Coppelia [DVD] [NTSC] [All Regions]

The Royal Ballet's revival of Ninette de Valois' 1950s production of Delibes' comic masterpiece is well served in this excellent DVD. The performances all round are vigorous and joyful with the corps and soloists dancing with verve and precision in the national and ensemble numbers and the spirit of youthful zest sustained throughout. The central pairing of Acosta and Benjamin is a joy; both dancing with apparent effortlessness and seamlessly combining absorbing characterisation with technical bravaura. The production brings out all the nuanaces of the story: humour, pathos, tenderness and sheer joie de vivre. Enjoy.

I'm very surprised to be the first person to write a review for this ballet,its well known to everybody,but here I go.This is a story covering the two days leading up to the marriage of Swanilda(Leanne Benjamin)and Franz(Carlos Acosta).Act 1 starts in the village square where Swanilda gets annoyed at being ignored by Coppelia(Leana Palmer)only to later find Franz flirting with her,what nobody realises at this point is that Coppelia is an Automaton built by the reclusive Dr Coppelious(Luke Heydon).At this time the villagers enter to celebrate the announcement that the Duke is to provide a new bell for the village Church,and that all the betrothed of the village will receive a dowry from him.Now Franz must try to show Swanilda that he does indeed love her,by the use of ears of corn, which will be heard to rustle if their love is true(it doesn't)but anyway every body dances and Swanilda's mind is put at rest(for the moment)Dr Coppelius is very pleased with events though and goes out for a drink,dropping his keys in the process of being teased by the local lads,only for the keys to be found by Swanilda and her friends,who cannot but use them to meet the mysterious Coppelia. Act2 takes place in the home of Coppelius where Swanilda has entered and discovered the life like dolls that Coppelius makes and after a little searching finds the truth that Coppelia also is only a very lifelike doll.Coppelius returns and ejects the girls from his home apart from Swanilda who has hidden(and dressed up as Coppelia).About now Franz who is unaware of the goings on climbs a ladder and enters the house to also try and meet the beautiful Coppelia,only to be caught in the act by Coppelius who comes up with a cunning plan to get Franz drunk and steal his soul thus bringing Coppelia to life!Of course Swanilda plays along with the plot and convinces Coppelius his plan is working thus giving Franz time to recover and the pair escape leaving Coppelius to ponder on his own stupidity. Act 3 again takes part in the village square with much merriment and dancing taking place before the Duke and each couple getting their Dowry-But Dr Coppelius complains to the Duke that all his dolls are now ruined which is settled by the generous Duke paying for them.All is well and our happy couple are married and the ballet ends.Once again I am glad to have bought a Ballet performed at the ROH by the ROYAL ballet Co,they to my mind are the best-The scenery was good and the dance even better-Leanne Benjamin is a beautiful dancer(though once in the last act I thought she almost lost her balance)-Carlos Acosta is marvelous and world renowned(his solo's are perfection)the ideal Franz in fact-and two bonus dancers are Zanaida Yanowsky(prayer)and Mara Galeazzi( as Aurora?)The costumes are based on the original designs of Sir Osbert Lancaster,and the choreography is by Ninette de Valois(after Lev Ivanov)and Anthony Dowell's got his finger in the pie for re-staging the work.Lets not forget the orchestra of the Royal Opera House (without whom there would be no play) conducted wonderfully by Nicolae Moldoveanu who led us in this 5* performance,I can highly recommend it,watch it enjoy...

A beautiful production with original looking costumes. Can't fault the dancing, but I'm no expert. Carlos Acosta is just amazing as usual. This is my 4 year old twins' second favourite ballet as it is so accessible and fun (La fille mal gardee favourite). If you want a present for a child, this is a visual and aural treat.