Jack Cunningham

(Ballet Studies - The College of Dance)

October 2020

COMPARISON OF MARIUS PETIPA’S WORK

Coppélia & Don Quixote

 COPPÉLIA

SYNOPSIS

ACT I: A Village Square in Galicia:

 

The villagers are preparing for the Harvest Festival. The official party, led by the Town Councillor,
celebrates the gift of a bell by the Seigneur and his Lady. The celebration is momentarily
interrupted by Dr Coppelius, whose mysterious "daughter" causes a quarrel between Swanilda
and her fiancé Franz. The villagers, after continuing the celebrations with a czardas, disperse to
await the Harvest Festival the following morning. Meanwhile, Swanilda and her friends investigate
the strange house of Dr Coppélius.

ACT II: Inside Dr Coppelius’ House (That Evening):

Swanilda and her friends search for the girl they saw earlier on the balcony. However, Dr
Coppelius returns and chases them – except for Swanilda, who hides – from his house. Franz
arrives and Dr Coppelius wickedly endeavours to take his spirit from him and put it into the body
of his "daughter", his most prized possession. Coppelius is fooled by Swanilda and thinks his
mechanical doll has come to life. The lovers are reunited and Dr Coppelius is left broken-hearted.

ACT III: Outside the Church (The Next Morning):

The day of the celebration has arrived and the couples are married. Led by the child-god Hymen,
the gathered villagers celebrate the pageant day with joyous dancing.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Dr Coppelius is a lonely old alchemist who lives in a two-storey house on the edge of the village
square. He is regarded by the villagers as a sorcerer, someone who conducts strange experiments
in his laboratory. They fear him and ridicule him.

Coppélia is his "daughter", a mechanical doll who is so lifelike she is able to fool the villagers into
believing she is alive. Doctor Coppelius is so enamoured of this doll that he tries to use magic to
bring her to life.

Swanilda is one of the most beautiful girls of the village, Swanilda loves life and her fiancé, Franz.
She and her friends are to be married at a mass wedding during the Harvest Festival on the
following day.

Franz is engaged to marry Swanilda, he causes her a great deal of dismay when he notices the
beautiful "new girl" in the village, Coppélia, throwing kisses at him. Not realising that she is only a
mechanical doll, he is determined to discover whether she really loves him or not by breaking into
Dr Coppelius’ house, where he finds himself in great danger.

The Official Party

The Seigneur and his Lady

The Town Councillor and his Wife

The School Teacher

The Priest

Villagers, Dolls, Attendants

SOURCE INFORMATION: The Australian Ballet

 DON QUIXOTE

SYNOPSIS

PROLOGUE:

Driven by the vision of Dulcinea the ideal woman, the tarnished (yet inspired) Don Quixote begins
his adventure with his trusty squire Sancho Panza, in tow.

ACT I – Sevilla:

Kitri, Lorenzo’s daughter, is in love with Basilio.  Much to her chagrin, she learns of her father’s
plan to marry her to Gamache, a foppish nobleman.  Don Quixote and Sancho Panza enter the
village, causing great commotion.  Noticing Kitri, Don Quixote wonders if he has, at last, found his
Dulcinea.  At the height of merriment, Kitri and Basilio, aided by their friends, Espada and
Mercedes, sneak off followed by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.  Gamache and Lorenzo attempt
to pursue the young people.

ACT II SCENE I – Gypsy Camp:

The fleeing couple is discovered in a friendly gypsy camp by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.  All
are inspired by the romance of the night.  As the vision of Dulcinea appears to him, Don Quixote
realizes Kitri is not his ideal, but belongs with Basilio.  Suddenly, the wind gains momentum.  Don
Quixote foolishly attacks a windmill, believing it to be a giant threatening Dulcinea’s safety.  Failing
miserably, he collapses into a deep sleep.

ACT II SCENE II – The Dream:

Don Quixote has an enchanted dream of beautiful maidens in which the image of Kitri symbolizes
his Dulcinea.

ACT II SCENE III – Sunrise:

Lorenzo and Gamache interrupt Don Quixote’s dream.  Sympathetic to the plight of the young
lovers, Don Quixote attempts to lead the two astray.

ACT II SCENE IV – In the Tavern:

Finally discovered, Kitri is forced by Lorenzo to accept the attentions of Gamache.  The thwarted
Basilio commits “suicide”.  Upon learning of the farce, Kitri implores Don Quixote to persuade
Lorenzo to wed her to the “corpse”.  Instantly Basilio comes to “life”!  Triumphantly, Kitri leaves to
prepare for marriage while Don Quixote and Basilio salute Lorenzo and Gamache for stoically
accepting the inevitable.

