''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (b ...

, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter. Nuitter's libretto and mise-en-scène was based upon E. T. A. Hoffmann's

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

Der Sandmann "The Sandman" ( German: ''Der Sandmann'') is a short story by . It was the first in an 1817 book of stories titled ''Die Nachtstücke'' (''The Night Pieces''). Plot summary The story is told by a narrator who claims to have known Lothar. It beg ...

'' (''The Sandman''). In Greek, ''κοπέλα'' (or ''κοπελιά'' in some dialects) means ''young woman''. ''Coppélia'' premiered on 25 May

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

at the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra, with the 16-year-old Giuseppina Bozzacchi in the principal role of Swanhilda and ballerina Eugénie Fiocre playing the part of Frantz '' en travesti''. The costumes were designed by Paul Lormier and Alfred Albert, the scenery by

Charles-Antoine Cambon Charles-Antoine Cambon (; 21 April 1802 – 22 October 1875) was a French scenographer, theatrical production designer, who acquired international renown in the Romanticism, Romantic Era. Career Little biographical information exists on Cambo ...

(Act I, scene 1; Act II, scene 1), and

Édouard Desplechin Édouard Desplechin His name is often spelt "Despléchin" » with an acute accent. (12 April 1802 – 10 December 1871), was a 19th-century French scenic designer, one of the most famous of his time. Biography He created numerous settings for ...

and

Jean-Baptiste Lavastre Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (24 August 1839 – 24 April 1891) was a French landscape painter and scenic designer. Biography A student of Édouard Desplechin as soon as 1854 when he was only fifteen (and then his associate from 1864 to 1870), Je ...

(Act I, scene 2). The ballet's first flush of success was interrupted by the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and the siege of Paris (which also led to the early death of Giuseppina Bozzacchi, on her 17th birthday), but eventually it became the most-performed ballet at the Opéra. Modern-day productions are traditionally derived from the revivals staged by

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in the late 19th century. Petipa's choreography was documented in the Stepanov method of choreographic notation at the turn of the 20th century. These notations were later used to stage the St. Petersburg version for such companies as the

Vic-Wells Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

(precursor of today's Royal Ballet).

Plot

Dr. Coppélius is a doctor who has made a life-size dancing doll. It is so lifelike that Franz, a village youth, becomes infatuated with it and sets aside his heart's true desire, Swanhilda. She shows him his folly by dressing as the doll, pretending to make it come to life and ultimately saving him from an untimely end at the hands of the inventor. ;Act I The story begins during a town festival to celebrate the arrival of a new bell. The town crier announces that, when it arrives, anyone who becomes married will be awarded a special gift of money. Swanhilda and Franz plan to marry during the festival. However, Swanhilda becomes unhappy with Franz because he seems to be paying more attention to a girl named Coppélia, who sits motionless on the balcony of a nearby house. The house belongs to a mysterious and faintly diabolical inventor, Doctor Coppélius. Although Coppélia spends all of her time sitting motionless and reading, Franz is mesmerized by her beauty and is determined to attract her attention. Still upset with Franz, Swanhilda shakes an ear of wheat to her head: if it rattles, then she will know that Franz loves her. Upon doing this, however, she hears nothing. When she shakes it by Franz's head, he also hears nothing; but then he tells her that it rattles. However, she does not believe him and runs away heartbroken. Later on, Dr. Coppelius leaves his house and is heckled by a group of boys. After shooing them away, he continues on without realizing that he dropped his keys in the melée. Swanhilda finds the keys, which gives her the idea of learning more about Coppélia. She and her friends decide to enter Dr. Coppelius' house. Meanwhile, Franz develops his own plan to meet Coppélia, climbing a ladder to her balcony. ;Act II Swanhilda and her friends find themselves in a large room filled with people. However, the occupants aren't moving. The girls discover that, rather than people, these are life-size mechanical dolls. They quickly wind them up and watch them move. Swanhilda also finds Coppélia behind a curtain and discovers that she, too, is a doll. Dr. Coppelius returns home to find the girls. He becomes angry with them, not only for trespassing but for also disturbing his workroom. He kicks them out and begins cleaning up the mess. However, upon noticing Franz at the window, Coppélius invites him in. The inventor wants to bring Coppélia to life but, to do that, he needs a human sacrifice. With a magic spell, he will take Franz's spirit and transfer it to Coppélia. After Dr. Coppelius proffers him some wine laced with sleeping powder, Franz begins to fall asleep. The inventor then readies his magic spell. However, Dr. Coppelius did not expel all the girls: Swanhilda is still there, hidden behind a curtain. She dresses up in Coppélia's clothes and pretends that the doll has come to life. She wakes Franz and then winds up all the mechanical dolls to aid their escape. Dr. Coppelius becomes confused and then saddened when he finds a lifeless Coppélia behind the curtain. ;Act III Swanhilda and Franz are about to make their wedding vows when the angry Dr. Coppelius appears, claiming damages. Dismayed at having caused such an upset, Swanhilda offers Dr. Coppelius her dowry in return for his forgiveness. However, Franz tells Swanhilda to keep her dowry and offers to pay Dr. Coppelius instead. At that point, the mayor intervenes and gives Dr. Coppelius a bag of money, which placates him. Swanhilda and Franz are married and the entire town celebrates by dancing. (Note: In some Russian versions of the ballet, after getting caught, Swanhilda confesses to Dr. Coppelius about what she and her friends did and her situation with Franz. Coppelius decides to forgive Swanhilda and teach her how to act like a doll coming to life to fool Franz, thus ending Act 2 on a happier note.)

