About the work
Die Puppenfee (The Fairy Doll) is a one-act ballet in two scenes by Josef Bayer, choreographed by Josef Hassreiter to a libretto he wrote together with Franz Xaver Gaul. A private preview under the title "Im Puppenladen" was already staged in April 1888 at the Palais Liechtenstein; the official premiere followed on 4 October 1888 at Vienna's Court Opera (Hofoperntheater). For the frame story of a toyshop coming to life at night, Hassreiter drew on motifs from E. T. A. Hoffmann's tale "The Sandman".
Plot
During the day, an English family shops for elaborately costumed dolls in a Viennese toyshop, among them the Fairy Doll herself. After closing time, the Fairy Doll comes to life, wakes the other dolls with a wave of her wand, and sets them dancing.
Cultural significance
Die Puppenfee became one of the most frequently performed ballets in the German-speaking world, reaching more than 800 performances of Hassreiter's original staging at the Vienna State Opera by 1999. A pas de trois for the Fairy Doll that Riccardo Drigo arranged for the Mariinsky Theatre in 1903 is still danced independently of the full work at gala evenings today.