Coppélia

Swanilda, the Bürgermeister's daughter is betrothed to Franz, a handsome young villager. On the eve of their wedding Swanilda has cause to doubt the seriousness of Franz's affections when she finds him ogling at a beautiful girl sitting on the balcony of Dr Coppélius' house.  Old Dr Coppélius is a toymaker, possibly possessing magical gifts, whose great ambition is to bring Coppélia, one of the mechanical dolls he has made, to life. The appearance of the unknown girl causes Swanilda concern and speculation, particularly as the girl has ignored Swanilda's friendly greetings The Bürgermeister arrives announcing a special festival to be held in honor of a new bell given by the local lord for the church. Dowries will also be presented to girls about to be married. The Bürgermeister gives Swanilda a stalk of wheat to test her love. Traditionally, if the wheat rattles when shaken, her love will be true. Swanilda and Franz dance with the wheat, but, when she shakes the stalk, she and her friends hear nothing. Although Franz says he hears it, she refuses to believe him. The marriage appears to be off.

After everyone has departed, Swanilda and her friends return to decorate the square for the next day's festivities. They decide to enter Coppélius's house to look for the mysterious girl on the balcony. Franz then returns with the same idea.

Inside the workshop Swanilda and her companions discover Coppélia and are astonished to find that she is only a doll. Coppélius returns and drives them all out, except Swanilda who hides. Franz appears; Coppélius seizes him and threatens to punish him. He then has second thoughts and, by putting a sleeping draught in some wine he offers Franz, he makes him fall asleep. With the help of a book of magic, he tries to bring Coppélia to life using the boy's spirit.

The villagers assemble for the festival which is celebrated with dances.

The 'Dance of the Hours' and the 'Dawn of a New Day'. Then there are dances that illustrate the uses to which the bell will be put: the call to prayer, work, the announcement of a marriage, the call to arms and, finally, the declaration of peace, in which we see Swanilda and Franz express their true love. As everyone departs , Coppélius, alone and forgotten, discovers that, for once, his mystical powers really have worked.