Influence and background

Doctor Coppelius is not unlike Hoffmann's sinister Herr Drosselmeyer in ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'' or the macabre

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a Jewish man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Defini ...

-like travelling magician of the same name in Offenbach's ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

''. The part of Franz was danced '' en travesti'' by Eugénie Fiocre, a convention that pleased the male members of the Jockey-Club de Paris and was retained in Paris until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The festive wedding-day '' divertissements'' in the village square that occupy Act III are often deleted in modern danced versions. Some influence on this story comes from travelling shows of the late 18th and early 19th centuries starring mechanical

automata An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

. This field of entertainment has been under-documented, but a recent survey of the field is contained in '' The Mechanical Turk'' by

Tom Standage Tom Standage (born 1969) is a British journalist, author, and editorial executive currently working as the Deputy Editor of ''The Economist'' newspaper under editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes. As head of the newspaper's digital strategy, S ...

(2002).

Alternative versions

Opera Variant

A variation of the ''Coppélia'' story is contained in

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

's opera, ''

'', a fictional work about the same Hoffmann who wrote the story that inspired ''Coppélia''. The opera consists of a

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

, three fantastic tales in which Hoffmann is a participant, and an

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...

. In the first story, based on ''Der Sandmann'', Hoffmann falls in love with a mechanical doll, Olympia, but in this case, the story has a melancholy tinge as the doll was destroyed by Dr. Coppelius, who share the same name as Coppelius who wants Coppélia to come to life, after he didn't get a check from Spalanzani for Olympia's eyes.

San Francisco Ballet

In 1939,

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

produced a version of ''Coppélia'' choreographed by Willam Christensen which was the first American complete version of the ballet. It starred Willam Christensen as Franz, Earl Riggins as Dr. Coppelius, and Janet Reed as Swanhilda and was an instant hit.

Balanchine

In 1974,

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

choreographed a version of ''Coppélia'' for the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

. He was assisted by

Alexandra Danilova Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized f ...

, who had performed the title role many times during her dancing career. She staged the Petipa choreography for Act II. Balanchine created new choreography for Act III and for the

mazurka The Mazurka ( Polish: ''mazurek'') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character defined mostly by the prominent mazur's "strong accents unsystematically placed on the seco ...

, czardas and Franz's variation in Act I. Patricia McBride danced the role of Swanhilda the friendliest girl; Helgi Tomasson danced the role of Franz; Shaun O'Brian portrayed Dr. Coppélius. In Act III, Balanchine added 24 young girls to dance and be in the scene during Waltz of the Hours, Dawn (L'aurore), Prayer, and Work (Le travail) variations.

Second Life - LPBA

From 2011 the Little Princess Ballet Academy (LPBA) has performed ''Coppélia'' on the virtual platform ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...

''. The adaptation follows the original in three acts, but the mime parts are problematic to perform in Second Life and has been changed, together with some changes in the sequences. All parts are played by individual avatars.

