Star rating: ****
Prokofiev may not have made it into the top 20 in Classic FM's Hall of Fame this week - Vaughan Williams led that field, with The Lark Ascending - but for generations of children, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf has been a beguiling introduction to the rich soundscapes that a symphony orchestra can deliver.
This touring production, complete with a new prequel, is keen to take that experience further. And so Peter and the Wolf is now a two-act piece of narrated dance theatre, graced with a gorgeous woodland set and choreographed throughout with eye-catchingly expressive movement by Didy Veldman.
The challenge for Veldman - and for composer Philip Feeney, who wrote a first-act score full of cleverly atmospheric vignettes - was to create a context for Prokofiev's original work, without spoiling its impact.
So the prequel introduces Peter - alongside the Bird, Duck, Cat and Wolf - when a party of children go tracking in the forest.
Abi Bown's overly busy text, delivered with booming gusto by narrator Brian Blessed, lays emphasis on "safe places" - a clearing in the trees for the children presages the haven of Grandpa's house in Proko-fiev's scenario. But fearless Peter goes adventuring.
Come the interval, we've encountered the daffy duck and twittering bird, the sinuously slinking cat and, best of all, a Wolf full of feral mystery and potent allure.
There are no individual credits for who dances what - but performances are, like those of the live musicians, full of finesse and generousity of spirit.
And if the prequel seems overstretched, the production as a whole has tremendous visual flair.
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