Act I

A public Square in a small town, on the borders of Galicia, with wooden houses painted with bright colors. One house stands outin contrast to the others, with grating before the windows and the door securely fastened. This is the residence of Coppelius.

Swanilda is approaching the house of Coppelius, raises her eyes to a large window, behind which Coppelia, the daughter of old Coppelius, is seen, sitting with a book in her hands apparently absorbed in her reading. Every morning she is seen at the same window and in the same attitude, and then disappears. She never goes out from this mysterious residence. She appears to be pretty, and many young men in the town have passed long hours beneath her window, beseeching for one look.