REHEARSALS have started this week for Swanhunter, an innovative blend of opera, puppetry and live action due to arrive at Lighthouse in Poole on April 21 as part of the Easter Season for Families.

A co-production between Opera North and The Wrong Crowd, the story is taken from the Finnish folk epic the Kalevala and is performed with a six-piece chamber orchestra on stage.

The Guide spoke to director Hannah Mulder and designer/ puppet director Rachael Canning about what audiences can expect from this inventive fusion of art forms.

“Swanhunter tells the story of Lemminkäinen, a young man who fancies himself as a bit of a hunter and a bit of a ladies’ man,” says Hannah.

“He decides to go to the North, against the wishes of his mother, to fetch himself a bride, but when he gets there he meets a witch named Louhi, who is not going to give up her daughters without a fight and she sets him a series of almost impossible tasks.”

The show boasts a winning blend of opera and puppetry.

“Opera is brilliant for puppetry because every bit of music has a certain sort of quality which then feeds into everything that you are doing, all of the movement of the puppets. We can create some really fantastic moments,” says Rachael.

Jonathan Dove wrote Swanhunter especially for younger audiences, something that is vital in the stage adaptation.

“The key thing is not to patronise young people,” added Hannah. “We trust them and their imaginations and their sophistication and their ability to come with us and be engaged.

“On the other hand, we want to make something that’s really accessible and that will take audiences by the hand and lead them into a world that we can all play in together.

“It’s for the kid in all of us and the adult in all of us on an equal level, so that adults aren’t just going to take the children.

“They are both going to really engage with it and come away wanting to talk about it together.”

n For more information and tickets please call 0844 4068666 or visit the website lighthousepoole.co.uk