The Estonian National Opera will on 16 May stream for free the opera house’s version of Léo Delibes’s ballet “Coppélia” that originally premiered in Paris in 1870 and has remained in the repertoires all over the world since.
The ballet is based on the story, “The Sand-Man”, by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, and tells the tale about toy maker Coppélius who has created a doll named Coppélia. More than anything, he wishes to bring her to life. The world premiere of “Coppélia” took place at Opéra Paris in 1870 and the ballet has remained in the repertoires all over the world for 150 years.
The Estonian National Opera’s premiere of “Coppélia”, staged by British choreographer Ronald Hynd, took place in 2010. Hynd has also staged it with the English National Ballet “where it enticed the audiences for several seasons”, the opera house said in a statement.
“There is no prince and no princess in it. There are peasants; it is a boy and a girl in a village, and there are no overly romantic tones to it. It is just a simple romance – no swan, no sleeping beauty. It is life,” Hynd said in a statement. “And I think that’s why it’s really always been successful, because people can identify with the very simple, charming story.”
Streamed for free, remains online for a week
The performance, to be streamed on Saturday, was originally recorded in 2012. The conductor is Mihhail Gerts and designer Roberta Giudi di Bagno. The performers include Luana Georg, Sergei Upkin, Vitali Nikolajev, Marika Muiste and many others.
The online performance begins on 16 May at 7:00 PM EEST (5:00 PM BST/12:00 PM EDT) and will remain online for a week. Watching the performance online is free of charge and although it’s streamed via Facebook, the viewer does not need to have Facebook account.
The Estonian National Opera traces its history back to 1870, when the song and drama society “Estonia” was founded.
Cover: A scene from the performance of “Coppélia”. Photo by Harri Rospu.
