Search - The Australian Ballet - Coppelia on DVD

Funny Story, Delightful Performance!

jep46 | 12/25/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've never seen the performance of the Australian Ballet before, so I didn't know what to expect when I saw this video. And I was pleasantly surprised. The dancing looked good and the scenery and costume were unique and gorgeous. The story of Coppelia is simple. Two young lovers, Frantz and Swanilda, has a quarrel because Swanilda suspects that Frantz might be interested in Coppelia, a beautiful but mysterious girl and daughter of eccentric Dr.Coppelius. Then Swanilda and her friends have a chance to sneak into Dr.Coppelius' house and find that the house is full of dolls and even Coppelia herself is a lifeless doll. With Dr.Coppelius' unexpected return, they flee from the house, all but Swanilda. She is hiding in Coppelia's room. And Frantz who is unaware of the truth comes in. Dr. Coppelius makes him drunk and with some sort of magic, tries to use him to give life to Coppelia! Swanilda has no choice but impersonating Coppelia to save Frantz. While Dr.Coppelius believes that Coppelia really comes to life, Swanilda finds a chance and escapes with Frantz. The young lovers find each other again and the enchanting wedding ceremony is followed. I can not make a comment about profesional matter because I don't have much knowledge of ballet and technical dancing skill, however, even without such a knowledge, watching this video gave me pure pleasure. I think that this video would be good for whole family."

Excellent performance

Robert M. Freedman | Gilbert, AZ United States | 07/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is truly an excellent performance. (Even my 3-year old granddaughter was fascinated by it.) The choreography, the dancing, the sets, lighting and costumes are all essentially flawless. The orchestra - under the baton of Noel Smith - is of high caliber, though the transfer of music onto videotape was done just a bit off speed, with the result that some sustained passages by the orchestral winds are marred by a slight 'bubble' in the sound. The camera work is some of the best to be found in the area of dance. It manages to capture the scope of the choreography while providing artistically-handled non-interruptive closeups so that we can perceive the humanness of the dancers as well as their interpretive skills."

For the "Coppelia" video

A 12-year old viewer | Athens, Marousi Greece | 08/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a really lovely performance that anybody would be pleased to watch. The dancers passess flawless tecnical ability and musicality they're last, precise and very expressive. The music is lively and buyant, the setting, stage props and costumes come straight out of the fairy-tale. The characters have a wonderful stage presence and manage to transfer us smoothly into the world of Franz and Swanilda. I believe the Australian Ballet deserves a big praise on this production, so I would give video 5 out of 5."

Coppelia

jep46 | 03/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My daughter and I thouroughly enjoyed this production by the Australian Ballet. The costumes were beautiful and the dancing excellent. The acting , an important part of ballet that often gets forgotten, was wonderful and my five ear old could understand exactly what was going on. I'm planning to buy every video put out by the Australian Ballet as they are first rate."