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Writer's pictureNereid

What is the musical instrument of a wolf? Peter and the wolf ballet


Illustration by Nereid


“Peter and the Wolf” was a children’s musical created by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. What I love about Prokofiev’s music is that they are usually so agile and delightful.


© Bill Cooper


The fascinating part of “Peter and the Wolf” is that an instrument family represents each of the characters:


The flute represents the birds; the oboe performs as the duck quacking; the clarinet performs the sneaky cat.


The timpani and bass drum are the hunters while the three horns perform the wolf.


Bassoon represents grandpa as his verbose character. And the refreshing string quartet performs the clever little Peter.


The performance I watched during this quarantine was presented by the Royal Opera House’s Royal Ballet School in 2010 (Discover the handpicked quarantine theatre schedule).


It had already been 10 years since this production was on stage, all the dancers had already become the stars without any doubt.


© Bill Cooper


Kilian Smith successfully brought out Peter’s bold and fearless character. Will Kemp also performed a grumpy yet worrying grandpa and his narration dragged the audiences into the scene.


© Bill Cooper


My favourite part of this is Laurine Muccioli‘s little bird. Her smile was so captivating and the way how she danced was also spirited.


© Alastair Muir


As for the wolf, Sergei Polunin, one of the most fierce male ballerinas I adore. Even though I feel like the wolf could be more powerful, Sergei’s facial expression was extremely enthralling and on point! He created a vicious wolf for sure.


(Full article on Nereid, Elle Rêve)



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