Wolf Pack

Five of the city’s major entertainment organizations combined forces at the Granada to present a special benefit performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, an enchanting tale of adventure and bravery that transfixed the sold-out young audience.

Maestro Nir Kabaretti led the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, with a narration by English UCSB professor Simon Williams, who also directed the show, which included SB Youth Opera singers and Gustafson Dance students from the State Street Ballet.

“As well as serving as a benefit for the theater, the event was intended to showcase the wonderful facility’s partnerships with select area arts presenters as the city’s premier venue for cultural programming, including CAMA, the Community Arts Music Association,” says Palmer Jackson, the theatre’s executive chairman.

The work, which premiered in 1936, has each animal character represented by a particular instrument and musical theme.

Walt Disney produced an animated version ten years later.