Coppélia, ou La Fille aux Yeux d'mail (1876) by Léo Delibes. With excerpts from Sylvia (produced 1876) and La Source [Naila] (1866)

George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova, after Petipa (1884) © The George Balanchine Trust

July 17, 1974, New York City Ballet, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York

Patricia McBride, Helgi Tomasson, Shaun O'Brien, Marnee Morris, Merrill Ashley, Christine Redpath, Susan Hendl, Colleen Neary, Robert Weiss

Act I: 36 min.Act II: 28 min.Act III: 35 min.

Based on the book by Charles Nuitter, after E.T.A. Hoffmann's Der Sandmann.Coppélia, traditionally considered one of the triumphant comic ballets of the 19th century, marked the passing of ballet supremacy from France to Russia. Originally choreographed by Arthur St. Léon in Paris in 1870, it was restaged by Marius Petipa in St. Petersburg in 1884 and revised, again, by Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti in 1894. None of St. Léon's choreography remains in today's production, although Acts I and II retain his ideas and the story of mischievous young lovers. Balanchine provided entirely new choreography for Act III.

Léo Delibes (1836-1891) was renowned as a composer for the dance, with the gift of illustrating action, creating atmosphere, and inspiring movement. As a result, Coppélia was the first symphonic ballet score, and includes melodic national dances, descriptive passages introducing the main characters, and musical effects that have captured audiences for more than 100 years.