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SUMMARY
Babar is a young, happy elephant who loves
to ride on his mother’s back, but one day, a
hunter shoots his mother and kills her.
Babar, tired and sad, finds his way to a
nearby village. In the village, he sees many
things he has never seen before -- houses,
shops, streets, and cars! However, Babar is
most impressed by men dressed in fancy
clothes, and Babar wants a suit of his own.
A rich, kind lady meets Babar and gives him
money to buy a beautiful new suit. Babar
and the woman become friends, and she
invites him to live with her.
Even though she gives him everything he
wants, Babar isn’t happy. He misses his
mother, his friends, and the life he had
enjoyed in the jungle. One day, Babar
recognizes two elephants on the street; they
are his cousins, Arthur and Celeste! The
three elephants play and dance together.
Babar decides to go back to the forest with his cousins, and tells his good friend the
woman goodbye. Just as Babar, Arthur and Celeste return to the great forest, the
elephant king dies. The elephants decide Babar should be their new king, and he
chooses Celeste as his queen. Babar marries Celeste, and everyone dances and
celebrates the new king and queen of the elephants.
THE COMPOSER
FRANCIS POULENC was born in Paris in 1899. He began playing the piano at a young
age, and his mother, an amateur pianist, gave him his first lessons. He became a very
famous composer and wrote many different kinds of music, including songs, pieces for
piano, chamber music, ballets and operas. Poulenc wrote Babar in 1940. One day,
while he was practicing piano, his young niece, Sophia, grew bored with his music and
placed her book on his piano, asking him to, “Play this!” The book was The Story of
Babar, a book written by a French artist named Jean de Brunhoff.
MUSICAL TERMS: DYNAMICS
In music, dynamics refer to volume. Music can be played or sung very quietly or very
loudly. Here are some examples of dynamics. Like most musical terms, these words
are in Italian.
DYNAMIC
ABBREVIATION
MEANING
Forte
f
loud
Piano
p
soft
Fortissimo
ff
very loud
Pianissimo
pp
very soft
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: THE PIANO
Babar only uses one instrument, the piano. Even though it looks very different from a
violin, the piano is actually a string instrument. It is also a percussion instrument
because in order to make sound, the strings inside are hit with little hammers. These
hammers go up and down when the player presses the keys. A piano has 88 keys - 52
white keys and 36 black keys.
The piano also has three pedals where the player’s
feet are. Each pedal has a different job.
The sustain pedal makes all the notes last longer.
Babar begins with the use of this pedal, giving the
feeling of lingering jungle mists.
Pressing the una corda pedal makes all the notes
quieter.
And when the player uses the sostenuto pedal, one
note is sustained while the others can remain short.
MUSICAL CONCEPTS: THEMES
The music in Babar tells the audience about the different kinds of animals and their
characteristics. A characteristic is a trait that belongs to someone or something. Do
you have brown hair? Do you have blue eyes? Those are characteristics that belong to
you. Characteristics aren’t only things you can see. Are you a shy person? Are you an
active person? Are you usually loud or quiet? These are also characteristics. Try
making a list of characteristics that belong to you, and then list characteristics of others
in your family. Which characteristics do you have in common? Which are unique to
each individual?
Now, think about the characteristics of different jungle animals. Are elephants big or
small? Are they heavy or light? Do birds fly high in the air, or do they walk on the
ground? Are monkeys agile or cumbersome? Think about all the animals in the story;
what are some of the characteristics they have? Listen to the music Poulenc chose to
show the different animals. What kind of music represents the elephants? Is it high, or
low? Fast or slow? What about the birds? See if you can hear the different animals as
they appear in the music.
LEARN FRENCH! APPRENEZ LE FRANCAIS!
There are many French words in our production of Babar, and here are just a few! If
you learn them, you can even help us welcome the new elephant king and queen at the
end of the show.
FRENCH
ENGLISH
ma soeur
my sister
mon frere
my brother
bonjour
hello
a bientot
au revoir
adieu
goodbye
Vive la reine Celeste!
Long live Queen Celeste!
Vive le roi Babar!
Long live King Babar!
BABAR AND HISTORY
FRANCE AND COLONIAL AFRICA
Both the book and the original
opera of Babar were first written
in French, and then later
translated into English. But
elephants don’t come from
France! So, what is the
connection between an African
elephant and a French
composer?
In the 1800’s, many French
people went to Africa. They took
over the land and made African
people French citizens. They
started building modern French
cities and towns. This explains
why Babar might make friends
with a French woman in a city
near his home. Although
thoseAfrican countries are not
part of France anymore, many
countries in Africa still speak
French because of their colonial
past. You can see which parts of
Africa were ruled by the French on the map.
ELEPHANT POACHING
In the beginning of the story, Babar’s mother was killed by a hunter, also known as a
poacher. Most likely, this hunter wanted to kill Babar’s mother for her tusks, which
would have been made of ivory, a rare material that it sometimes referred to as “white
gold.” People use ivory to make art, religious objects, jewelry and even piano keys.
During colonial times, many rich men went elephant hunting as a sport. However,
because so many elephants were being killed, many people worried that poachers
would soon kill all the elephants. In most places, elephant poaching is now illegal.
ACTIVITY: AFRICAN ANIMALS
Here is a list of animals that appear in the story of Babar:
Elephant
Monkey
Bird
Hippopotamus
Dromedary
Lion
Tiger
Rhinoceros
Most of these animals, you are probably familiar with. There is one name you probably
haven’t heard before, and that is the dromedary. A dromedary is a type of camel with
one hump on its back.
Try to imagine that you are all of these animals. How do they move? What kind of
sounds do they make? How would you act if you were a monkey, a lion or an elephant?
ACTIVITY: DYNAMICS
Put the following dynamics in order of softest to loudest:
forte
piano
fortissimo
pianissimo
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
ACTIVITY: BABAR & FRIENDS WORD SEARCH
Find the names of the animals in the puzzle. Remember, they can be forwards or
backwards, side to side, up and down, or diagonal.
N
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BIRD
DROMEDARY
ELEPHANT
HIPPOPOTAMUS
LION
MONKEY
RHINOCEROS
TIGER
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How did the music help tell the story? Did it help you understand how the characters
were feeling? Did it help you hear what kinds of characters were in the different
scenes? Give specific examples.
This production contained music, acting and dancing. How did each of those different
elements play a role in telling the story?
Have you ever seen a live musical performance before? How was this different from
other live performance experiences you have had?
How was seeing a live performance different from watching a movie or TV show?
Which character(s) did you identify with in the show? If you had to play one character in
the story, who would you want to be?