The Winter's Tale to him in a dream and bade him name the girl Perdita. He leaves a fardel (a bundle) by the baby containing gold and other trinkets which suggest that the baby is of noble blood. A violent storm suddenly appears, wrecking the ship on which Antigonus arrived. He wishes to take pity on the child, but is chased away in one of Shakespeare's most famous stage directions: "Exit, pursued by a bear." (It is not known whether Shakespeare used a real bear from the London bear-pits, or an actor in bear costume.) Perdita is rescued by a shepherd and his
The Bear (opera) The Bear (opera) The Bear is the second of the two operas by William Walton, described in publication as an "Extravaganza in One Act". The libretto was written by Paul Dehn and Walton, based on the play of the same title by Anton Chekhov (which is also sometimes translated into English as "The Boor"). Walton received a commission from the Koussevitzsky Foundation in 1958, and he dedicated the opera "to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky". He began composing in 1965 when the Aldeburgh Festival in England requested an opera from him. "The Bear" was first performed at the