Romanticism in ballet cuts two ways: There’s the tragedy of Giselle, where spurned women rise from the dead to haunt the living; then there’s the sunny world of Coppélia. On the surface, it’s a girl gets boy story, where spunky Swanilda (Kaori Nakamura) saves gormless Franz (Jonathan Porretta) from the machinations of the crackpot Dr. Coppelius (to be danced by PNB artistic director Peter Boal). But underneath is a whiff of darker stuff, where Coppelius plans to steal Franz’s life-force to animate a beautiful doll. It’s a combination of Frankenstein and Pygmalion. But the forces of good win out this time, all set to a glorious score by Léo Delibes and based on the 1974 choreography of George Balanchine. SANDRA KURTZ [Also see Sandra’s review.]

June 3-13, 7:30 p.m., 2010