Live at Lincoln Center decided not to show the complete Coppelia from the New York City Ballet 1978 recording because of the Chinese doll in the second act, considered "racially insensitive." No matter, because the third act, choreographed by Balanchine and the only act shown, is all new to this venerable ballet that goes back to Petipa and the 19th century. It was beautifully danced by Patricia McBride and Helgi Tomasson, with support from the corps and the young girls from the school. The third act is another example of Balanchine celebrating the individual and the couple, as well as their roles in society; see my post of May 28, 2018, the last time I saw this ballet live.
This all-Balanchine recording also includes the fourth section of Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, a marvelous exploration of Balanchine's interest in folk dancing, in this case a ballet version danced with maximum intensity by Damian Woetzel and Wendy Whelan. Also shown were Alexandra Asanelli and Nilas Martins in the lovely "The Man I Love" from Balanchine's Who Cares, to Gerhwin music, and the adagio movement from Balanchine's Concerto Barocco to Bach's D Minor Concerto. I have always particularly loved this adagio, since it is the only part of the ballet with a male dancer in a role I always fantasized I could do; it does have difficult lifts but no complicated turns or jetes; the two leads are Maria Kowroski and Rachel Rutherford.
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