Respighi reworked a few of Rossini's piano pieces to create the whimsical La Boutique Fantasque, a ballet set in a magical toyshop. Here, a dollmaker crafts dancing dolls that come to life when the shop closes. Two of his dolls, a pair of can-can dancers, are in love but are sold separately: one to an American family, the other to a Russian family. The dolls connive to hide the lovers, keeping them together, to the purchasers' dislike. The resulting kerfuffle ends with the cossack dolls marching the customers out the door and a celebration dance.
Respighi's La Boutique Fantasque
Toulouse Lautrec
