Peter and the Wolf

Prokofiev began with a simple tale to introduce children to the complexity of an orchestra; he created an essential musical piece to initiate future fans. In Peter and the Wolf, several dramatic moments happen in succession, ranging from suspense to humor, and are presented by characters clearly identified by their accompanying music. The simplicity of the story, the marked dramatic moments, and sharply defined colors are the starting point to create a staging of the utmost ingenuity, which effectively and clearly emphasizes what the script and the music tell us. Behind the orchestra, which occupies the foreground, and with a clear and direct visual language, like children’s drawings on a blackboard, a magical atmosphere is created that traps the viewer from the start, without granting access to any other dreams or imaginations; the viewer is immersed in a mysterious substance composed of words, music, and shapes in continuous movement, which is this show.

You know that in theater, nearly all the arts (music, painting, architecture, literature, sculpture, dance) are combined to make the stories seem real? Well, this time it has fallen to Peter and the Wolf, a musical story that Sergei Prokofiev composed for you. It’s simple, but if you listen and observe carefully, you will discover many things. I’ll give you some clues: there is an animal that swims, one that does not like water and runs through the meadow, and another that flies; the wolf represents danger, the grandfather: experience, and Peter could be you. By the way, would you have done the same as him? You will see what great results come about given the collaboration between friends.

In reality there are things that make us laugh and other things, for example, when one animal has to eat another for food, which are not so funny or which make us sad. For it is the same in the distinct stories, and in the music too, you hear the lively sounds of the flute for the bird or the mysterious sound of the horns for the wolf. Sergei Prokofiev carried out a meticulous work that’s full of metaphors, simple in appearance but effective and essential to introduce orchestral music to children. I believe that he didn’t put the music to the characters, but rather the characters to the instruments. The physical qualities of the instruments, their use in classical music, and not just their sound, have much to do with the characters they interpret. Peter, our vibrant main character, is like the string section of an orchestra, which is also vibrant and distinguished. The French horns that when they sound, they swallow the soothing oboe, like the wolf to the duck. Or the great wooden bassoon, very dry, like the grandfather.

Peter and the Wolf is an orchestral composition of enormous musical quality — kind to the ear and an extraordinary tool, filled with educational resources, that we have completed by adding color and movement. During the performance, close your mouth and open your eyes so as not to miss anything. When finished, open your mouth to give your opinion and close your eyes to dream.

Enrique Lanz.