Peter and the Wolf in NYC: A Great Way to Introduce Kids to Classical Music
Submitted by Stephanie Ogozalek on
Classical music can be a hard sell for kids. Heck, it can be a hard sell for some grown-ups! Even if it's not your family's preferred genre of music, there are some wonderful classical pieces that really engage listeners, like Sergei Prokofiev's beloved Peter and the Wolf. One of the few symphonies created specifically for children, Peter and the Wolf is more than just beautiful music: It's a wonderful coming-of-age tale about how a cocky young boy, Peter, and his animal pals outwit a hungry wolf and the consequences of their actions. (Spoiler: In the original version, the duck gets eaten but some productions give it a 100% happy ending with the wolf coughing up the duck alive and unharmed.) The simple story is told through narration and each character is portrayed by the sound of a different musical instrument. It's a great way to introduce kids to classical music. When I was a child, I played my LP so often that it got totally scratched up and no longer worked. (Thank goodness for iPods, right?)
For some reason I can't seem to figure out, Peter and the Wolf has become an unofficial holiday tradition. Every year around this time, there are multiple mountings of the 1936 piece here in NYC. The big annual run at the Guggenheim Museum with Isaac Mizrahi narrating is definitely the best known, but there are other Peters out there. In fact, we've rounded up five different productions to choose from, three over the holidays and two early next year.