Skip to main content

Article: Coppélia - Queensland Ballet

 

Queensland Ballet presents Coppélia, a truly captivating ballet infused with a uniquely Australian twist.

 

Premiering in 2014, this imaginative adaptation by Greg Horseman draws inspiration from Australia’s rich migrant history, offering a fresh perspective on the classic tale.

 

Set against the charming backdrop of 19th-century Hahndorf, South Australia, Coppélia unfolds the intriguing story of Dr. Coppélius, a German migrant striving to recreate his lost daughter amidst the enchanting Australian landscape.

 

Mr. Horsman seamlessly merges the classical essence with an Australian aesthetic, resulting in a poignant and ingenious adaptation. The ballet interweaves themes of love and mischief, featuring a life-like doll and quarrelling lovers in a delightful blend of chaos and Australian charm.

 

Mr. Horsman shared his perspective on Coppélia, acknowledging its popularity in the classical repertoire while expressing the need to bring an Australian context to Queensland audiences. He said the production always had a special place in his heart.“Coppelia was the first full length ballet I performed in as a lead role. 

 

In my production of Coppelia, I changed the time period as well as the setting. I’ve set mine towards the end of the 1800s in Handoff, which is the oldest surviving settlement still in Australia. “By setting the ballet in Handoff, that gave me the capacity to elaborate on Dr Coppelius’ character.”

 

“Coppelia is a light-hearted mischievous ballet, that will charm audiences of all ages, a beautiful lifelike doll and two quarrelling lovers create comic chaos in this spirited romantic era ballet, with a distinctly Australian flare,” Mr Horsman said.

 

Coppélia transcends the classical, incorporating film projection, storytelling theatre, and pantomime, with a playful nod to Australian fashion of the time.

 

Don’t miss Coppélia at the Playhouse Theatre, QPAC, from 7 – 22 June 2024. For more information and to secure your tickets to this enchanting family ballet, click here.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Article: The Empire Young Artist showcase original production

The Empire’s youngest artists have kicked off rehearsals for their original production, Our Egg Named Larry to be performed from July 12-13. Now in its 14th year, the audition-based elite performance program IMPACT sees a Junior Ensemble cast of eight aged 13-14, dive into the funny, heartwarming and at times ridiculous story of a group of students who are assigned to a project to keep a fragile egg named Larry in one piece. An original theatre piece, Our Egg named Larry was written by The Empire Youth Arts Lead Grace Sankey and co-writer Sheldon Mcloughlin, with ensemble members to contribute to the script writing process, drawing on discoveries they make about their own characters as rehearsals continue. “This year’s Junior Ensemble has a mixture of experience levels with some members who have done this program before and some who will be going on stage for the very first time,” Miss Sankey said. “I am so grateful to be in the rehearsal room with these amazing young people, creating ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Hair - Gold Coast Little Theatre

 Written by Mark Rickell   “Back in the late 1960s, the artists of off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway had been complaining that the professional theatre was dead, and even worse, that it was boring. Hair was the revolution they had been waiting for. With very little plot, a unit set, plenty of four-letter words, explicit sexual content, rituals, drugs, lyrics that didn’t rhyme, music that didn’t follow the rules, and the sound of genuine rock and roll on the Broadway stage for the first time, this musical knocked Broadway on its collective ass.” - Scott Miller, Rebels with Applause: Broadway's Ground-Breaking Musicals   Gold Coast Little Theatre has faithfully continued the tradition of knocking theatre on its ass. With themes and topics that remain just as relevant today as they did in 1967 at the show’s original release, GCLT has absolutely smashed this Broadway classic. At a time when theatres across South East Queensland seem to be falling back o...
2 comments
Read more

Review: Scenes From a Yellow Perril - The Reaction Theory & Queensland Theatre Door 3

Written by Grace Wilson The best kind of theatre is theatre that makes people question, reflect and consider how uncomfortable questions encourage people to act and change. There are not many theatre pieces out there that can make an audience consider whether to laugh or cringe, smile or grimace. However, The Reaction Theory’s ‘Scenes From a Yellow Peril’, as a part of Queensland Theatre’s Door 3 program, masterfully manipulates the uncomfortable with the comedic, the angry with the heartfelt, and asks the audience if uncomfortable questions are worth the discoveries that come with them. ‘Scenes From A Yellow Peril’ by Chinese-New Zealand writer and poet, Nathan Joe, can truly be described as poetry on stage, a turbulent experience of communication and heightened emotions. The audience is exposed to complexities and challenges of BIPOC communities across the world in a way that does not fit the traditional theatre mould. There is no way to predict what Joe writes next; each scene chops...
Post a Comment
Read more