Coppélia - A Playful Comedy Ballet for Children

Matina Banks in Coppélia, Photo by Sean McCoy

Coppélia is a unique ballet in that it is one of the few and definitely the most popular comedy ballets being performed today. The story is about a young man named Franz who falls in love with a young woman who sits in her window reading day after day, to the immense displeasure of his fiancé Swanhilda. What neither of them know is that the young woman is actually a doll called Coppélia, put there by the mischievous Dr. Coppélius, a dollmaker and an alchemist. The small town becomes all a flutter as much antics ensue including at one point Swanilda taking up Coppélia's costume, dancing around Dr. Coppélius' workshop, and convincing everyone that Coppélia has actually come to life!

It is so refreshing whenever there is a ballet story that is light and fun and let's face it, appropriate for children. Most ballet stories, though they may have light or fun moments or plot points, often include complicated dramatic love triangles, evil villains and lots (and lots) of characters dying. It makes for great theatre but not if you're trying to introduce your little one to ballet for the first time.

Perhaps that is why there are so many iterations of this ballet in so many different mediums. Coppélia is performed very frequently all over the world by ballet companies. In fact I would argue that there isn't a season where a company somewhere isn't performing this lighthearted comedy to an audience of newcomers and patrons alike. But the ballet has also shown up over the years in movies including a wonderful live action Disney movie called, Ballerina, about a young woman learning to become a ballerina. And just recently a new dance film called Coppélia filled with an incredible combination of CGI animation and real life dancing directed and written by Jeff Tudor, Steven De Beul and Ben Tesseur and starring dancers from The Dutch National Ballet (including Michaela DePrinz as Swanhilda). Here is a list of other cool places Coppélia has popped up in our pop culture.

Coppélia, children's book by The Adventures of a Rogue Swan

There have also been several children's books written based on the ballet story. Including our very own version of Coppélia (pictured above), written and illustrated by immigrant students who were also being introduced to ballet for the first time. I should note that while the original ballet takes place in Poland, our story takes place in Germany. We fell in love with the Black Forest and the idea of a tiny village tucked in amongst the thick and wild trees full of magic and mischief. (This area is also well known for its cuckoo clocks and couldn't you just see a few scattered around in Dr. Coppélius' workshop?)

Whatever minor adapting has been done to the plot and characters with all these different versions of the original ballet story, I am pleased that to see that as far as the ballet connection goes, most adaptations have stayed far enough away from the original story, the folktale that Coppélia the ballet has been adapted from. Very interestingly, had the story been kept as it were and turned directly into a ballet from the original text, it would have landed us once again in the world of "adults only" plot themes that so many ballet leave us in. The original story, written by E.T.A. Hoffman, one of the author's of The Nutcracker, has much darker twists and turns and even deaths planned for its characters. But thankfully when choreographer Arthur Saint-Léon, composer Léo Delibes, and story creator Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter got together to create the original Coppélia ballet in Paris in 1870, they had something much more playful and fun in mind. And we are grateful.

This is certainly a ballet that I recommend not only for young people but for those who are new to ballet and who might be a little wary of what they might be getting themselves into. Here is a clip of probably the most famous scene from the ballet. Danced by Australian ballerina Lisa Pavane, it takes place in Dr. Coppélius' workshop at night. At this point in the story both Swanilda and Franz have broken into his workshop (each at separate times) to try to confront Coppélia, only to find out that she is merely a doll. Dr. Coppélius decides to seize the moment and try to use his alchemy and some magic to transfer Franz's life force into Coppélia and is tricked into believing that he has actually made her come to life! (okay so he's a little evil but every good story needs at least one antagonist lol...)

In the end it's happily ever after with Franz and Swanilda reconciling and Dr. Coppélius promising to stick to his doll making and away from the alchemy (in our version and in several others). The whole village comes out to celebrate their wedding and all is well again in the Black Forest. And for the audience, they are treated to a good time at the ballet (or a great night of film should you choose one of the other wonderful iterations of this wonderful classical ballet story) without too much trauma, drama or trying to sit still for 2 1/2 hours while a ballerina rushes around the stage in dramatic fashion before her untimely death...but whatever works for you lol...it's understandable, we can't help but love our ballets, no matter which way they come...

References and Further Reading:

More about the Ballet:

Coppélia (general information): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copp%C3%A9lia

Coppélia (more behind the scenes): https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copp%C3%A9lia

Composer, Leo Délibes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9o_Delibes

Choreographer, Arthur Saint-Léon : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Saint-L%C3%A9on

Story Creator, Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Louis-%C3%89tienne_Nuitter

More to watch, listen to and read:

Walt Dinsey's Ballerina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3cg7QYJb10

More on the movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballerina_(1966_film)

The famous Coppélia variation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiYlN1RpYiQ

Coppélia in popular culture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copp%C3%A9lia#Popular_culture

Coppélia, children's book by The Adventures of a Rogue Swan: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096CW2JNB