Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

Choreographed to Richard Strauss’ tone-poem

Commissioned by the Boston Symphony, this Underground Railway Theater (URT) production features brilliantly colored shadow-puppets that have the look of stained-glass windows come to life, as well as moving color landscapes and other special effects. The story is based on the notes Strauss scribbled in the margins of his score as well as the traditional folk-tales; it is pure farce (until the end).

Before the performance of Till Eulenspiegel, the Artistic Director of URT, Debra Wise, narrates an outline of the story and characters—and the orchestra plays a few short musical examples (in the manner of Peter and the Wolf). This introduction ensures that the younger members of the audience can follow the story during the performance and enhances everyone’s enjoyment of the music through the pleasure of recognition.

Till Eulenspiegel can be paired with another URT shadowpuppet play for the concert hall, The Firebird. When programmed together, the music director should program a short, high-volume musical piece between them so the puppeteers can make the transition backstage from one production to the next.

To extend and deepen the experience of the production for students, URT has crafted teachers’ materials and workshops based on the play and music. A videotape of the production is available for preview.

BASIC TECH INFORMATION
Performed on platforms (24’ x 12’) above and behind orchestra (12’ clearance above platforms required).