Ashton Fan Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 A new recording of de Valois' production of the ballet is due to be issued on the 23rd October 2020. The cast in the recording is headed by Nunez and Muntagirov with Avis as Dr. Coppelius. Although Coppelia was the first nineteenth century ballet the Vic Wells company ever danced it has had a somewhat patchy performance history since the company acquired its royal charter and became the Royal Ballet with lengthy periods of neglect followed by enthusiastic rediscovery for relatively short periods. Last Christmas gave audiences the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the work and once again raised the question why Coppelia does not have the regular place in the repertory it deserves.The cast selected for the streamed performance are excellent, even if Nunez is perhaps a trifle mature for the role of Swanhilde at this stage of her career, and does not bring the same freshness to the comedy of the second act that Hayward did on the opening night. Avis makes the role of Coppelius his own rather than trying to follow Helpmann's interpretation of the role while Muntagirov is charm itself and makes Franz's solo look ridiculously easy. Link to comment
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