TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A daring boy and familiar melodies come alive in a multi-sensory staging of “Adventures of Peter and the Wolf” in Taipei, where a live orchestra meets dance and circus performance.

Audiences follow Peter, a young boy who ventures into the forest against his grandfather’s warnings, encountering a bird, a duck, a cat, and a dangerous wolf, each brought to life through music and movement. With courage and cleverness, Peter outsmarts the wolf, his adventure brought to life by classical music.

Presented by the National Symphony Orchestra and Dance Forum Taipei, the production pairs the elegance of Sergei Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25” with the narrative charm of “Peter and the Wolf.” Four shows will run Saturday and Sunday at the Taipei Performing Arts Center.

Choreographer Tung I-fen (董怡芬) incorporates two circus performers, introducing aerial silks, hoop artistry, and acrobatics into the storytelling. Familiar melodies are reimagined on stage through creative interpretations, from a transforming “magical house” to flowing, undulating mountain landscapes.

Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” premiered in 1936, designed to introduce young audiences to the instruments of the orchestra. The piece showcases Prokofiev’s skill in bringing a simple story to life, giving each character a distinctive musical theme and instrumental color, according to Pentatone.

NSO Executive Director Kuo Wen-chen (郭玟岑) said that although the production differs from the orchestra’s usual repertoire, it remains a form of artistic expression. She emphasized that the creative journey, from developing the concept to assembling the team and bringing the performance to the stage, is central to the essence of artistic creation.