BALLET meets drama meets orchestral music as Ballet Philippines (BP), Repertory Philippines (REP), and the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) collaborate for a kid-friendly season opener: Peter and the Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood.
It will be the first time in Philippine performing arts history that these three cultural institutions are joining forces. They are bringing to life a twin bill made up of Peter and the Wolf, a symphonic tale for children, and Little Red Riding Hood, a full-length ballet.
Throughout the performance, live orchestral music will be provided by the MSO, with the full orchestra remaining onstage for the entire show.
The dream of this kind of joint effort has been a long time coming. “This is what I call ‘ambitious.’ Back in 2021, we were targeting to present a bigger play, but it never happened. But it never stopped us from dreaming,” said BP President Kathleen Liechtenstein at the press conference on July 1.
PETER AND THE WOLF
Written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, each character of Peter and the Wolf is represented by a corresponding instrument in the orchestra: the bird by a flute, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet, the grandfather by a bassoon, the wolf by horns, and Peter by the strings.
“It’s like an introduction to symphonic music for children,” said REP Artistic Director Jeremy Domingo. “We’re bringing in a musical theater element with movement, with narration, and bringing you something unique and exciting that you’ve never quite seen before.”
The cast is made up of theater actors and ballet dancers, with Raja Miclat-Janssen making his stage debut as Peter.
Ms. Liechtenstein said that REP will provide acting training for the ballerinas. “They are actually going to undergo workshops to know how to act. That’s the challenge for BP,” she said.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Meanwhile, the works of French composer Camille Saint-Saens and Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg are used for Little Red Riding Hood the ballet, which is a playful reimagination of the classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault.
For BP Artistic Director Misha Martynyuk, choosing which iteration of the tale to stage was important. “Around the world, there are hundreds of versions. We’ll be reimagining our version to be more playful,” he explained.
“We can’t have the wolf eat the grandmother on stage,” he pointed out as an example, noting that the twin bill is meant to be family friendly.
REP’s Mr. Domingo said that the whole production is more or less “musical theater with movement and narration,” which is something unique that the Filipino audience has not seen before.
As part of BP and MSO’s outreach programs, 1,000 tickets to the performance will be given for free to indigenous children and men in uniform.
“This initiative is about more than just performance — it’s about access, education, and inspiring the next generation,” said REP President Mindy Perez-Rubio, Ms. Liechtenstein, and MSO Executive Director Jeffrey Solares in a joint statement.
“By opening our doors to families from across the community, we hope to spark a lifelong love for the arts.”
Peter and the Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood will run for five performances from Aug. 1 to 3 at The Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City. Tickets are available via TicketWorld and at the Solaire Box Office. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
