This delightful solo performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov is from the comic ballet ’Coppélia’, which was choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to music by Léo Delibes. Charles Nuitter provided the libretto and mise-en-scène, which were based on two stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann -- ’Der Sandmann’ (’The Sandman’) and ’Die Puppe’ (’The Doll’).
The work premiered at Théâtre Impérial l’Opéra in 1870 with Giuseppina Bozzacchi as Swanhilde. This ballerina showed great promise but, weakened by the lack of food and the pri