''Carnival of the Animals'' is a ballet choreographed by

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

to the ''

Le Carnaval Des Animaux ''The Carnival of the Animals'' (''Le Carnaval des animaux'') is a humorous musical suite of fourteen movements, including " The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The work, about 25 minutes in duration, was written for priva ...

'' by Saint-Saëns, with narrations written by

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

, costumes and sets designs by Jon Morrell and lighting designed by

Natasha Katz Natasha Katz is an American lighting designer for the theatre, dance, and opera. Biography Early life and education A New York City native, Katz trained at Oberlin College, and early in her career was mentored by Roger Morgan, a lighting design ...

. It premiered on May 14, 2003, at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...

, performed by the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

. The ballet is about a little boy who falls asleep at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

and dreams of people he knew as animals.

Synopsis

Oliver Pendleton Percy III, a little boy, falls asleep during a visit to the

. In his dream, people he knows are transformed to animals, such as his great aunt who is also a former ballerina as the swan, the librarian as a kangaroo who dreams of being a mermaid, his teacher as the lion, and his worried parents as cuckoos. The narrator appears as the school nurse who transforms into a female elephant.

Production

and

met in 2002 when the two worked on the musical ''

Sweet Smell of Success ''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick from t ...

'' as choreographer and actor respectively. After that, Wheeldon invited Lithgow, who is also an author, to write the narrations and perform in his ballet ''Carnival of the Animals''. When the ballet premiered, Lithgow appeared as the narrator, school nurse and a female elephant. Jon Morrell designed the costumes and sets, and

designed the lighting. The ballet is set in the

, which Wheeldon visits frequently due to its "amazing mix of the grotesque and the wonderful". Wheeldon had said that since the start of the creative process, it was determined that the performers are "people first, then animals", and he "wanted to move away from the clichéd bunny ears and fluffy tails", therefore the animal characteristics are only subtly implied. Lithgow returned for the New York City Ballet's appearance at the

Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is a large amphitheatre located in Saratoga Springs, New York, on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park. It presents summer performances of classical music, jazz, pop and rock, country, comedy, dance, opera, ...

in July 2003, and at the 2005 revival, for which he took time off from the musical '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' to do so. He also appeared in the

Houston Ballet Houston Ballet, operated by Houston Ballet Foundation, is a professional ballet company based in Houston, Texas. The company, consisting of 59 dancers, produces over 85 performances per year. History Tatiana Semenova (1955–1967) Houston dev ...

and

Pennsylvania Ballet The Philadelphia Ballet, formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet until rebranding in 2021, is Philadelphia's largest ballet company. The company's annual local season features six programs of classic favorites, as well as new works, including the Ph ...

productions in 2007 and 2008 respectively. In the 2013 New York City Ballet revival, actor

Jack Noseworthy Jack Evan Noseworthy Jr. (born December 21, 1964) is an American actor known for his roles in ''Event Horizon'', '' U-571'', ''Barb Wire'' and ''Killing Kennedy''. Early life Noseworthy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Boston Conse ...

served as the narrator.

Children's book and CD

Lithgow's children's book and accompanying CD of the same name was released in 2004.

Original cast

The original cast includes Lithgow, appearing as the school nurse and an elephant, and

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

student P.J. Verhoest, who plays Oliver Pendleton Percy III. The rest of the cast are New York City Ballet dancers, with the principal roles originated by: *

Charles Askegard Charles Askegard is an American ballet dancer and ballet master at Pennsylvania Ballet. Early life and education Askegard was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and began his dance training at the age of five with Loyce Houlton and the Minneso ...

Kyra Nichols Kyra Nichols (born July 2, 1958) is an American retired ballet dancer and teacher. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1974 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1979. She is one of the last dancers to have worked with George Balanchine, al ...

James Fayette This is a list of New York City Ballet dancers. Principal dancers Soloists This is a list of New York City Ballet soloists. Corps de ballet The following is a list of the current members of the corps de ballet. * Victor Abreu * Devin Albe ...

Yvonne Borree Yvonne Borree is a former principal dancer at New York City Ballet. She was raised in Norfolk, Virginia, where she began her dance studies with the Tidewater Ballet Association at four years of age. She attended the School of American Ballet for th ...

Rachel Rutherford Rachel Rutherford (born Rachel Rutherford Englund Knapp) is a former soloist with New York City Ballet. Rutherford was born in New York City, the daughter of dancer and ballet teacher Gage Bush Englund. She began her training at age eight at the ...

*Pascale van Kipnis *

Arch Higgins ''Arch Higgins'' (born Berkeley, California) was a soloist with New York City Ballet. He began his study at eight years with Berkeley Ballet Theater with former City Ballet dancer Sally Streets. From 1982 he attended summer courses at the Sch ...

Christine Redpath New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's ...

References

{{Reflist 2003 ballet premieres Ballets by Christopher Wheeldon Ballets designed by Natasha Katz Ballets to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns New York City Ballet repertory Dreams in theatre