December 03, 2025
We are delighted to present this ETV Classic, Coppelia, a comic ballet in three acts performed by the Columbia City Ballet under the artistic direction of Ann Brodie. The role of Swanhilda is played by Karen Gibbons Brown, while Franz, her lover, is performed by guest artist William Starrett. Wally Rodrigues is the mysterious Dr. Coppelius. Filmed at the Township and Manning High School in 1980, were you there?
The curtain opens on the town square of a small Eastern European Village several hundred years ago...
Side Notes
- Coppelia -Coppélia (sometimes subtitled: La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes) 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. Nuitter's libretto and mise-en-scène was based upon E. T. A. Hoffmann's short story Der Sandmann (The Sandman).
- Léo Delibes - Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (February 1836 – January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) and the opera Lakmé (1883), which includes the well-known "Flower Duet".
- E. T. A. Hoffman -Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; January 1776 – June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist. He is the author of the novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, on which Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker is based. In addition, his stories form the basis of Jacques Offenbach's opera The Tales of Hoffmann, in which Hoffmann appears (heavily fictionalized) as the hero. The ballet Coppélia is based on two other stories that Hoffmann wrote, while Schumann's Kreisleriana is based on Hoffmann's character Johannes Kreisler.
- Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter - was a French librettist, translator, writer and librarian born in Paris, France, on 24 April 1828. He died there on 23 February 1899 after suffering a stroke a few days before. Link will take you to his discography, historical recordings.
- Arthur Saint-Léon - (September 1821, September 1870) was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.
- Karen Gibbons Brown - Fort Wayne Ballet.
- William Starrett - South Carolina Ballet -Artistic and Executive Director, and Principal Choreographer leads the Columbia City Ballet for 36th Performance Season. First appearing as a guest artist in 1977, over the past 45 years, he has served as Artist-in- Residence, Associate Director, and Premier Danseur.
- Mariclare Mirada - Faculty, Columbia Conservatory of Dance.
- Wally Rodriguez Obituary. Wally was an actor and director for many years in the Columbia theater community. He was known for dancing character roles with the Columbia City Ballet.
- Cynthia Gilliam - Pantomime. Veteran Midlands director Cynthia Gilliam, one of the founders of Workshop Theatre, recently took time to chat with Jasper Theatre Editor August Krickel about her upcoming production of an Edward Albee classic. Jasper: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is currently being produced on Broadway in a very high-profile revival - why do you think it still resonates with audiences?
