Coppélia has always been one of my favorite ballet operas. It tells the story of a mysterious citizen named Dr. Coppelius and his strange, beautiful daughter, Coppélia, who sits at the balcony all day long, reading a book, and never greeting the onlookers. Swanhilda is a village maiden who gets jealous of Coppélia when she catches her lover, Franz, blowing kisses to the girl on the balcony. Deciding to confront Coppélia herself, Swanhilda breaks into Dr. Coppelius’ cottage when the old man is out. Swanhilda is stunned to find Coppélia as a lifeless, lifelike doll behind the curtains. She learns that Dr. Coppelius is a diabolical inventor who dreams of bringing Coppélia to life. Trapped inside the house when Dr. Coppelius returns for the evening, Swanhilda trades places with the doll and pretends to be Coppélia come to life. Fooled into thinking his magic worked, Dr. Coppelius dances and celebrates along with her.
Franz breaks into the house on the same evening, wanting to meet Coppélia. Dr. Coppelius decides to drug Franz and suck the life out of him, to make his beloved Coppélia alive eternally. Swanhilda saves Franz’ life and they make for a daring escape. At the end, Swanhilda forgives Franz for his folly, and they both marry. The entire town celebrates by dancing – and TRALALA -- it's a rather typical ballet ending.
