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
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
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
1974, New York City Ballet: Act III costumes altered before first New York performance and new children’s costumes designed by Karinska; coda added to Act III PEACE pas de deux.
Additional music information provided by Gordon Boelzner, Robert Irving; additional revisions information provided by Betty Cage, Arlene Croce, Nancy Goldner
350. Pas de Deux and Divertissement 1965
Music
Léo Delibes (excerpts from La Source [Naïla], 1866, and Sylvia, ou la Nymphe de Diane, 1876)
Choreography
George Balanchine. Staged by Frederic Franklin
Production
Costumes by Karinska. Lighting by David Hays
Premiere
January 14, 1965, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater. Conductor: Robert Irving
Cast
VALSE LENTE AND PAS DE DEUX: Melissa Hayden, André Prokovsky; ALLEGRO VIVACE: Suki Schorer, 8 women; VARIATION: Prokovsky; PIZZICATI: Hayden; VALSE DES FLEURS: Entire cast
Performance Type
Ballet
See Also
36. Pizzicato Polka, *273. Sylvia: Pas de Deux, 274. Music and Dance, 364. La Source, 387. Coppélia
VALSE LENTE AND PAS DE DEUX was originally choreographed for the New York City Ballet in 1950, titled Sylvia: Pas de Deux [273]. In 1969, the ALLEGRO VIVACE and VALSE DES FLEURS were incorporated into La Source [364], choreographed for the New York City Ballet.
Structure of ballet and its relationship to Sylvia: Pas de Deux [273] and La Source [364] clarified by Arlene Croce, Melissa Hayden, Suki Schorer, Jacques d’Amboise
274. Music and Dance 1951
NUMBERS IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XI, XII
Music
As given below
Choreography
George Balanchine (eight of thirteen dances), Todd Bolender, Frank Hobi, and Francisco Moncion
Production
Presented by the National Orchestral Society, Leon Barzin, Musical Director. Artistic Director: George Balanchine. Lighting Director: Jean Rosenthal
Premiere
February 10, 1951, Carnegie Hall, New York. Danced by members of the New York City Ballet and students of the School of American Ballet. Conductor: Leon Barzin
Cast
IV. SARABANDE from Louis XIV Suite (François Couperin, orchestrated by Wood-Hill): 4 women; VI. MINUET from Symphony No. 39, K. 543 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart): Doris Breckenridge, Robert Barnett; VII. GAVOTTE from Ladies of the Ballet (Alfred Edward Moffat): 2 couples; VIII. BOURRÉE from Concerto for String Orchestra (Jean-Baptiste Lully): 2 couples; IX. RIGAUDON from the Lully Concerto: 4 couples; XI. WALTZ from Naïla (La Source, Léo Delibes): Maria Tallchief, 11 women; XII. TANGO from Le Carnaval d’Aix (Darius Milhaud): Tanaquil Le Clercq
Performance Type
Concert Works
See Also
350. Pas de Deux and Divertissement, 364. La Source, 387. Coppélia
Each musical selection was played by the orchestra alone and then repeated with dances. Mazurka from ‘A Life for the Tsar’ [272] was performed as Number XIII, closing the program.
