The perfect ballet for everyone. From ballet novice to balletomane.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was easy to award five stars to last night’s performance of Sir Peter Wright’s Coppélia performed by the astounding Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Having been a regular at the ballet now since around 2018, I haven’t seen Coppélia before. It was last performed by BRB around 5 years ago and seeing BRB go from strength to strength over the last 4 years, I was incredibly excited to finally get my chance to see the show.
I was not disappointed. To be quite frank, I was captivated by the performance and sat in complete admiration for the talent on stage.
For those who regularly read my reviews, my love of Principal dancer Tzu-Chao Chou’s dancing is evident. So to see him play the lead (Franz) in last nights performance alongside the incredibly talented Principal dancer Momoko Hirata (Swanilda) made the show even more special.
The en pointe work from the dancers throughout the show and the final pas de deux from Tzu-Chao Chou and Momoko Hirata were enough to leave me open mouthed in awe. Two absolutely phenomenal dancers who own the stage when performing.
For those unaware of Coppélia it is a delightful comic ballet telling the story of lovers Franz and Swanilda who are very much in love until Franz has his attention taken by Dr Coppélius ‘daughter’ on the balcony one day – little does he know that Dr Coppélius, an inventor has created her. A mechanical doll that looks human like. When Franz goes hunting for her, Swanilda dresses as the doll, pretending to come to life and tries to save Franz from the inventor and his ghastly plans.
It is not just the phenomenal dancing and acting from the dancers that make this show so brilliant, but the way it entwines so well with the orchestra and the staging. Everything is perfect. When the curtains open for the first Act and you see the scenery- like something out of Beauty and the Beast, it is almost goosebump enducing.
The choreography might be one of my favourites, or at least on a par with performances like Nutcracker and Swan Lake. The footwork is quick and although the dancers make it look effortless, the amount of time they are en pointe must be tremendously demanding for the dancers and the graceful movement and disposition of the arms, well, exceptional!
I loved this ballet and feel I could talk about it for hours. But I want this to go live so you can go and book tickets for the last performances this evening and tomorrow.
You can book your tickets here: https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/brb-coppelia/
The perfect treat for the end of half term.