’s way of using the chorus,” he said) how to handle the corps de ballet and soloists. This gives a work such as “Ballo della Regina” a larger compositional balance than if it were simply a tour de force for one star, however bright.

“Ballo della Regina” will be performed again May 28 at 8 p.m. (Lincoln Center, 212-870-5570).