For its annual holiday offering of a new commission for family audiences, Washington National Opera presented Jungle Book in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater Friday night. Originally part of a commission for the Glimmerglass Festival, this newly expanded work from composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Kelley Rourke is a thoroughly appealing take on Rudyard Kipling’s 1890s fables of jungle life in India.

Jungle Book covers the essentials of the Mowgli story from Kipling’s tales, from the arrival of the “human cub” in the jungle and her adoption by a wolf pack (members of the WNO Youth Chorus) and their leader Raksha. Mowgli must then confront a threat from the tiger Shere Khan, who is defeated when Mowgli brings fire from the village. The harsher edges of the original material are sanded down with an ending that works out for everyone, but hey it’s the holidays.

Sankaram creates an engaging soundscape for the jungle world, gently interweaving classical Indian music, like elements of classical Ragas and percussive instruments, over a basic minimalist structure. Though the creators identify these elements as necessary to the weighty task of counterbalancing the colonial tendencies inherent in Kipling’s stories, their inclusion never feels heavy-handed, instead contributing to a fresh-sounding and cohesive sonic picture.

The strongest musical highlights came in ensemble moments such as the nimble scenes between the wolf pack and various characters in Act I, the gripping climax of Act II, and the final chorus. Solo sections veered close to the border with musical theater, succeeding in some numbers but suffering by comparison in others, like an overly long solo for Baloo in Act II.

Rourke, who presided over the uneven book for last year’s Offenbach pastiche Songbird, here turns in a well-paced libretto that concisely deploys the themes and generally does a good job of showing them through plot and character. The only exception is the big lesson explicated in the final number, which works well enough as a coda but is unnecessarily introduced in the first act as well.

The adult roles in the cast featured game contributions from current members of the Cafritz Young Artist Program. As Raksha, mezzo-soprano Michelle Mariposa was a compelling den mother, settling comfortably into a bright, present sound after some bumpiness in the opening scene. Sergio Martinez delivered an expressive bass and appealing physical comedy as Baloo.

As Shere Kahn, cover Nicholas Huff stepped in for an indisposed Sahel Salam on opening night, producing a robust tenor sound and finely communicating the character’s wounded pride and menace. Huff sang the role from the pit due to the elaborate costume requirements (a papier mache creation involving multiple performers), which couldn’t be adjusted on short notice.

Soprano Viviana Goodwin gave a committed comic performance as the Hyena, handily making sense of tricky vocal writing incorporating the hyena’s laugh. Kresley Figueroa’s fluttering soprano made much of Bagheera the panther’s extended lament. Young performer Anoushka Sharma offered a sympathetic Mowgli, convincingly holding the stage in the character’s moments of decisive action. 

Stephanie Rhodes Russell conducted a small contingent of WNO Opera Orchestra musicians  in a nicely balanced reading that brought forth those interesting textures while maintaining a lively comic sensibility. At times the chamber forces seemed underpowered for the demands of the score, and the occasional exposed edge in the strings remained on opening night. The WNO Youth Chorus, prepared by Steven Gathman, proved a special highlight, delivering precision as well as unflagging energy and character in the extensive music for the wolf pack.

The production, co-directed by Francesca Zambello and Brenna Corner, is an explosion of action that seems likely to hold the attention of viewers of any age. Set designer James Rotondo created a whimsical storybook space for the action to unfold, while lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker inundated the stage with riotous color. Costumes, by Erik Teague, combined familiar street elements with eye-catching details that further enhanced the vibrant stage picture.

Indian dance elements incorporated by choreographer Shuchi Buch added to a continuous sense of movement onstage. All elements converged for a particularly memorable sequence in the Act II climax as Mowgli returns with fire. 

Jungle Book plays through Monday in the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org

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