I was vaguely aware that there was a marionette company in Seattle that did an opera production each year. And when it crossed my consciousness I would think, "well that would be interesting to attend sometime."
This year, we did it. And boy am I sorry we didn't take advantage of this sooner. First of all, the production is not for children. But, I wasn't sure who might show up at a marionette opera-- opera people? early music people? (a number of notable early music musicians were performing) -- puppet people? I'm still not sure. It was an older crowd - older even than the symphony crowd - but there wasn't anyone we recognized. We go to enough music in Seattle that we are familiar with a set of "usual suspects" that show up to various types of classical performance.
The opera was Don Giovanni, done in its entirety, with only very minor cuts. Rather than sing the recitative, it was spoken, in English, much of it quite funny (and adult -- again this was not for kids). The English dialog helped move the drama along. But the marionettes were amazing dramatically. It's hard to explain how expressive they were--both in the spoken dialog and the aria singing. The singers (local favorites, including a couple from the Tudor Choir) were accompanied by a string quartet plus flute. They were seated, dressed in black, in front of the stage. The experience was so intimate--it felt like you were in someone's salon. It was an incredible theater experience.
They announced next year's opera, which is Don Quixote. Marionette opera is clearly something we're going to be looking forward to each year. Marionettes have a very interesting history in theater--particularly in Italy--which you can read about here.