Coppelia Ballet Summary

Coppelia is a very classical ballet.  It falls in the same category with Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty as a fairy tale-like story with a recognizable score.  Numerous pieces of music and variations from the show are popular for recitals and ballet competitions.  The ballet is based on some short stories by E.T.A Hoffman (the same person who wrote the story behind The Nutcracker).  Even though all companies portray a slightly different version, the general story and characters remain consistent.  In this post, I'll go over the basic storyline.

Coppelia is quite unique in that it's a pure comedy.  The main conflict in the story is misunderstanding; there are no real identifiable villains.  While the story is not well-known (and therefore less popular than things like Sleeping Beauty), Coppelia is very entertaining and family-appropriate.

The main characters in the ballet are Svanhilda (sometimes spelled Swanhilda), a young woman; Franz, her fiancé; Dr. Coppelius, a mysterious toymaker; and Coppelia, a magical doll.  The story takes place in a small German town, and the rest of the cast generally represents people (and things-more on that later) that reside in the town.

Act I:

In some versions, the act begins with a prologue showing Dr. Coppelius, a peculiar man who makes inventions, including magical dolls, in his workshop.  Dr. Coppelius is working on his newest project, a life-sized doll that looks like a lovely girl.  Some re-tellings of the story will insinuate that Coppelius made the doll for his own companionship.  Others may show Coppelius making the doll in the image of Svanhilda because he is secretly in love with her.  In this version, Coppelius may be cast as seedy or slightly villainous.  In most other versions, Coppelius is odd, but harmless.  Note that this scene is often omitted, so don't be surprised if you don't see it.

The real story begins with Svanhilda and Franz.  The young couple intend to get married.  In some versions of the story, the town is celebrating because the church tower/clock tower just got a new bell, and every couple that gets married for a certain period of time following the bell installation will win a cash prize.  This introduces a time limit for the events that will follow, and often involves a group of corps dancers who represent a clock and the passage of time.  Versions that do not put emphasis on the bell tower usually have just town residents in the corps de ballet.
While Svanhilda and Franz are in the town square, they notice a mysterious girl sitting on the porch (sometimes on the balcony) of a house. (In some versions, Coppelius brings the mystery girl--his newest doll-- out into the town square for villagers to see.) Franz is intrigued, and he feels drawn toward this girl.  Even though he is in love with and engaged to Svanhilda, he thinks he may be falling in love with the mysterious girl.

Svanhilda notices Franz's wandering attention, and she tries to remind him of how much they love each other.  Town residents (farmers, peasant girls, etc.) dance with the couple, and a group of Svanhilda's friends tease Franz about getting cold feet.  In some versions, Svanhilda tries to find out if Franz truly loves her using superstitious methods like shaking a piece of wheat beside her head and Franz's head.  Despite everyone's efforts, Franz is still obsessed with the mystery girl, and Svahnilda is devastated.

Act II:

Svanhilda, her friends, and Franz determine the mystery girls' association with Dr. Coppelius.  In some versions, various characters corner Coppelius, beat him up, or steal his keys.  In other portrayals, Svanhilda and her friends skip right to the breaking in part.  They enter Dr. Coppelius's house with intentions to find out who the mystery girl is and keep her away from Franz.

When Svanhilda and friends enter the house, they find themselves in a huge workshop filled with dolls, and the mystery girl is there.  She is also a doll-her name is Coppeila, and she is Dr. Coppelius's prized creation.  Svanhilda's friends want to destroy Coppelia, but something goes wrong in the workshop and all the dolls come to life!  The dolls are often portrayed by the corps de ballet, and they perform very fun robot-like choreography.  There's a huge kerfuffle, and as this ensues, Dr. Coppelius and Franz both show up at the scene, and Svanhilda gets an idea.

Franz asks Coppelius for permission to marry Coppelia.  Coppelius understands that Franz is meant to marry Svanhilda, so he's reluctant to give his permission outright (or, if Coppelius is more seedy, he may be working out a plot to get Franz to fall for Coppeila so Coppelius himself can marry Svanhilda).  He puts Franz into a hypnotic state (sometimes by casting a spell or providing a potion or alcoholic beverage).  Meanwhile, Svanhilda searches around the workshop and finds some clothes that look like Coppelia's.  Svanhilda dresses in the outfit and creeps out with the rest of the dolls.

Once Franz is completely confused, he notices Svanhilda.  He doesn't quite recognize her, and he dances between her and Coppelia, unsure of what to do.  Coppelius tries to offer some wisdom (or more confusion), but poor Franz is in no state to understand anything that's happening.

Act III:

It's the next day, the day on which Svanhilda and Franz are supposed to be married.  The townsfolk are excited for the marriage, but wary since Franz's confusion is not yet resolved.  Different groups of townspeople perform various dances as they wait for the couple to appear.  If the version of the ballet is clock-centric, the corps de ballet will perform the famous Waltz of the Hours variation, which shows that the couple is almost out of time.  Eventually Franz shows up alone, and then Dr. Coppelius arrives with what appears to be two dolls in wedding dresses.  Coppelius tells Franz to follow his heart and choose a bride.

Franz is unsure of which bride to choose, but with some goading from the crowd, finally makes a selection.  He has chosen Svanhilda, his true soulmate, who will provide him with much more than the beautiful but empty Coppelia.  The town residents dance together and show joy for the young couple's happy marriage.