Stars:
Ako Kondo
โข
Chengwu Guo
โข
Andrew Killian
Peggy Van Praagh directs Coppรฉlia, a ballet by Arthur Saint-Lรฉon inspired by Hoffmannโs haunting short story The Sandman. The story narrates the adventures of Swanilda (played by the sublime Ako Kondo) and Franz (the majestic Chengwu Guo), two lovers put to the test by the magician Dr. Coppelius, a manufacturer of automaton dolls. In Van Praaghโs production, Franz falls under the spell of Coppรฉlia, the daughter of the ill-intentioned Coppelius. Swanilda manages to save her fiancรฉ from a sinister fate, and the two lovers marry and seal their union with a tender pas de deux. The magnificent dรฉcor of the Sydney Opera House, the sumptuous costumes by Kristian Fredrikson, and the highly theatrical nature of the ballet and the music by Lรฉo Delibes make it easy to be swept away into this magical world!