387. Coppélia 1974
- Music
Léo Delibes (Coppélia, ou la Fille aux Yeux d’Émail, produced 1870, with excerpts from Sylvia, ou la Nymphe de Diane, produced 1876, and La Source [Naïla], 1866). Book by Charles Nuitter, after E. T. A. Hoffmann’s Der Sandmann (1815)
- Choreography
Choreography by Alexandra Danilova and George Balanchine after Marius Petipa (1884; revised 1894 by Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti), with additional choreography by George Balanchine
- Production
Scenery and costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian. Costumes executed by Karinska and Barbara Matera, Ltd. Lighting by Ronald Bates
- Premiere
July 17, 1974, New York City Ballet, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York. Conductor: Robert Irving. (First New York State Theater performance, with children from the School of American Ballet, November 20.)
- Cast
Swanilda/Coppélia, Patricia McBride; Frantz, Helgi Tomasson; Dr. Coppélius, Shaun O’Brien.
ACT I: The Doll Coppélia; Villagers, 8 couples; Mayor, Michael Arshansky; Swanilda’s Friends, 8 women.
ACT II: Swanilda and Her Friends; The Automatons: Astrologer, Juggler, Acrobat, Chinaman.
ACT III: Burgomaster; Villagers, Brides, Grooms, and Friends, 8 women, 6 men;
DEDICATION OF THE BELLS: WALTZ OF THE GOLDEN HOURS: Marnee Morris, 24 children; Dawn, Merrill Ashley; Prayer, Christine Redpath; Spinner, Susan Hendl; Jesterettes, 4 women;
DISCORD AND WAR: Colleen Neary, Robert Weiss, 8 couples;
PEACE (pas de deux): McBride, Tomasson;
FINALE
Act I. A Village Square in Galicia
Act II. Dr. Coppélius’s Secret Workshop
Act III. A Village Wedding and Festival of Bells
ACT I: The Doll Coppélia; Villagers, 8 couples; Mayor, Michael Arshansky; Swanilda’s Friends, 8 women.
ACT II: Swanilda and Her Friends; The Automatons: Astrologer, Juggler, Acrobat, Chinaman.
ACT III: Burgomaster; Villagers, Brides, Grooms, and Friends, 8 women, 6 men;
DEDICATION OF THE BELLS: WALTZ OF THE GOLDEN HOURS: Marnee Morris, 24 children; Dawn, Merrill Ashley; Prayer, Christine Redpath; Spinner, Susan Hendl; Jesterettes, 4 women;
DISCORD AND WAR: Colleen Neary, Robert Weiss, 8 couples;
PEACE (pas de deux): McBride, Tomasson;
FINALE
Act I. A Village Square in Galicia
Act II. Dr. Coppélius’s Secret Workshop
Act III. A Village Wedding and Festival of Bells
Performance Type
Ballet
See Also
-
36. Pizzicato Polka,
266. [Pas de Deux],
273. Sylvia: Pas de Deux,
274. Music and Dance,
291. One, Yuletide Square,
350. Pas de Deux and Divertissement,
364. La Source
Note
Balanchine and Danilova collaborated to reproduce parts of Petipa’s choreography for Coppélia, which they had learned while students at the Imperial Ballet School; Danilova had later become a leading interpreter of the role of Swanilda. Balanchine created entirely new choreography for Act III, and for the mazurka and czardas in Act I, and made slight revisions in other dances in Act I. Using music from Sylvia, Balanchine created a male variation for Act I and a complete pas de deux for Act III, in which the male variation is taken from his Sylvia: Pas de Deux [273]. The production was partially commissioned by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Additional Productions
Revisions
1977 Geneva Ballet (Grand Theatre de Geneve [Ballet])
2010 Boston Ballet
2010 Pacific Northwest Ballet
2011 Dresden SemperOper Ballett
2011 San Francisco Ballet
2016 Pacific Northwest Ballet
2019 Boston Ballet
1978 (PBS, Live from Lincoln Center)
Additional music information provided by Gordon Boelzner, Robert Irving; additional revisions information provided by Betty Cage, Arlene Croce, Nancy Goldner
