Babar & The Piano
An African Carnival

A 70-minute visually conceived concert experience for all ages

World premiere with the Cape Town Philharmonic · July 2028

An orphaned elephant. A discarded piano. And a forest that remembers.

Francis Poulenc’s L’histoire de Babar, retold & rewilded: solo piano, full-scale puppets, and a new story set in South Africa’s Knysna forest. Performed with the world premiere of An African Carnival, a new work for piano and orchestra by Kathleen Tagg.

For orchestras & presenters →

A young elephant’s trunk rests on the keys of a moss-covered piano, lit by a single shaft of light in the dark jungle

The opening scene

Babar is lost and alone.

Deep in South Africa’s Knysna forest, a small elephant comes upon a grand piano, buried and discarded, wrapped in vines. He runs his trunk along the old ivory keys, and asks:

“Are you my mother?”

That question carries him through the story: the loss of his mother to poachers, the kindness of the people who raise him, new friends among the orphans of the forest, and the long road home. Challenges faced. Hope … restored.

The production’s goal

“Challenges can be solved.”

Poulenc’s music is given back to today’s children, and to the parents who still carry the story with them. In our telling, Babar finds his way home to the forest, whole and accepted. Like the puppets that carry him, crafted from repurposed materials, the story itself has been given new purpose. The grand piano is his storyteller and partner, even as its ivory keys carry an uneasy history. Alongside it, Kathleen Tagg’s An African Carnival invites the orchestra to play, and to sound, in new ways.

Live music, full-scale puppetry and a true conservation story show that problems can be solved and hope restored. With the conservation partnership of SANParks, and the support of the Poulenc Family as well as the Rupert Foundation, we are building what orchestras need: an innovative, exciting production built for audience involvement, community impact and environmental awareness.

See the creative team at work

Stravinsky’s Firebird with Janni Younge Puppetry

Large-scale puppetry with full orchestra, directed by Janni Younge. The same hands will bring Babar and the animals of the Knysna forest to life.

History Lesson, by Siphokazi Jonas

A poet’s experience of the fynbos, from Siphokazi Jonas, the poet and playwright writing the words for Babar.

Kathleen Tagg plays Angola

The composer of An African Carnival at the piano with Andre Petersen, playing Bheki Mseleku’s Angola.

On stage

A beloved character with masterful puppeteers. And a new work with full Orchestra & visual innovation.

The piano

Part I: Poulenc’s score for solo piano, performed by Jeanne-Minette Cilliers, co-creator, pianist and conductor. The piano is a character in the story, and illustrates the action, even moving with Babar through the scene.

The puppets

Full-scale artisan puppets by Janni Younge, built from repurposed materials. The elephant is designed for this story in a new way, facing challenges and foes alike with the help of those he meets along the way.

The story

A new story and narration by the award winning author, Siphokazi Jonas, written about wildlife conservancy, friendship, personal responsibility and … being wild!
In development.

Composer Kathleen Tagg in a red dress, seated in an antique chair — Photo: Colette Y. Benjamin

Companion work · A world premiere!

An African Carnival

An African Carnival, a new work for piano and orchestra by Kathleen Tagg, in the spirit of Saint-Saëns or Prokofiev, featuring the rhythm and creative diversity of South Africa. Written for orchestras of every size, from chamber ensemble to full symphony. It is set to premiere in full orchestration with the Cape Town Philharmonic in 2028 at the 5000 seat Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Together the two works make one evening: the heartfelt story of Babar, and a full cast piano, puppetry & orchestra composition introducing endangered animals of the African bush. It ends with a finale where puppet-building workshop attendees join the instrumentalists onstage!

How it unfolds

From first idea to the stage

Now

Conception

In 2025, the team began to dream together, meeting at Arizona Opera, playing the score, and dreamt big: “What if a new story could be told?!” That dream is unfolding now.

Summer 2027

Workshops

Rehearsals and workshops in South Africa, with puppet design and fabrication at City Artscape in Cape Town. PR campaign begins with footage from rehearsals.

July 2028

World premiere

Cape Town, with the Cape Town Philharmonic in full orchestration. International tour built.

For orchestras and presenters

A family program easy to say yes to!

Seventy minutes built to engage a modern audience. One pianist, a company of life-sized puppets, and an emotional story families can relate to. L’histoire de Babar shed of it’s colonialist scars and rewilded! Poulenc’s music remains untouched, written for solo piano, with new narration. An African Carnival, orchestrated for ensembles of various sizes, is a new work to augment it. Crafted for musical education and outreach intiatives for orchestras of varying sizes and economic constraints, it brings to light conservency efforts that impact us all.

To talk about booking or collaboration, write to info@kuduproductions.com.

The Creative Team