UK Theatre Network

This oldest of the popular ballets is delighting audiences at the Kings this week.

The Russian State Ballet of Siberia presents this enchanting ballet based on the music of composer Leo Delibes.  Dr. Coppelius, a magician and toymaker, and his ‘daughter’, Coppelia, live in a small town.  All the men of the town are mesmerised by Coppelia who sits on a balcony all day giving no-one her attention, including Franz ... much to the chagrin of his fiancé, Swanilda.  Franz and Swanilda are soon to be married and tradition dictates that the happy couple should receive a special gift to commemorate the occasion.  Swanilda and her friends decide to satisfy their curiosity about Coppelius by investigating his house.  They discover a magical room full of mechanical life size toys and it appears that Coppelia is, in fact, a marionette, too!  Franz has an alternative motive to enter the house and scales the wall to be discovered by Dr. Coppelius.  Coppelius uses his magical power to try to transfer Franz's life force into Coppelia to bring her to life.  But Swanilda has tricked the Doctor by disguising herself as Coppelia!  She escapes with Franz and her friends.  On the day of the wedding Coppelius forgives the couple for their intrusion and the entire town celebrate the happy occasion.

When you consider that the company has undertaken this national tour with four distinct productions (Coppelia, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Giselle) the spectacle and presentation of Coppelia was breathtaking.  In particular, the costumes were quite stunning.  As Swanilda, Anna Snegina was captivating.  She seemed lighter than air on points and her partner work with Vyacheslav Kapustin as Franz in the third act made the impossible seem effortless.  Alexander Kuimov was a charismatic Coppelius throughout.  Conductor Anatoly Tchepurnoi empowered this emotional Delibes score and was unnecessarily modest during the company bow.

This production will be replaced on Wednesday by performances of Swan Lake and again on Friday by The Nutcracker the same company until the end of the week.

Performances:
Kings Theatre, Glasgow 

Mon 23 & Tue 24 Feb (Coppelia)

Wed 25 & Thu 26 Feb (Swan Lake)

Fri 27 & Sat 28 Feb (Nutcracker)

Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm

Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm

Tickets - £13 - £30.50

Booking Fee - 0870 060 6648 (bkg fee)

www.ambassadortickets.com