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THE TRUE STORY OF THE
THREE LITTLE PIGSOpera duration: approximately 50 minutes
Mother Pig (contralto)
First Piglet (soprano)
Second Piglet (mezzo soprano)
Third Piglet (tenor or soprano)
The Big, Bad Wolf (bass-baritone)
Ima Bear (contralto) never on stage
Pianist cast member
Conductor (optional)
Sets may be suspended from a clothes line by clothespins. The four "houses" should represent a house of straw, a house of wood, a house of bricks and Mother Pig's house, each painted on a canvas approximately 6' x 8'. The piano should be stage-right, nearly touching the set. A large box may serve as the piano bench. Another large box for props should be located stage-left.
This opera is excellent for touring. Everything necessary to produce it can be contained in two large boxes and carried in an automobile. It has been performed over a thousand times in various schools.
WWW address: http://mustec.bgsu.edu/~wallace
E-mail address: wallace@bgnet.bgsu.edu
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs is published by MMB Publishers, St. Louis, Missouri and is available only through them.
Mother Pig is forced to send her children into the world to fend for themselves. Intent upon building a house, each of the three piglets chooses to explore a different direction. Upon completion of their dwellings, each piglet has an encounter with the Big, Bad Wolf. All vacate their homes and return to Mother Pig. To their dismay, they are tracked by the Big, Bad Wolf.
The wolf tries to break into Mother Pig's house by ramming the front door. He is injured by a blow to the head. Amnesia sets in and he can recall nothing. The pigs persuade him that he is a bear. They send him "home" to Mrs. Grizzly's den. She is not pleased to receive him and says that he is really "for the birds." Convinced that he is a bird, the wolf tries to fly from a cliff and meets his demise.
As the pigs celebrate the end of the wolf, they are interrupted by Mrs. Grizzly Bear. She pounds upon the front door and begs to enter. When the pigs refuse to admit a bear into their home, Mrs. Grizzly becomes hostile and promises to return with an ax. The pigs prepare to cope with their new problem.
At the same time an opera story is unfolding on stage, a pianist is trying to present a formal piano recital on the same stage! He is surprised to find himself involved in the operatic action. Sometimes, he becomes engrossed in what is happening and provides appropriate musical accompaniment. The simultaneous activities of opera and recital finally merge with the moral of the story: "Sometimes, a problem can seem to last for an eternity"!
Click here for a newspaper review of this opera.