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“Peter and the Wolf”
Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera
NEST (Künstlerhaus Vienna)
Vienna, Austria
January 26, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Last December, the Vienna State Opera opened a new venue for its young audience in a side wing of the Künstlerhaus, around 550 yards from the Vienna State Opera. The venue was previously a home for the city’s independent companies but was rebuilt thanks to private funding and a grant from Austria’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Research. The theater’s steep auditorium ensures visibility of the stage for even the shortest audience members. Although I was told that its name, NEST, is an abbreviation of “New State Opera,” it reminded me of a bird’s nest.

Despite sunny early spring weather, last Sunday’s matinee was well attended by both children and grown-ups to see the premiere of Peter and the Wolf, a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 to which Martin Schläpfer, the Vienna State Ballet’s artistic director, added choreography. The fairy tale’s young hero, Peter, lives with his grumpy grandfather in a house next to a forest clearing (set design by Thomas Ziegler). One day, Peter forgets to close the garden gate, and the duck avails herself of a frolic in the pond. On her way, she meets a bird, and as they argue the advantages of flying versus swimming, they almost fall prey to a cat creeping up on them. Peter’s warning rescues them, but when the grandfather orders Peter back into the house, there’s no one left to warn of the next predator—the wolf sneaking out of the forest. The cat and bird flee into the trees, but the beast gobbles up the unwary duck (who remains alive to quack in his belly for some time). Having observed the attack, brave Peter grabs a rope and, with the help of the bird, captures the wolf. They hand the wolf over to two hunters who accidentally pass by and take it to the zoo. The grandfather, proud of his grandson (and less grumpy), joins the triumphant march.

With the intent of introducing children to orchestra instruments and the joy of music, Prokofiev assigned instruments and leitmotif melodies to each character, which were presented by the narrator, Hans Peter Kammerer, and played by members of the Vienna State Opera’s Orchestra (conducted by Stephen Hopkins). A string quartet signified the carefree Peter; a cross flute, the chirpy bird; a clarinet, the soft-footed cat. An oboe represented the plump duck; a bassoon, the rigid grandfather; three horns, the dangerous wolf. Kettle and bass drums heralded the hunters.
While I was often disappointed by Schläpfer’s choreographies, Peter and the Wolf won me over entirely. The production was danced by the Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera (whose twelve dancers Schläpfer divided into two casts) and Yuko Kato, senior artist of the Vienna State Ballet.
The petite Kato portrayed the obstinate grandfather (an en travestie role) whose admonitions about the wolf went largely ignored by the blithely scampering Peter (Alex Martelli). Sophie Elisabeth Schippani’s greenish feathered bird was jaunty and a bit flirtatious, but after narrowly escaping Elliot Renahy’s slinky (tom) cat, her fingers were trembling with fear. Nefeli Pantelia’s duck waddled in a purple tutu, wiggling her bottom in the water with relish (costume design also by Ziegler). Though ferocious, the wolf (Massimiliano Santagostino) did nothing but obey his nature, and I felt sorry for him being imprisoned in a zoo. Ella Bogheanu and Andrei Aranghelovici portrayed the smart hunters who carted him away.

The children sat as quiet as mice during the forty-minute performance, mesmerized by the quirks of man and beast. Given their excited chatter after the performance, they must have thoroughly enjoyed it. That’s how it should be. Time in the theater outstrips any smartphone, iPad, and digital junk.