Babar the Elephant is coming your way, and he is no ordinary elephant! From the original stories by Jean de Brunhoff, with glorious music by Francois Poulenc, comes a charming musical tale for children.

After Babar witnesses the slaughter of his beloved

mother, he flees from the

jungle and finds his way to Paris where he is befriended by the Old Lady. Babar eventually returns to the Elephant realm following the death of the previous King, who had eaten some poisonous mushrooms. Babar is crowned king, marries his third cousin twice removed Celeste, and founds the city of Celesteville. Babar, who likes to wear a bright green suit, introduces a very French form of western civilisation to the elephants, and causes them to dress in western attire.

Among Babar’s other associates are the monkey Zephir, the old elephant counsellors Cornelius and Pompadour, his cousin Arthur and of course the Old Lady.

The beloved character, Babar the Elephant, was created by Jean de Brunhof and his wife Cecile in 1931. The story of Babar is the first of six Babar books that de Brunhof wrote and illustrated. Paul de Brunhof continued his father’s work after Jean’s death in 1937. Paul created a complete elephant world with Babar as king of the elephant nation. More recently there have been a Babar movie, a television series, and various Babar merchandise.

Narrated in English, this story will not only be a fun experience for children and adults alike, but also bring them closer to classical music. The performance will be led by Sarah Spiteri who has been actively involved in developing fun musical projects for the past three years. She has directed original productions The Magic Flute and Peter and the Wolf, and the very successful and popular Teddy Bear Concert series, which is in its third year run. She will be joined by pianist Alex Vella Gregory, clarinettist Godfrey Mifsud and Renzo Spiteri on percussion for another fun performance of classical music for

children.

The Story of Babar the

Elephant will be held at the Music room at St James

Cavalier in Valletta on 24

and 25 January at 4pm.

Duration – 1 hour.

Tickets: Adult e7, Child e5, Family ticket (two adults and two children) e20. Recommended age: from six years upwards