Louisville Ballet

In 2015, the Louisville Ballet produced a version of ''Coppélia'', choreographed by Robert Curran, that is set in Louisville's Germantown neighborhood in 1917, just months after the United States has entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In this version, Franz and a handful of other enlistees stationed at Camp Taylor all plan to marry their fiancées the next day, right before they depart for Europe.A man in love with a giant doll. How Louisville Ballet puts Germantown twist on a classic
/ref>

Monte Carlo Ballet Company - Coppel-I-A

In 2019 Jean-Christophe Maillot created a modernized version of ''Coppélia'' for the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo'','' calling it ''Coppél-i-A''. In it, Coppelia is an android with artificial intelligence. The original music was rewritten by Maillot's brother Bertrand Maillot to suit the dystopian theme.

Coppelia - feature film

A family feature film, ''Coppelia'', was released in 2021, directed and written by Jeff Tudor, Steven De Beul and Ben Tesseur. The film has no dialogue and mixes live action dance with animation. It was inspired by choreographer Ted Brandsen's 2008 production created for Dutch National Ballet. In Brandsen's production, and in the film, Doctor Coppelius is updated from toymaker to cosmetic surgeon and Coppelia is a robot. The movie deals with issues such as the pressures of social media, the lure of superficial beauty and the importance of being yourself. The film stars ballerina, author and activist Michaela DePrince, Daniel Camargo, Vito Mazzeo,

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is a retired English ballet dancer, ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educ ...

, Irek Mukahmedov, Sasha Mukahmedov, Jan Kooijman,

Igone de Jongh Igone de Jongh (born 9 September 1979) is a Dutch ballerina and a former principal dancer with the Dutch National Ballet. She is featured in the music video for Anouk (singer), Anouk's song Birds (Anouk song), ''Birds'', the official Netherlands i ...

and artists of Dutch National Ballet. Composer Maurizio Malagnini wrote the original score. The movie premiered at Annecy Festival 2021 and won the Golden Punt for Best Fiction Feature at the 40th Cambridge Film Festival.

Ballet

Below is the résumé of scenes and dances taken from the theatre program of the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet. It is the Imperial Ballet's production as staged by Marius Petipa that serves as the basis for all modern-day productions. Act I *no. 01 ''Prélude et Mazurka'' *no. 02 ''Valse et jalousie'' *no. 03 ''Scène'' *no. 04 ''Mazurka *no. 05 ''Scène'' *no. 06 ''Ballade de l'Épi'' *no. 07 ''Thème slave varié'' *no. 08 ''Csárdás'' *no. 09 ''Finale'' Act II *no. 10 ''Introduction et scène'' *no. 11 ''Jeux avec les automates'' *no. 12 ''Scène à boire: Franz et Dr. Coppélius'' *no. 13 ''Scène et valse de la Poupée'' *no. 14 ''L'espièglerie de Swanhilde'' *no. 15 ''Boléro: Danse espagnol'' *no. 16 ''Gigue: Danse écossaise'' *no. 17 ''Scène finale'' Act III *no. 18 ''Marche de la cloche'' ''La Fête de la cloche'' *no. 19 ''Valse des heures'' *no. 20 ''Variation: "L'aurore"'' *no. 21 ''Variation: "La prière"'' *no. 22 ''"Le travail—La fileuse"'' *no. 23 ''"L'hymen—Noce villageoise"'' *no. 24 ''"La discorde et la guerre"'' ''Grand Pas de deux -'' **no. 25 ''Grand adage: "La paix"'' **supplement - ''Variation pour le début de Léontine Beaugrand'' (music: Léo Delibes; 1872) **supplement - ''Variation: "Danse du marié"'' (music: Ernest Guiraud, from the ballet ''Gretna Green'') **supplement - ''Variation Mlle. Dionesiia Potapenko: "Travail"'', 1904 (music: Léo Delibes, from the ballet ''Sylvia'') **no. 26 ''Variation: "Danse de Fête"'' **no. 27 ''Finale: Galop générale''

Scoring

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bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

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Timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

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bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

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Notes

External links

* *Visual evidence of the premiere and subsequent Parisian productions o
GallicaLong Beach BalletMichigan Ballet TheatreSwanhilde costume
* (2021) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coppelia Ballets by Marius Petipa Ballets by Léo Delibes 1870 works 1870s ballets Ballets by Charles Nuitter 1870 compositions Ballets by George Balanchine Ballets premiered at the Paris Opera Ballet Works based on The Sandman (short story) Fiction about dolls