Collaboration of Author Cornelia Funke, Composer Luna Pearl Woolf and Soprano Lisa Delan Builds on Tradition of ‘Peter and the Wolf’.

In 1936, children were introduced to Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” a fantastical romp in words and music that inspired generations of young people to love classical music. Now, a 21st century musical storybook hopes to build on that tradition, telling a new story through original classical music, a printed book and iPad animation…

 

Ms. Woolf and Ms. Delan envisioned a collection of songs—ranging from Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera “Hansel and Gretel” to the Beatles’ “Mother Nature’s Son”—all arranged for voice and cellos. These songs, they decided, should be knitted together with a narrated story and original music, also for cellos, composed by Ms. Woolf…

They invited Ms. Funke, who is best known for her “Inkheart” trilogy, to write a story that wove the songs together…

Ms. Funke, a native of Germany who lives in Los Angeles, said the task seemed “impossible,” but she promised to lock herself inside her backyard writing house for three days and see what happened. “I sat there and the story came out by itself,” she said. “It was one of those really, truly magical things.”…

In [Woolf’s] score, performed by [Matt] Haimovitz and Uccello, the wide-ranging timbres of the cellos evoke ethereal angels, a croaking, ill-tempered witch and Luna’s inconsolable grief. “I’m trying to make the music speak the words, and I think children can grasp that.”…

By: Jennifer Maloney