The Fables of the Vixen, the Duckling and Balda

This production breaks new ground in more ways than one: first, the venue is the Theatre’s Beethoven Hall, second, it takes the form of a fairy-tale and is for children, third, it will consist of two rarely performed works by Prokofiev and Stravinsky plus, what virtually amounts to the world première of a work by composer and pianist Alexander Pravednikov (he is a frequent participator in concerts at the Beethoven Hall) and, finally, fourth – incorporated into the production are opera, ballet and a puppet show.

Tales of the Fox, the Duckling and Balda combine three musical fairy tales: namely, Sergei Prokofiev’s The Ugly Duckling, Igor Stravinsky’s Tale of the Fox, the Cock, the Cat and the Ram and Alexander Pravednikov’s Tale of the Priest and his Workman Balda. It is not fortuitous that the action of all these fairy-tales has been ‘transferred’ to the fairground so there should be plenty of merriment and fun. Expect to see and hear: wandering minstrels-cum-clowns, the dances of ‘live’dolls, humorous catchphrases… The chamber atmosphere of the Beethoven Hall makes it possible to establish close contact with the cast and get a bird’s eye view of the musical instruments (including the exotic Hungarian cimbalons) – the instrument round which Stravinsky composed his Tale.