Hawkeye's Version

Reviews of Carnival of the Animals recently produced by Alan Alda in NY:

NY Sun:

Much more satisfying was the curtain raiser, a spirited, funny read of "The Carnival of the Animals," by Camille Saint-Saëns.

The composer never performed this piece in public during his lifetime, reserving it instead for his friends and circle. This version included the poetry of Ogden Nash, so outrageous as to be hilarious — he employs the word "kangaroomeringue" to rhyme with "boomerang" — and Mr. Alda read it with much panache. The work is filled with send-ups of the great composers, including Rossini as a dinosaur and Beethoven as a cuckoo, and it was quite well-played by a different combination of instruments than those in the second half of the evening.

NY Times: The Saint-Saëns, with Alan Alda reading Ogden Nash’s running commentary in verse, had its usual gentle appeal.