This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Spain. The Títeres Etcétera, a winner of the ASSITEJ Spain Award for Theatre for Children and Youth, will make its debut in China and present to the Chinese audience its masterpiece Dreaming the Carnival of the Animals, a large-scale musical puppet drama. Masterminded by the Shanghai Children’s Art Yuanjie Cultural Development Co., Ltd., the drama will soon have its Asia premiere.
The drama is to begin when the orchestra is just in rehearsal - a cloth doll in a musician’s cello case, which stands for the beasties in Greek mythology, suddenly comes to life. It dreams of various animals during nap time. Thus, in its dream appear a 12-metre-long tyrannosaurus, a three-metre-long elephant, a majestic-looking African lion, a cute Australian kangaroo mother and child, many cute deep-sea fish and other characters in Saint-Saëns’ score! There are 15 pieces of music in the drama, adapted from Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’aprés-midi d’un faune and Camille Saint-Saëns’ chamber music suite Le carnaval des animaux. 11 musicians and seven puppeteers will give an imaginative performance to interpret these 15 pieces of music. The audience will enter an unprecedentedly fantastic dream with them. Let us immerse in the carnival of animals to experience a series of surprises in a humorous and poetic atmosphere.
Dreaming the Carnival of the Animals has been staged over 300 times at the most important theaters and art festivals in Spain. When put out in China, it will not only amuse kids and their parents, but also help to strengthen the exchange and understanding between cultures of China and the world. Its China tour is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Andalucía. The Shanghai Children’s Art Yuanjie Cultural Development Co., Ltd., which is dedicated to producing and staging high-quality family dramas, is the planner and organiser of the tour.
The Títeres Etcétera, a treasured national art ensemble of Spain, is making its first visit to China with the masterwork Dreaming the Carnival of the Animals. This stage play, as magnificent as an epic, is suitable for children aged 3 and above, as well as their family members. The music in the drama is based on Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’aprés-midi d’un faune and Camille Saint-Saëns’ chamber music suite Le carnaval des animaux. 11 musicians and seven puppeteers will interpret 15 pieces of music in their imaginative, exquisite performance. The audience will be taken into an unprecedentedly fantastic dream, in which, a full-length theatrical concert is going to begin with lifelike animals walking out of music.
The drama is to begin when the orchestra is just in rehearsal - 11 musicians appear with their coats, bags and cases, walking onto the stage from the side. A cellist has kept a cloth doll in the instrument case since childhood. The musicians tune their instruments, warm up and chat with one another. These everyday actions gradually get them into a dreamlike state, where the cloth doll in the cello case suddenly comes to life - it actually stands for the Music Fairy, a mythological creature. The fairy dreams of various animals during nap time. Thereupon, the mythological creature conjures up real animals, such as the lion, hen, chick, hippo, turtle, elephant, bird, fish, kangaroo, donkey, swan and dinosaur, all of which are characters in Saint-Saëns’ score.
The founder, Enrique Lantz, a puppetry master, says that let us imagine a little animal that is having a dream, where there are animals from Africa, Asia and Oceania, including fish, birds, prehistoric animals and farm animals, which are big or small, slow or fast… a series of surprises, without any other logic than the dream itself, no other plot than the music itself, just a group of animals, nothing else. Let’s immerse ourselves in a magical atmosphere to daydream. Let’s imagine… It’s really a carnival.
Here is an unprecedented gathering of animals, including farm animals that can be seen in daily life, wild animals from all over the world, prehistoric animals that have died out, mythical animals and any other possible animal. The audience will see a variety of animals on the stage, including a three-metre-long elephant, a 12-metre-long tyrannosaurus, an African lion and many cute deep-sea fish. Each of them will appear before the eyes as if it were alive. These aesthetically pleasing scenes are all created through an exploration of new scenery facilities and vocabulary, as well as a profound understanding of puppetry and poetics.
Playwright & Scene Designer & Puppet Designer & Stage Director: Enrique Lantz
Lighting Designer: Maria Domènech
Music Consultant: Auriol Alghero
Presenter: The Títeres Etcétera
Music Performer: The Murtra Ensemble
Scene Designer & Puppet Maker: The Títeres Etcétera
Co-Producers: The Títeres Etcétera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Andalucía
Lead Cast: Yanisbel Victoria Martínez
The above information, including performance times, lineups, programmes and ticket prices, are all subject to change without prior notice and for reference only.
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