A sparkling tale of magic and mischief, Coppélia has everything a good story ballet should: a touch of enchantment, a dash of romance and masses of sumptuous costumes.
Dubbed one of the most enduringly popular ballets of all time, Coppélia tells the story of young love, duplicity and rivalry. In this timeless romantic production, Swanilda and Franz are in love until the appearance of Dr Coppelius and his mysterious daughter Coppélia upset the celebrations. However, Dr Coppelius’ haughty daughter is not what she purports and Swanilda must rescue Franz from the magician’s sinister doll-filled lair – with the help of some fancy footwork.
Coppélia premiered in 1870 at the Paris Opera (The National Academy of Music and Dance). It was originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Leon, a virtuoso dancer, expert on dance folklore, composer and violinist. This interpretation is by the late Russian Choreographer; Sergei Vikharev, with the main dancing roles by Bolshoi Principals; Maria Alexsandrova, Natalia Osipova, Anastasia Goryacheva (Swanilda) and Ruslan Skvortsov, Vyacheslav Lopatin and Artem Ovcharenko (Franz). The music is composed by Leo Delibes and the decor was revived by Boris Kaminsky, with costumes Tatiana Noginova. Conductor is Igor Dronov.
The Bolshoi’s version of Coppélia maintains the original 19th century choreography of this ebullient comedy involving a feisty heroine, a fickle fiancée, and an eccentric inventor.
On screen Sunday July 8 at 11: 30 a.m., at Palace Cineplex this chilling, yet luminous ballet continues to captivate audiences for over 150 years at the Bolshoi.