Coppélia (sometimes subtitled: La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)[1]) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter.

Coppélia premiered on 25 May 1870 at the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra, with the 16-year-old Giuseppina Bozzacchi in the principal role of Swanhilda and ballerina Eugénie Fiocre playing the part of Frantz en travesti.

Modern-day productions are traditionally derived from the revivals staged by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in the late 19th century.

She shows him his folly by dressing as the doll, pretending to make it come to life and ultimately saving him from an untimely end at the hands of the inventor.

However, Swanhilda becomes unhappy with Franz because he seems to be paying more attention to a girl named Coppélia, who sits motionless on the balcony of a nearby house.

Although Coppélia spends all of her time sitting motionless and reading, Franz is mesmerized by her beauty and is determined to attract her attention.

(Note: In some Russian versions of the ballet, after getting caught, Swanhilda confesses to Dr. Coppelius about what she and her friends did and her situation with Franz.

[2] The festive wedding-day divertissements in the village square that occupy Act III are often deleted in modern danced versions.

Some influence on this story comes from travelling shows of the late 18th and early 19th centuries starring mechanical automata.

In the first story, based on Der Sandmann, Hoffmann falls in love with a mechanical doll, Olympia, but in this case, the story has a melancholy tinge as the doll was destroyed by Dr. Coppelius, who share the same name as Coppelius who wants Coppélia to come to life, after he didn't get a check from Spalanzani for Olympia's eyes.

It starred Willam Christensen as Franz, Earl Riggins as Dr. Coppelius, and Janet Reed as Swanhilda and was an instant hit.

Balanchine created new choreography for Act III and for the mazurka, czardas and Franz's variation in Act I. Patricia McBride danced the role of Swanhilda the friendliest girl; Helgi Tomasson danced the role of Franz; Shaun O'Brian portrayed Dr. Coppélius.

In Act III, Balanchine added 24 young girls to dance and be in the scene during Waltz of the Hours, Dawn (L'aurore), Prayer, and Work (Le travail) variations.

In this version, Franz and a handful of other enlistees stationed at Camp Taylor all plan to marry their fiancées the next day, right before they depart for Europe.

[7] In 2019 Jean-Christophe Maillot created a modernized version of Coppélia for the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, calling it Coppél-i-A.

[9] A family feature film, Coppelia, was released in 2021, directed and written by Jeff Tudor, Steven De Beul and Ben Tesseur.

In Brandsen's production, and in the film, Doctor Coppelius is updated from toymaker to cosmetic surgeon and Coppelia is a robot.