ESSENTIAL RECORDINGS
SERGEI PROKOFIEV - PETER & THE WOLF

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SERGEI PROKOFIEV - PETER AND THE WOLF, OP. 67 - LIEUTENANT KIJÉ SUITE, OP. 60 - BORIS KARLOFF (Narrator) - MARIO ROSSI (Conductor) - VIENNA STATE ORCHESTRA - 699675180324 - VANGUARD 1803

What makes this version of Peter and the Wolf stand out from the rest of the pack (no pun intended), is the distinctive narrative voice of Boris Karloff. For those of you too young to know or remember, Karloff was a great Hollywood film actor that appeared mostly in horror movies and who played the original black and white film version of Frankenstein. I would assume that one of the reasons why he was chosen for those roles was his voice. Soft-spoken, educated, and eerily scary and creepy all in one.

Peter and the Wolf is a scary tale and Karloff, with that voice of his, brings that out like no one else. Once you've heard this recording, it stays with you.

Jean-Yves Duperron