Peter and the Wolf

March 15, 2012

A few weeks ago some members of the local symphony orchestra visited Sofia's school to perform Peter and the Wolf, the classical composition by Sergei Prokofiev. Sofia mentioned the visit the next morning, so I went on YouTube to show her the short Disney cartoon set to Prokofiev's score (you can see the entire video below). Sofia was a bit frightened of the wolf at first, but she immediately wanted to see it again. The next morning she wanted to watch it in bed before we got dressed and had breakfast, and now it's become part of her morning routine. The first thing that she'll say to me in the morning when she rushes into my room is, "Daddy, can I see Peter and the Wolf?" No "Hello" or "Good morning" or even a "Kali mera". When I ask that she give me a hug and a kiss first, she does so begrudgingly before asking, "Now can I watch Peter and the Wolf?" I keep telling myself that it's ok that she wants to watch it over and over because at least she's listening to classical music and learning about the various instruments in the symphony orchestra, but that's kind of like saying that I learned a lot about medicine by watching the final episode of M*A*S*H when I was six. Still, maybe I can make this work to my advantage by using it as a springboard into other classical music, like The Barber of Seville or maybe some light opera. Kill da wabbit! Kill da wabbit!

March 30, 2012