peter & wolf recording with the line "lope ... waddle ... waddle ... lope"

January 16, 2012 4:32 PM

Looking for an audio version of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Peter and the Wolf" that I heard in the 1980s where the narrator describing the wolf pursuing the duck says, breathlessly, "Lope ... waddle ... waddle ... lope ..." (describing their movements, with violins screeching in the background). I am looking for the particular recording that said it this way. It is particularly humorous and has great narration by a male voice in English. I thought it was the Peter Ustinov, but apparently not, as I bought it and it doesn't have this line (unless there is an alternative version floating around).
posted by cmp4Meta to media & arts (8 answers total)

Might you be thinking of Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev? That might help to narrow your search. I found this narration by David Bowie but it doesn't have the specific lope/waddle line you are looking for either.
posted by nathaole at 5:18 PM on January 16, 2012

I'm unfamiliar with the recording you mention, but it couldn't hurt to correct the composer's name in your searches; it's Prokofiev rather than Rimsky-Korsakov. Sorry I can't be of more help beyond that.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:20 PM on January 16, 2012

This is a wild guess, but could it be Weird Al's version?
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:57 PM on January 16, 2012

This might be too obvoius, but was it the one narrated by Leonard Bernstein?
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:44 PM on January 16, 2012

Sorry about the mix-up with Prokofiev--somehow my mind burped. At any rate, it is not Bowie, not Weird Al, and certainly not Bernstein. Please refrain from answering unless you know it is the version with the specific line referred to. Thanks!
posted by cmp4Meta at 7:16 AM on January 17, 2012

just to rule out some other temptations: it is not bowie, not president clinton, not boris karloff, not sean connery, not sting
posted by cmp4Meta at 7:57 AM on January 17, 2012

further update: it is NOT the karajan recording with gielgud reading
posted by cmp4Meta at 12:51 PM on January 19, 2012

Nothing like answering your own question! Drumroll please: the version with the line " lope ... waddle ... waddle ... lope" is that narrated by Dudley Moore (The Boston Pops w/ John Williams conducting). Philips CD 412 556-2 for those who might want to track down a copy. Well worth a listen.
posted by cmp4Meta at 5:00 PM on January 24, 2012