Camille Saint-Saëns
Carnival of the Animals (ballet)
Carnival of the Animals is a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to the Le Carnaval Des Animaux by Saint-Saëns, with narrations written by John Lithgow, costumes and sets designs by Jon
Synopsis#
Oliver Pendleton Percy III, a little boy, falls asleep during a visit to the American Museum of Natural History. The narrator appears as the school nurse who transforms into a female elephant.
Production#
Christopher Wheeldon and John Lithgow met in 2002 when the two worked on the musical Sweet Smell of Success as choreographer and actor respectively. After that, Wheeldon invited Lithgow, who is also an author, to write the narrations and perform in his ballet Carnival of the Animals. Wheeldon had said that since the start of the creative process, it was determined that the performers are “people first, then animals”, and he “wanted to move away from the clichéd bunny ears and fluffy tails”, therefore the animal characteristics are only subtly implied. and at the 2005 revival, for which he took time off from the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to do so. He also appeared in the Houston Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet productions in 2007 and 2008 respectively. In the 2013 New York City Ballet revival, actor Jack Noseworthy served as the narrator.
Children’s book and CD#
Lithgow’s children’s book and accompanying CD of the same name was released in 2004.
Original cast#
The original cast includes Lithgow, appearing as the school nurse and an elephant, and School of American Ballet student P.J. Verhoest, who plays Oliver Pendleton Percy III. The rest of the cast are New York City Ballet dancers, with the principal roles originated by: *Charles Askegard *Kyra Nichols *James Fayette *Yvonne Borree *Rachel Rutherford *Pascale van Kipnis *Arch Higgins *Christine Redpath
- Composer
- Camille Saint-Saëns