PETER AND THE WOLF & OTHER STORIES

Claire Booth, Ensemble 360 & Nicholas Jubber

Crucible Playhouse, Sheffield
Wednesday 20 May 2026, 5.00pm

Tickets:
£23
£14 UC, PIP & DLA
£5 Students & Under 35s

Book Tickets
Ensemble 360 musicians
Home› What's on› PETER AND THE WOLF & OTHER STORIES

DEBUSSY Danse Sacrée et Profane (10’) 
RAVEL (arr. Strivens) Shéhérazade (20’)
DEBUSSY Trio for Flute, Viola and Harp (16’) 
PROKOFIEV ‘Peter and the Wolf’ (30’)

Timeless tales of far-off adventure and daring triumphs have long inspired composers to bring stories to life through music.  

Prokofiev’s beloved symphonic tale, ‘Peter and the Wolf’, delights audiences of all ages, with its story of the fearless Peter and his encounter with a ferocious wolf, narrated here by storyteller and author Nicholas Jubber.  

Ravel’s ‘Shéhérazade’ (in an intimate chamber arrangement) evocatively conjures an ancient wonderland of fairytales and lovers through captivating melodies.  

Music for harp and strings by Debussy completes this charming programme. 

Save 20% when you book for 10 or more Music in the Round Sheffield concerts in one transaction. 
Save 10% when you book for 5 or more Music in the Round Sheffield concerts in one transaction. Find out more. 

DEBUSSY Claude, Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp

Pastorale 
Interlude 
Finale 
 

Debussy originally planned a set of six instrumental sonatas but only lived to complete three of them. The first was for cello and piano (August 1915), the third for violin and piano (finished in April 1917), but in terms of instrumentation the most unusual of the three was the second sonata, scored for flute, viola and harp. Debussy completed it in October 1915 at the end of a productive summer spent on the Normandy coast, and the first performance took place on 7 November in Boston, Massachusetts. Debussy heard the work for the first time a month later, on 10 December, when it was given in Paris at one of the concerts put on by his publisher Durand. The viola part was played on that occasion by Darius Milhaud. 

 

The work was inspired by the clarity and elegant proportions of French Baroque music, but the musical language is very much of its own time. The ethereal Pastorale is based on fragmentary but distinctive musical ideas, while the central Interlude, delicately coloured in places by whole-tone harmonies, is marked ‘Tempo di minuetto’ – the most obvious nod to the Baroque. The finale is directed to be played ‘Allegro moderato ma risoluto’ and the muscular quality of the ideas presented at the start dominate the movement. There’s a brief recollection of the ‘Pastorale’ before a short, exultant coda. 

 

© Nigel Simeone 

About the Artists

Claire Booth

“An actor-singer who can raise the dramatic heat as soon as she enters the stage” (Opera Now), “that most questing, resourceful and intelligent of sopranos” (Daily Telegraph), British soprano Claire Booth has been widely acclaimed for her “radiant, rapturous, wonderfully nuanced performances” and voice of “piercing purity [and] luscious richness” (The Scotsman). She is renowned for her breadth of repertoire, and for the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the operatic stage and concert platform, with a versatility that encompasses repertoire spanning from Monteverdi and Handel, through Rossini, Berg and Britten, to a fearless commitment to the music of the present day. Booth has won the 2025 RPS Singer Award with the jury celebrating an artistry that “knows no bounds.” Read more.

Ensemble 360 musicians

Ensemble 360

Ensemble 360 has gained an enviable reputation across the UK for the quality and integrity of their performances. Formed in 2005, eleven musicians of international standing came together to take up residency in South Yorkshire with Music in the Round, establishing a versatile group comprising five string players, five wind players and a pianist.  Get a glimpse of them in performance here.

The Ensemble 360 musicians share a passion for the music which radiates through each performance. Their enthusiasm, drive and musicality captivate audiences both through the quality of their playing and their engaging spoken introductions. Due to the flexible nature of the group’s line-up the repertoire possibilities are enormous; anything from baroque duos, through classical quartets to new commissions for all eleven players. 

 

Nicholas Jubber

Nicholas Jubber is a British travel writer. He was educated at Downside School and Oxford University. After obtaining a degree in English, he taught in Jerusalem. He has travelled throughout South America, Europe, the Middle East and East Africa. He has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, the Irish Times, Globe and Mail and BBC Online, amongst other publications; spoken on BBC Radio 4 and NPR in the US; given talks at numerous festivals, including Hay-on-Wye, Edinburgh and Rome; and have written plays performed at the Edinburgh Festival and the Finborough Theatre. Read more.