“Peter And The Wolf In Hollywood”, narrated by legendary rocker Alice Cooper, a brand new recording of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s children’s classic “Peter And The Wolf” — now coupled for the first time with a specially-written prequel (pre-story) — will be released on November 13 via Deutsche Grammophon.
The concept developed by the New York production company Giants Are Small extends for the first time ever the “Peter And The Wolf” we all know by a 30-minute prequel with the full blessing of the Prokofiev Foundation to a one-hour piece of family entertainment
The best-loved story is now placed in an urban contemporary setting — Los Angeles — with a thrilling plot full of suspense and humour. The imaginative pre-story places “Peter And The Wolf” in Hollywood, while weaving together excerpts from some of the greatest symphonic masterpieces by Wagner, Mahler, Elgar, Puccini, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Schumann, Satie, Zemlinsky, Grieg, Smetana.
The story in a nutshell: Young, orphaned Peter comes to live with his “hippy” grandfather in L.A. and is having the time of his life; suddenly, this special trip is interrupted by a Fox News “breaking news” bulletin: A Wolf Has Escaped From The Zoo!
A tumultuous series of events involving Peter, his Grandfather, the duck, a cat, a little bird, the police and insatiable paparazzi (as the “hunters”), and, of course, the Wolf, lead us directly into the famous original story by Prokofiev: “And so Peter opened the gate and went out into the big green garden …”
By discovering the hero in himself Peter captures the beast and becomes Hollywood’s unintended celebrity. Performed by Germany’s National Youth Orchestra, and under the baton of excellent, young conductor Alexander Shelley, this is a fresh, energetic and extremely powerful interpretation made for the young and the young at heart.
Alice is delighted with the story’s modern-day twist. “I love the fact that it’s moved on, and that Peter has come to Los Angeles to meet his grandfather, who turns out to be an old hippie!” he says. “That gives the story a fresh dynamic. And I like that he’s not in the least bit terrified by the wolf, when everybody else is freaking out.”
Shelley was recently named the Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, 2015/16 being his first season at the helm.
Source: Blabbermouth
