Preview: Coppelia by Singapore Ballet

Singapore Ballet presents a well-loved ballet classic, Coppélia, from 15 – 18 September at Esplanade Theatre. As their first full-length classical ballet since Romeo and Juliet in March 2020, Coppélia ranks among the most enchanting and comical ballets in history, as a light-hearted ballet that sparks joy from within and promises to leave audiences tickled in their seats.

Based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, this three-act ballet tells the light-hearted story of the mysterious Dr Coppélius who creates a beautiful life-sized mechanical doll, Coppélia. A village youth named Franz, betrothed to the beautiful Swanilda becomes infatuated with Coppélia, not knowing that she is just a doll. The magic and fun begin when Swanilda disguised as Coppélia springs to life.

With original choreography by Arthur St. Léon, be enthralled by this magical production staged by Janek Schergen, that is set to a ballet libretto by Charles Nuittier, with music by Léo Delibes. Chihiro Uchida and Kenya Nakamura will be dancing as Coppélia and Franz together with Kwok Min Yi and Satoru Agetsuma, Akira Nakahama and Étienne Ferrère, who will be debuting in the same roles. Dr Coppélius will be played by Justin Zee for the first time.

“Coppélia became part of our performance repertoire early in the company’s history. It is a story ballet that possesses authentic charm, artistic quality, and visual delights for the audience. Coppélia endures as one of the most well- known ballets is the lexicon of ballet and, having established its legacy in repertoires all over the world, it leaves a responsibility in presentation and performance for us to attain. Coppélia, along with The Nutcracker, has a narrative drawn from a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann and part of the enjoyment for the dancers is dancing through the story and using their abilities as dancers in acting, technique and drawing out all the delights possible for our audiences. It is an experience to be remembered,” says Janek Schergen, Artistic Director, Singapore Ballet.

“In these six annual seasons, we set out the path we would like to follow into the future with dynamic works from our past, brilliant new works, created through the inspiration of the dancers combined with the talents of singularly talented choreographers, as well as presenting masterpieces of international repertoire to thrill and delight our audiences. From here, we move forward as Singapore Ballet, with the same sense of purpose as before, adding a new sense of maturity in everything we do,” he adds.

Coppelia plays from 15th to 18th September 2022 at the Esplanade Theatre. Tickets available here