Coppélia

E. T. A.Hoffmann is widely associated with The Nutcracker while fewer know that the story of Coppelia is based on his short story, The Sandman (Der Sandmann). The author, known to be a polymath himself, also designed various machines and automatons, and he was perfectly aware how easy it is to fall in love with your own creation. A ballet version of Coppelia was first premiered in Hungary in 1877, later it was adapted by Gyula Harangozó, in 1953. More than seventy years afterwards, on the fiftieth anniversary of the choreographer’s death, the production returns to the Hungarian National Ballet’s repertoire to prove that classical ballet, pantomime, and magic tricks can co-exist just as perfectly as Léo Delibes’ late romantic music and the Hungarian czardas.