New version for orchestra — RAPHAEL MOSTEL, Composer

The Travels of Babar is now also available for orchestra

Either complete or as two new shorter works

Each separate, self-contained and independently-performable:

Babar’s Honeymoon and Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants

First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019Photo: Erica Bruce (full size pho… — First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019
Photo: Erica Bruce (full size photo available). Multimedia image: original Jean de Brunhoff watercolor, Kendra & Allan Daniel Collection. Used with permissions

Composer Raphael Mostel and conductor Steven Reineke introducing the first U.S. performance of Babar’s Return to the Land of the ElephantsNational Symphony Orchestra, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019Photo: Erica Br… — Composer Raphael Mostel and conductor Steven Reineke introducing the first U.S. performance of Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants
National Symphony Orchestra, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019
Photo: Erica Bruce (full size photo available). Multimedia images: original Jean de Brunhoff watercolors, Collection Bibliothèque nationale de France, and Kendra & Allan Daniel Collection. Used with permissions

First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019Photo: Erica Bruce (full size pho… — First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019
Photo: Erica Bruce (full size photo available)

First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019Photo: Erica Bruce (full size pho… — First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019
Photo: Erica Bruce (full size photo available)

First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019Photo: Erica Bruce (full size pho… — First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019
Photo: Erica Bruce (full size photo available)

First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019Photo: Erica Bruce (full size pho… — First U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke, conductor, Regina Aquino, narrator, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019
Photo: Erica Bruce (full size photo available). Multimedia image: original Jean de Brunhoff watercolor, Kendra & Allan Daniel Collection. Used with permissions

(l-r in front): Composer Raphael Mostel, narrator Regina Aquino, conductor Steven Reineke, bows after first U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.… — (l-r in front): Composer Raphael Mostel, narrator Regina Aquino, conductor Steven Reineke, bows after first U.S. performance, Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants National Symphony Orchestra, John F Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., April 7, 2019
Photo: Erica Bruce (full size photo available). Multimedia image: original Jean de Brunhoff watercolor, Kendra & Allan Daniel Collection. Used with permissions

Rehearsal for the first U.S. performance of Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants by the National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, April 3, 2019Steven Reineke conductor, Regina Aquino narrator. Jean de Brunhoff watercolor fr… — Rehearsal for the first U.S. performance of Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants by the National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, April 3, 2019
Steven Reineke conductor, Regina Aquino narrator. Jean de Brunhoff watercolor from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection, used with permission
Photo: Raphael Mostel

The World Premiere of Babar’s Return to the Land of the Elephants (Le Retour aux pays des Éléphants), was given by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Maison symphonique, Place des Arts, Montréal, Québec

Dina Gilbert conducting the OSM, with narrators Sophie Cadieux & Pierre Brassard

The World Premiere of excerpts from Babar’s Honeymoon was given by the New York Philharmonic. Banner image at the top of this page shows Raphael Mostel with Theodore Wiprud and conductor Joshua Gersen and New York Philharmonic. Photo: Michael DiVito

Joshua Gersen conducting the New York Philharmonic, in a performance without narrator. photo: Michael DiVito

The Berliner Philharmoniker presented the World Premiere of the new production, but chose to present the more intimate chamber version of the complete Travels of Babar (Babar auf Reisen)

Stanley Dodds conducting the complete work in the original scoring, with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Photo: Kai Beinert

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION (October 2018) Please check back soon for more!

Audio of music excerpts, without narration, from The Travels of Babar, conducted by the composer

©&P Raphael Mostel / Mostel.com (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Short video clips from performances below:

Brief clips from archival videos from multiple live multimedia performances of the pre-HD prior production of Raphael Mostel 's musical voyage based on — and modernizing — Jean de Brunhoff's much-loved classic book, The Travels of Babar (Le Voyage de Babar, El Viaje de Babar, Babar auf Reisen, etc.) in the original chamber version of his composition. From performances presented at Florence Gould Hall in NYC by Source Music, Inc. in association with the French Institute Alliance Française, with generous funding from the Florence Gould Foundation. With several different narrators, including Laurent de Brunhoff, eldest son of Jean de Brunhoff. Archival video courtesy of Source Music. Inc. Copyright Raphael Mostel / Mostel.com (ASCAP). All rights reserved.

Contact: info [at] mostel.com