I spent a delightful hour in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House on Saturday (23/8).
It wasn’t the usual hushed, reverential audience anticipating the first chord one usually meets in this auditorium.
Rather, it was a whole lot of wriggling, giggling, and excited little people preparing for their first experience with the orchestra and Prokofiev’s much-loved Peter and the Wolf.
The story was narrated by cabaret-artist and actor Tim Hansen and the reduced orchestra conducted by Benjamin Northey. Their lighthearted approach and interactions with the audience made it fun for all as well as a fabulous introduction to orchestral music for young kids. Tim Hansen narrated with manic energy and humor, putting a modern slant on this Russian folk tale regularly calling for audience interaction. Members of the orchestra joined in the fun trying out different instruments for the voices in the story and projected a lovely energy. My three-year-old companion was still talking about the duck in the wolf’s tummy on the train home!
A participatory rhythmic acknowledgement of country to start and a rollicking rendition of Edvard Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ rounded out a terrific family concert.
Photography by Cassandra Hannigan
