Pennsylvania Ballet’s ‘Coppélia’

The story concerns a village girl named Swanilda whose fiancé, Franz, has fallen for a lifelike mechanical doll named Coppélia, the prize creation of the crotchety local inventor, Dr. Coppelius. Swanilda’s efforts to win back Franz’s affections — in part by posing as Coppélia — provide a rare opportunity for dancers to demonstrate their acting ability, more or less with the same sort of pantomime we usually associate with old silent films. As the naïve and lovesick Swanilda, Lauren Fadeley proves herself a talented comedienne as well as a ballerina (although, when her knees knock in exaggerated fear of being discovered in Dr. Coppelius’s workshop, you may find yourself wondering how such a terrified girl developed such muscular legs).

The Pennsylvania Ballet master Jeffrey Gribler’s dancing days are far behind him — he retired from the stage in 2001 after 26 years of performing — but as the secretive Dr. Coppelius he shows that he’s lost neither his stage presence nor his capacity for rough-and-tumble. Francis Veyette, as Franz, is more of an athlete than an actor, and the Pennsylvania Ballet’s orchestra is merely adequate, but no matter. This exuberant and beautiful Coppélia — presented in a theater that’s contemporaneous with Coppélia itself — is a sheer delight: a combination of folk dance and ballet that commands your attention and is easy to follow, even if you haven’t read the synopsis in advance.