Editorial Review:

Description:
Coppélia is a classical ballet in the true sense, and with its touch of East European folklore, continues to enjoy worldwide popularity. It combines the romance between Swanilda and Franz with the story of the doll-maker Coppelius, whose greatest desire is to create a doll with a soul. Franz immediately falls in love with Coppélia, who he thinks is real, but eventually recognizes is just a doll. He returns to Swanilda, after which the final grand divertissement sees everyone reconciled.

Music: Leo Delibes. New Version Choreographed And Staged By Oleg Vinogradov. Original Libretto: Charles Nuitter & Arthur Saint-Léon After A Story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Swanilda: Irina Shapchits. Franz: Mikhail Zavialov. Coppelius: Petr Rusanov. Coppélia: Elvira Tarasova. Swanilda’s Friends:Tatiana Salnikova, Marina Tchirkova, Anastasia Dunets, Tatiana Rusanova. Set Design: Vyacheslav Okunov. Costume Design: Irina Press.

We to watch this ballet over and over again.

We have watched three different versions of Coppelia and found this one to be worthy of purchasing to watch again and again.

Average Rating:

Rating: - Beautiful and fun to watch
We to watch this ballet over and over again.

We have watched three different versions of Coppelia and found this one to be worthy of purchasing to watch again and again.

Rating: - Don't waste your roubles
I share the views of my fellow balletomane and reviewer, Jack Wilensky, but will be less generous than he in my rating (1 vs 2 stars). There is absolutely nothing in this production of merit. I can only hope that Patrice Bart's equally deplorable re-staging of Coppelia (for the POB) never makes it to DVD, as it was torture to sit through it (at 80 Euros per ticket, no less). Although I would never say "no to innovation," there are some ballets where too radical a departure from the original choreography / libretto (Bejart's Nutcracker and Bourne's Swan Lake come to mind) simply destroys the beauty of the work. And I regret that's just what the Mariinsky succeeded in doing here. Stick to the definitive (though hardly flawless) Australian Ballet version.

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Rating: - Delightful
I love this version. The Kirov knows how to make this ballet exciting. Very colorful. Especially the four young men in the photo on the cover. They gave this opera a gusto by their dancing. I recommend this to other ballet lovers.

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Rating: - the best of coppelia
This is one of the most delightful performances I have ever seen. If you do not have appreciation for ballet at least the natural beauty of the dancers would get your attention. irina shapchits has got the moost beautiful legs and back. mikhail zavialov seem to have no bones in his body, so limber he is.

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Rating: - Not A Traditional Coppelia!
This is not a classical ballet version of Coppelia by any stretch of the imagination. There are no bravura variations at all! There are none of the traditional solo variations in act one, such as the great solo waltz variation of Swanilda, in fact, during the music where this variation is normally danced, she is just climbing up a ladder!. There is no opening mazurka that usually occurs at the beginning of act one. The very important and beautiful shaking of the wheat variation is done away with here. Most of the dancing sequences are merely pantomime routines(dancing in which all the body movements have a meaning, such as kicking Franz in the head!). Perhaps this type of Coppelia has a place somewhere in the theater, but it is not what we normally think of as ballet, especially classical ballet. It resembles a ballet, since the costumes and sets are magnificent, but Vinogradov forgot to include any kind of dazzling choreography, the kind that this classical ballet is noted for. If you read my other reviews, you can see that I have great respect for artistic freedom and leeway, but it misses the mark here completely. The dancers themselves are excellent, the fault lies with the choreographer, Vinogradov. He has a totally different conception here. At first, there is the promise of something that might be new and fresh. The opening sequences include the Coppelia doll herself dancing at the start of act one, and we see that Dr. Coppelius has been given some dance steps, but the innovation ends there! In act two, much of the choreography is quite grotesque, as if the dancers were drunk, or instructed by the village idiot.
Do not think that anything from the Kirov must be fantastic. Buy this version if you hate ballet, but it kind of looks like ballet, so why bother? If you want a fine, classical version of Coppelia, try the Australian Ballet version--you won't be disappointed.

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