The Ghost Bride at Theater Hof: Concertante Dvořák saga conquers Hof

The Ghost Bride in Hof: Dvořák's dark cantata as a gripping stage experience

A forsaken love vow, a nighttime ride through swamps and will-o'-the-wisps, along with choir, soloists and the Hof Symphony Orchestra: Dvořák's dramatic cantata The Ghost Bride unfolds an intense theatrical atmosphere in the Hof theater, shimmering between longing, hope and horror – live illustrated by poetic sand painting from Svetlana Telbukh. Concert format, in German with titles, this rarely performed score becomes a sensual music theater moment.

Between haunt and dawn: The story as a sound painting

An orphaned girl waits for years for her lost lover – until a hellish bridegroom drives her through the night to the cemetery. Dvořák spins a highly dramatic arc for this: solos and opera choir become the narrative motor, the orchestra paints sharp contrasts, from eerie whispering to the liberating crow of a rooster. Thus, action and music intertwine to create a suggestive staging of inner turmoil.

Sound, light, movement: Concert performance with sand painting

The concert format puts the dramaturgy of the score in focus: precise tempos, transparent voice leading, colorful orchestration. At the same time, the live-created sand painting depicts fleeting images – cemetery gates, wind, stardust – that atmospherically expand the stage design. This subtle directorial idea bundles the acting art of the choir, the pull of the orchestra, and a visual poetry that, based on experience, leaves the audience in awe.

Work and theater history in context

Composed in 1884 and premiered in Pilsen in 1885, Dvořák's The Ghost Bride (based on Karel Jaromír Erben) condenses the tradition of the romantic cantata into intense music theater. In Hof, the rarely performed work will be heard in large formations – a dramaturgically clever repertoire statement for the multi-genre house with a strong choir tradition and excellent acoustics in the Great House.

Conclusion

Those who love the tension between horror romance and redemption will experience an extraordinary stage experience here: concentrated sound speech, suggestive images, clear narrative power. An evening that resonates – and one that should be experienced live.

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• Website: https://www.theater-hof.de/

Sources:

• City Hof – Event entry The Ghost Bride
• Theater Hof – Subscriptions and schedule overview 2025/26
• Frankenpost – Premiere at Theater Hof: The Ghost Bride, 31.01.2026
• Klassika – Dvořák: Svatební košile (The Ghost Bride)
• Hof-News – Theater Hof: House, seats, accessibility
• Freiheitshalle Hof – Access and parking opposite Theater Hof