Coppélia (1870)

Coppélia is an 1870 comedic ballet choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to music by Léo Delibes and lyrics by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter. Nuitter's text and stage direction were inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann's short story Der Sandmann (The Sandman). The Greek word κoπέλα denotes "young woman." Coppélia premiered on May 25, 1870, at the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra, with 16-year-old Giuseppina Bozzacchi as Swanhilda and ballerina Eugénie Fiocre as Frantz en travesti. Paul Lormier and Alfred Albert designed the costumes, and Charles-Antoine Cambon (Act I, scene 1; Act II, scene 1) and Édouard Desplechin and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (Act I, scene 2) designed the scenery.

This comedy of errors is choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon and features a doll come to life and a young man, Franz, who has fallen for her. Its emphasis on love and enchantment reflects the Romantic ballet period's storytelling ideals.

Modern revivals are usually based on revivals staged by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in the late nineteenth century. At the turn of the twentieth century, Petipa's choreography was documented in the Stepanov technique of choreographic notation. These notations were eventually utilized to produce the St. Petersburg version for organizations such as the Vic-Wells Ballet.