On World Dance Day, Companhia Nacional de Bailado is offering a live streaming of the show “Coppélia or The Girl with the Enamel Eyes”, with the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra, broadcasted live to several theaters in the country.
"Coppélia" explores the fine line between reality and illusion and the human fascination with automaton dolls, closely linked to the interest in technological and scientific advancement in the 19th century.
Inspired by the work "Der Sandmann" by E.T.A. Hoffmann, "Coppélia or the Girl with the Enamel Eyes" is a ballet where illusion and fantasy mix with humor. Premiered at the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra in Paris on May 25, 1870, the story focuses on the young Swanilda and her fiancé Franz. Swanilda becomes jealous when she realizes that Franz is enchanted by a beautiful girl who frequently appears at the window of the studio of the mysterious dollmaker, Dr. Coppélius, unaware that she is in fact a mechanized doll: Coppélia. Franz and Swanilda are drawn into a series of misunderstandings and ridiculous adventures, managing, even on the eve of their wedding, to escape a confrontation with Dr. Coppélius for having invaded his studio.