ACT III SCENE I – The Wedding:

The village celebrates the marriage.  Don Quixote congratulates the couple, bids them warm
farewell and resumes his everlasting adventures.

 CAST OF CHARACTERS

Don Quixote, Filled with earnestness and courtly manners, Don Quixote is an older gentleman
eager for an adventure. A dream is enough to spur him along, and as he sets out to save
Dulcinea, an imaginary woman he conjures, his confusion and sincerity stand in stark contrast to
those around him, often causing him mishap while serving to advance the interests of others.

Sancho Panza is Don Quixote’s loyal sidekick and a foil to his delusions. “With the pride of his
own gut, Sancho has a trademark aspect that makes him spritely, overweight and has a ‘happy-
to-be-here’ quality,” says dancer Jacob Beasley. He’s often named a favorite in the ballet for his
many laugh-inducing moments. “He brings much of the comedic relief in the ballet by accidentally
making a fool of himself on multiple occasions due to his curiosity,” says dancer Bailey Shaw.

Kitri, Spirited and full of zest for life, Kitri is in love with the town barber Basilio. But her father has
other plans for her, and Kitri resists them with a fiery zeal. She effortlessly captures the attention
of those around her, including Don Quixote, who mistakes her for his Dulcinea and pursues her
with fervor.

Basilio, His flirtatiousness serves him well with Kitri, as he captures her heart and she his. He
eagerly joins her to escape the wrath of her father upon his discovery of their courtship. Basilio is
roguish and witty, traits that prove helpful as he attempts to thwart the efforts of Gamache, the
man Kitri’s father would rather she marry.

Gamache, A wealthy nobleman, Gamache rests on his laurels when it comes to pursuing Kitri (at
the urging of her father). “He’s incredibly vain and self-important,” says dancer Michael Sayre.
“Rejection doesn’t damage his heart as much as threaten his ego, and he ends up being perfectly
happy as long as he’s the center of attention.”

Don Lorenzo, Don Lorenzo is the local innkeeper and the father of Kitri. His love for his daughter
causes him to resist the idea of her marrying a barber and demand she take the hand of
Gamache. “He is a true parent,” says special guest dancer Scott Brown. “He has all the strengths
and failings that most parents do, but in the end he really only wants his daughter to be happy.”

SOURCE INFORMATION: Pittsburg Ballet Theatre & Ballet Met

While Don Quixote (1869) is Petipa’s own work, he did not originally choreograph Coppélia. Petipa
choreographed a modern day revival of the original production of Coppélia which was
choreographed by Arthur Saint Léon in 1870.

Throughout the years, there have been slight changes made to Don Quixote. For instance in 1871,
The ending was changed. Don Quixote's duel with the Knight of the Silver Moon was cut and the
ballet ended with an epilogue in which Don Quixote and Sancho Panza set out again on their
quest after Kitri and Basilio's wedding.

Petipa’s revival of Coppélia was staged for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. His choreography
was documented in the Stepanov method of choreograph notation at the turn of the 20th century.
These notations were later used to stage the St. Petersburg version for such companies as the
Vic-Wells Ballet (precursor of today’s Royal Ballet).

Petipa’s choreography in Don Quixote is visually appealing to the eye. Not only does he create
strong, gorgeous lines and frames, his choreography has an exciting energy that helps move the
plot along. I could only find a few videos of his original choreography but from watching it I could
easily tell he was a storyteller also. His choreography had the energy that a modern musical with a
big plot has.

His high energy numbers with men and women dancing were striking and his unusual patterns
and formations with his dancers drew me in. I watched a lot of group pieces from this show. It
was a lot different than most of the classical ballets I’ve seen. It was uplifting to watch a large
group of dancers leap and turn around the stage. He has created choreography that draws the
audience into a world where their eyes are glued to the stage to see what the next dance step will
be.

I watched a couple of videos of his choreography for Coppélia and I noticed in Swanhilda’s solo
he uses very small steps for the most part while maintaining the storyline throughout the
choreography. For this piece I felt the dancer (Natalia Osipova) provided the energy and not the
choreography. It was delicate and beautiful but lacked energy. There were moments where the
music swelled but the choreography did not but towards the end the choreography got more
exciting but it was too late.

I also watched the Grand Pas de Deux with Swanhilda (Natalia Osipova) and Franz (Vyacheslav
Lopatin). Again I felt the choreography was technically beautiful but lacked energy and
excitement. It was more of a technical storytelling piece. It was gorgeous to look at but I felt the
dancers provided the energy. The lines created by the pair with Petipa’s choreography were
beautiful.

From researching Petipa’s ballets I can tell that his choreography requires lots of strength and
energy. I much preferred Don Quixote to Coppélia. He creates wonderful storytelling moments
with each piece but can lack energy and excitement at times.