At its start, American Ballet Theatre’s “Romeo and Juliet” struck a dopey note Monday night, as the Prince of Verona (Wes Chapman) confronted cuddly Mercutio (Herman Cornejo), young cub Benvolio (Jared Matthews), and puppyish Romeo (Angel Corella) with the carnage produced by their feud with the Capulets. “But they started it!” the three young men protested, as they hung their heads and promised that it would never, ever happen again.

Thankfully, though, other elements of the production lent it a backbone. As Juliet, Diana Vishneva burst on the scene with as much energy as if she had been locked into her dressing room by a rival ballerina and had freed herself just in time just in time to hear her cue. Her headstrong Juliet laid down a gauntlet; she wasn’t going to allow the ballet’s men to be one degree more juvenile than its choreographer, Kenneth MacMillan, allowed, or any more than Shakespeare himself insisted they must be. Anyone who didn’t rise to her flight pattern was going to be offloaded. With her entrance, the ballet levitated.

And the wind stayed at her back through the course of the performance. Throughout the evening, Ms. Vishneva italicized emotional shifts and turning points without becoming a billboard. And in the final act, she surrendered to the expressionist angst of MacMillan’s text with startling and appropriate ferocity. The assured and self-possessed young girl-turned-passionate bride became an emotionally ravaged soul. Her entire body was riddled by anguish, and when she turned away from the audience and walked to her bed before taking the sleeping potion, even her back gave us a full portrait of Juliet’s plight. Throughout the evening, her dancing was exceptionally vibrant, her line by turns melting or tensile.

Mr. Corella, though he suffered from a leaden jump in the opening scene, hit his stride soon after. He gracefully negotiated the shifts in Romeo’s mood and resolution throughout Act II; there was logic and proportion to his character development and expression. He and Ms. Vishneva have demonstrably developed their performances together, enhancing the production of this ballet they danced together a year ago.

MacMillan’s conception makes Mercutio more one of the guys than an iconographic emblem of laughter’s many potencies, and so appreciating Mr. Cornejo’s Mercutio became a matter of enjoying his virtuosity.

As Benvolio, Mr. Matthews was also vivaciously technical. He is not equally good in every role he tries, but always brings his full application and concentration to bear on any assignment. The prowess of Mr. Corella, Mr. Cornejo, and Mr. Matthews kept Act II, which frequently seems padded, whirring along brightly.

The cast, from Ms. Vishneva and Mr. Corella on down, was almost exactly as it had been at ABT’s season opening “Romeo” a year ago; one notable exception was Sascha Radetsky, who danced the role of Benvolio last year but was deservedly given the meatier opportunity as Tybalt on Monday night. The supporting roles of warring Verona clans were given hallowed portrayals by ABT veterans. Manning their battle stations in the group confrontations at the ballroom and in Juliet’s bedroom, each personage, as well as his or her interpreter, young or old, had well-earned the ground that he or she was claiming.

Until June 23 (Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500).