The stars aligned Sunday afternoon like never before in San Francisco Ballet’s 89-year history. It was “Swan Lake” on Mother’s Day to close the season and also close Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s brilliant career at the War Memorial Opera House.

These factors combined for the first full sale since COVID-19 ended the ballet season before it could begin in 2020.

“It’s poignant. He really is an amazing director,” said Mary Miller of Sacramento, whose Mother’s Day gift from her son, Jim, was to leave him at home and bring his granddaughter, June Miller. , 9, in her place. They boarded the 8:50 a.m. train and moved on to BART, arriving at the Opera at noon for brunch at Prelude, the cafe downstairs. “She saw.” Swan Lake “on video, but never live,” Miller said as June worked on an order for poached eggs.

The feature film “Swan Lake” was choreographed by Tomasson in 1988 to demonstrate what his new company was capable of. He took it on the road and used it to make the company an international sensation. Tomasson updated it in 2009 and it remains his signature ballet. It is no coincidence that his turn in the rotation would be the last performance of his 37th season.

Mountain View’s Kam O’Horo got tickets six months ago. That it was Mother’s Day was a “happy accident,” said her daughter Caley, 15, a student at Los Altos High School who is taking dance lessons. They also didn’t know then that this would be Tomasson’s last show on this stage, which made it a “double happy accident,” O’Horo said. Triple that if you count the fact that her husband and son had stayed home to cook up a Mother’s Day dinner.

“It’s a win-win for me,” she said, allowing this for dinner that evening, “My expectations are low.”

Wei Xia and her daughter Shire Zhang, 9, had never attended a ballet and would not have gone there on Sunday except that a friend with tickets had not come for a booster shot against the coronavirus, a requirement of presence (masks were also required). They had read and learned that this was Tomasson’s last performance, “which makes it even more exciting,” Xia said.

It was also exciting for the dancers. “There’s always pressure to do it well, but there’s extra pressure today because it’s such a meaningful performance,” said corps de ballet member Ludmila Bizalion, who was six months pregnant. and did not dance that day. She left her own Mother’s Day brunch with her mother and 2-year-old daughter to offer moral support to fellow corps members.

“The toughest show of the season is the last one,” she said. “After two years of not performing in front of a live audience, it seems even more difficult because Swan Lake is so demanding. But it’s a nice way to end Helgi’s final season.

When seated, Wei Xia and her daughter practiced respectful theatrical etiquette.

“I will keep calm and enjoy the show and she will do the same,” Xia said, “because it’s Mother’s Day.” Shire agreed.

“I just want to make Mother’s Day special,” she said.

It was a strong end to a season of repertoire that began during omicron’s highly contagious surge of the pandemic and slowly built through the winter. With ongoing coronavirus safety concerns, the ballet did not sell out its traditional walk-in tickets which, pre-COVID, would allow 100 people to stand. This means that on Sunday some people were turned away. All 2,930 reserved seats were sold out, with probably the highest concentration of children in attendance since “Nutcracker”.

“We built steam, and the combination of last weekend of Helgi and Mother’s Day made us finish with a full weekend,” said box office supervisor Jericho Lindsey.

The end of Sunday’s performance, already emotional with 24 swans lying on stage, was made even more emotional by a long standing ovation. And it was only after all his dancers had had their due and the conductor had bowed out that Tomasson took the stage. The ovation grew, and roses, red and white, rained downstage. The last thing Tomasson did as Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet was bend over, pick up a white rose, and hand it to the white swan, Odette.

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