The Marionettes Chorale presents “Christmas with the Marionettes : Celebrating 60” Sat 2nd Dec 2023

Christmas with the Marionettes: Celebrating 60

 For 60 years and counting, faithful patrons have proclaimed: “Christmas begins with the Marionettes”! As has become a cherished, multi-generational Christmas tradition in Trinidad, the Marionettes Chorale’s adult and youth choirs return to Queen’s Hall the first weekend of December (1^st to 3^rd December, 2023) with their eagerly anticipated holiday concert to ring in the festive season!

Audiences can look forward to the choirs weaving the Yuletide through a nostalgic, uplifting, fun-filled programme of local and international Christmas favourites as the Marionettes usher in a spirit of love, community, and festivity. The series is proudly sponsored by TTT and Flow.

About the Marionettes’ 60^th anniversary season

The Marionettes, founded in mid-1963, kicked off their 60^th anniversary, diamond jubilee season in July with performances in Port of Spain and San Fernando. The season celebrates the group’s trailblazing journey to becoming one of the nation’s most treasured cultural organisations — from excelling at the local Music Festival, to winning top prizes at international choral festivals, introducing international audiences to Caribbean music, and in turn premiering celebrated works from around the world for audiences at home.

In addition to competitive appearances internationally, the choir also travelled extensively, receiving standing ovations from capacity audiences in the Caribbean, North and Central America, and Great Britain. At home, the Marionettes notably was the first choir to blend choral voices with the steelpan, in performance with the Pan Am North Stars in the 1960s at Queen’s Hall. They also have given local or Caribbean premieres of celebrated works like including Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana (1988); Fanshawe’s African Sanctus (1997); Britten’s Ceremony of Carols (1995); Poulenc’s Gloria (1992); Leonard Bernstein’s Missa Brevis (1993) and Chichester Psalms (1990); Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man (A Mass for Peace) in 2012; Christopher Tin’s Calling All Dawns (2019); and the first full production of Les Misérables in the English-speaking Caribbean (2014–15).

With Christmas with the Marionettes: Celebrating 60, the Marionettes celebrates the season, while honouring the group’s past and looking to its future. Performing will be some of the group’s best-loved soloists (like Hermina Charles, Jacqueline Johnson, Errol James, Debbie Nahous, Nigel Floyd, Leah Lewis, and many more), as well as the Marionettes Youth Chorale (founded in 1995), under the batons of conductors from three generations — Artistic Musical Director Gretta Taylor, Dr Roger Henry, Caryll Warner, and Joshua Joseph.

Tickets and more information

 Christmas with the Marionettes: Celebrating 60 runs at the Queen’s Hall from Friday 1^st through Sunday 3^rd December, 2023. Tickets are $200 (open), $250 (reserved), and $300 (premium reserved), and available from members; the choir’s website (www.marionetteschorale.com/book-your-tickets); and Queen’s Hall Box Office (from mid-November). For more information, email orders@marionetteschorale.com, or call/WhatsApp 790-1751.