Coppelia

Ballet in three actsLibretto: Manuel Legris; collaboration: Jean-François VazelleOriginal: Charles Nuitter & Arthur Saint-LéonMusic: Léo DelibespraPremiere: 25/05/1870, Théâtre Imperial de l'Opéra, ParisPolish premiere: 7/12/1882, Teatr Wielki, WarsawPremiere of this production: 6/12/2026, Polish National Ballet

The story is quite simple and full of charm. In love, Swanilda spots her fiance Franz as he spins under the windows of the house of Coppelius, the mysterious builder of shady vending machines, and is recommended to his alleged daughter Coppelia. However, a jealous girl discovers that it is not his daughter, but a doll that the freak has constructed and treats as a living being. So she decides to take a spell from the haunted mechanic and at the same time bring her boyfriend back to order. After a series of funny adventures, Swanilda hits the target and happily marries Franz.

This comedic intrigue was once used by three prominent creators of the Paris Opera: librettist Charles Nuitter, composer Léo Delibes and choreographer Arthur Saint-Léon, to create one of the most popular ballets of the 19th century. An interesting fact is that the action of the performance was placed in a Galician town on the Polish lands of the Austrian partition, which is additionally supported by Delibes' beautiful mazurka and other musical motifs familiar to us. There were many staging of Coppelia afterwards, especially on Russian stages, where it was popularized by Marius Petipa. We also showed it on our stage, but most recently as 50 years ago, in the Russian version of Asaf Messerer.

This time the choreographer will be an artist from the Paris Opera, which is the source and most important medium of the French ballet tradition. This is the outstanding dancer Manuel Legris, later director of the ballet ensembles of the Vienna Opera and Milan La Scala, and already known to us from the realization of The Corsair. He prepares his work especially for our stage. He will certainly refer to the Parisian staging tradition, but he has also announced some of his own dramatic and choreographic solutions. An ideal proposal for lovers of classical ballet repertoire, and at the same time our new family performance.

Polish National BalletOrkiestra Teatru Wielkiego - National Opera