Camille Saint-Saëns composed his “Carnival of Animals” as a musical joke for friends. The “Great Zoological Imagination”, as the work is also called, not only imitates all kinds of animal sounds with instruments. The composer also makes fun of colleagues like Jaques Offenbach with the “turtles”, Hector Berlioz at the “elephant” and Gioachino Rossini in the “fossils”.
The “Reichenau version for children” is an order work and tells the story of a party among the animals that is organized in the Castle of Reichenau and turns out to be a competition who can dance most. By integrating the musicians as well as the children in the audience, the music can reveal an interactive experience sensually and the proximity to the instruments played can be made. The economical scenic means, reduced costumes and props to stimulate the imagination, so that the animals can be imagined by the children without illustrating them.
Debut: 2023 at the Reichenau Festival
Storyteller: Veronika Glatzner
Script and Direction: Angelika Messner
Costumes: Sigrid Dreger
Conductor: Rodrigo Samano
Webern Sinfonietta, Chamber orchestra MdW
Photos © Lalo Jodlbauer