Peter And The Wolf Tickets

Peter and the Wolf – A Notable Creation in Children’s Fairytales

A popular show for children of all age groups, Sergei Prokofiev’s tale remains relevant even today due to its fitting moral. Imparting the lessons of loyalty, courage and being true to oneself, the composer has introduced generations to inventive and sonic style of storytelling.

In 1946, Disney adapted it for screens and a short film was released. Since then the show has seen various adaptations and revivals.

Prokofiev had composed many short pieces for children and made his debut with Moscow Children’s Musical Theater. The beauty of “Peter and the Wolf” is that every character is represented through an instrument. There is also a narrator on stage who takes the audience through the story but the ‘dialogues’ so to say are enacted through instruments.

The Story – A simple, straightforward plot, Peter lives with his grandfather and enjoys exploring his meadows. His grandfather had often warned him about wandering the field alone as the area had wolves. Peter due to his adventurous nature didn’t obey his grandfather and headed deep into the meadows, where he sees a wolf scaring a duck, a bird and a cat.

The wolf manages to eat the whole duck and Peter through his smartness, traps the wolf and calls upon the hunters to capture him and take him to the zoo. In the end it was Peter’s courage and independence that saved the day. Sure the idea is there to obey the elders, but the children are also shown a bigger picture to rely on their wits and look beyond the greater experience.

The Instruments – Prokofiev has dug deep into the family of four instruments – strings, brass, woodwinds and percussions. Every character in the story is represented through an instrument and helps the children differentiate between the various kinds.

Peter is represented through different strings including viola, violin, cello and string bass. Flute is used for bird as it symbolizes its gentle sound; whereas, oboe characterizes the duck. Clarinet dominates in the scene with the cat where it tries to capture the bird. French horns are used to represent the wolf, timpani for the hunters and bassoon for grandfather.

During the live performances, musicians wear different colored shirts to highlight their character. Some theater companies even enact the scenes adding to the overall experience.

A Cultural Treasure   

As per the history books, Sergei Prokofiev wasn’t exactly people’s person – but he loved children. He found joy in their unfettered imagination, honesty in expressing their feelings and general sense of play.

Over the decades his work has been presented by different symphony orchestras and many narrators have given it their voice. As the 2019 season has been unveiled by different companies, Peter and the Wolf tickets have also been announced simultaneously.

Seattle Symphony Orchestra led by the conductor Farkhad Khudyev will stage the show in February and Peter and the Wolf by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is also on the list.

In March, conductor Christopher Dragon will also present Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s version of the story. Keep an eye on the Peter and the Wolf schedule to see when the show will be staged in your city or someplace nearby.