First State Ballet brings the dancing doll Coppelia to life this weekend.
The popular three act ballet opens the company’s season at the Grand in Wilmington.
Coppelia premiered in Paris in 1870 to Leo Delibes’ music and a libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter.
First State Ballet Advancement Director Joan Beatson says stage preparations for Coppelia have been underway for awhile.
“For Coppelia we’ve been rehearsing for about four weeks and that will include one week of rehearsals in the theatre, onstage, before we open this weekend.”
Beatson adds that the ballet company is excited to welcome an audience.
“We do - we’re ready - the dancers are ready, and we’re looking forward to a really fun night.”
For ballet fans, Coppelia’s Doctor is not unlike Hoffmann's Herr Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker or the traveling magician in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann.
Beatson says “Coppelia’s a lot of fun, it’s a comedy, it’s very silly, kids love it, there’s slapstick and it’s just a fun night in the theater.”
First State Ballet Theatre is Delaware's only professional ballet company.
Its season continues in December with the traditional holiday Nutcracker.
It debuts a program of three new ballets premieres in February, followed by Tchaikovsky’s classic Sleeping Beauty in April.
