A haunting spectacle for Halloween

Formed in 1982, from the roots of a choir established by Imogen Holst in 1942, the 120-strong Dartington Community Choir are performing  Dvorak’s dramatic Spectre’s Bride accompanied by a specially commissioned puppet performance at 7.30pm on Sunday November 6th and Monday 7th in Dartington’s Great Hall.

This is a unique and enterprising collaboration between Director, Simon Capet and John Roberts, director of Dartington-based PuppetCraft, one of Britain’s most acclaimed puppet troupes.  A miniature puppet performance will be filmed live and projected onto the huge back wall of the Great Hall adding theatre and magic to this eerie Czech folk tale, telling of a terrified bride who is lured to a haunted churchyard by the spectre of her dead lover. The orchestra, choir and 3 soloists will perform in near darkness.

Dvorak uses dramatic orchestration, to enhance the sinister mood, constantly building and releasing tension keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

The wooden puppets took shape under the hands of John Robert’s, “one of the most talented members of the puppet theatre profession in Britain”. John directed and performed puppet tours in large theatres and festivals around the world before setting up PuppetCraft in 1990 at his home in Dartington. A master puppet maker, he has worked on many projects combining puppetry with theatre and music including The Royal Opera House and many more.

The concert has been made possible by the generous support from The Arts Council of Great Britain, The Dvorak Society and the Wakefield Trust.

Tickets (£19 (unreserved); students & U16’s £8.50) are available from Dartington Box Office 01803 847070 or online

Dvorak’s “The Spectre’s Bride”; with orchestra, soloists and puppets

Conductor: Simon Capet

Puppetry:   PuppetCraft

Orchestra:  Dartington Sinfonietta

Soloists:       Catherine Hamilton (the bride); David Webb (the spectre); Frederick Long (the narrator)