Cyprus Symphony Orchestra to stage The Jungle Book family concerts in Larnaca and Nicosia

Larnaca, Cyprus. The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra is presenting family concerts of The Jungle Book in Larnaca and Nicosia, led by the Cypriot conductor Kyriaki Kountouri. Orchestra musicians, mezzo soprano Marilena Nisidi and narrator Petros Georkadjis will take part in the performances.

Dates and venues

The first concert takes place at the Municipal Theatre G. Lycourgos in Larnaca on Thursday, November 5, at 6pm. Audiences in Nicosia can attend at Pallas Theatre on November 7, where two performances are scheduled, at 4pm and 5.30pm.

The music and its source

The programme draws on five of the nine Mowgli stories in Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 collection of the same name. This fantasy adventure inspired a celebrated film score from the Golden Age of Hollywood, written by the Hungarian-American film composer Miklós Rózsa.

Rózsa is known for his music for classic films including Ben-Hur, Spellbound, El Cid and The Thief of Bagdad. In The Jungle Book, he conveys the adventure, imagination, heroism, humour and mystery of the jungle, combining traditional Indian musical elements with the grandeur of the symphonic style.

The score contains eighteen separate themes, each assigned to one of the principal characters of the story. Through this imaginative, almost operatic method, Rózsa portrays both the human figures and the jungle animals.

Soloist and narration

Mezzo soprano Marilena Nisidi will sing the lullaby for Mowgli. She received an honourable mention at the recent International Masterclass & Competition for Opera Soloists, organised by the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra.

Live narration by Petros Georkadjis will accompany the music. The organisers describe the concert as an immersive journey into one of cinema’s best-loved adventures, intended for audiences of all ages.

Tickets and information

Tickets cost €12. Further information is available on 22-463144 and at www.cyso.org.cy.