Wascal weally loves his classics

Bugs Bunny has gone legit. The wascally wabbit is joining forces with the Auckland Philharmonia in three concerts at the Civic.

Bugs Bunny on Broadway features classic Warner Bros cartoons on the big screen while the orchestra plays the film scores live and - we are promised - in perfect synchronisation.

The show is in its 16th year, and from its inception in the United States it has toured the globe, playing to an estimated 1.5 million people in venues ranging from the Kremlin and London's Royal Festival Hall to Broadway's Gershwin Theatre and the Sydney Opera House.

The Auckland dates are the production's first time in New Zealand, sandwiched between the Australian and American legs on what is the show's longest continuous international tour.

Those who sniff at the idea of cartoons contaminating their classical music or pooh-pooh the notion of classical music clashing with their cartoons, might want to take a look at the credentials of the show's creator, George Daugherty.

Daugherty is no lite-classical peddler, nor could anyone accuse him of being a highbrow. The Emmy-nominated composer boasts a 25-year classical conducting career with leading orchestras, ballet and opera companies and concert artists. He is a writer, director and producer of films and television, including a series of specials aimed at introducing classical music to young people. He has written children's books - and he's a big fan of cartoons.

"I loved these cartoons as a kid. In America, almost every kid gets their first dose of classical music from those cartoons," Daugherty says. "Then I grew up to be a classical musician. In my 30s I was reintroduced to cartoons and I immediately recognised why I had loved them.

"The music was extraordinary. This music is the real deal. It is challenging and rewarding for the musicians and it is music of an unbelievably high quality. It all comes from a very fertile period of film music composition when highly respected classical composers were working in Hollywood."

The 1930s and the years of World War II saw an exodus of artists fleeing Europe for America. Among them were Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner and Franz Waxman. Such gifted classical composers took their talents to New York and Hollywood.

It was in this atmosphere that Carl Stalling, the original Warner Bros animation composer, and Milt Franklyn, his orchestrator and successor, were working.

"Classical music lovers will get all the musical in-jokes and love them. The parodies of classical music in the pieces are not cruel or insulting, but done with a remarkable affection and respect."

The music that the pair wrote for films such as The Rabbit of Seville, What's Opera, Doc?, Baton Bunny, High Note and A Corny Concerto is based on the works of Rossini, Wagner, Johann Strauss II, Liszt, Suppe, Donizetti, and Smetana.

But if you don't know your Johann Strauss from your Richard Strauss, don't fret. "Bugs Bunny on Broadway is also a great concert for people who have never been to a classical concert," Daugherty says. "They love the comedic elements, the tremendous sound, the great visuals. And it's just a very fun concert."

Think of it as Hollywood goes to the Proms. Daugherty says audience members frequently dress up in bunny tails, bunny ears, or wear a carrot corsage.

Golden-horned Viking helmets, complete with flaxen Brunnhilde plaits make an appearance too, in homage to What's Opera, Doc?

"You never know what to expect," Daugherty says. "It's very interactive. People laugh and applaud in the middle of the music, which often orchestras are not usually used to, but they generally love the involvement of the audience. Children love it. They bring a whole different, wonderful, innocent mood that's quite giddy. It's very exuberant."

And it's popular. The Sydney season of Bugs Bunny on Broadway is the city's fourth since the production started touring a decade ago.

"You need to remember that these cartoons were designed to be seen on the big screen, in big theatres, with an audience," Daugherty says. "Most people haven't had the experience of seeing them in a theatrical setting. There has been a renaissance of appreciation of the directors of the cartoons and the composers of the music, a recognition of the music, and the integrity of the cartoons, which are an art form in themselves."

Performance

*What: Bugs Bunny On Broadway

*Where and when: the Civic, Feb 26, 8pm; Feb 25, 3pm, 8pm