Smetana: The Bartered Bride

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Although in The Bartered Bride Smetana largely avoided the direct quotation of folksong, the music he composed was considered to be Czech in spirit, meaning that he succeeded in his aim of creating a truly Czech operatic genre. It might therefore seem strange to transfer the action to a 1950s English village, but Paul Curran’s 2019 production for Garsington Opera, now revived by Rosie Purdie, works well for several reasons. In the same way as the original created an image of how the Czech people wished to see themselves, so the first decade of the reign of Elizabeth II, whose image we see hanging in the local pub, conjures ideas for many of the perfect England.

In the years since its American premiere The Bartered Bride has entered the repertory of all major opera companies, and is regularly revived worldwide. After several unsuccessful attempts to stage it in France, it was premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1928, sung in French as La Fiancée vendue. [30] [31] In 2008 the opera was added to the repertoire of the Paris Opera, in a new production staged at the Palais Garnier. [32] The dance sequences are no less striking, especially the ‘Furiant’ of Act 2 where the chorus variously jive and do the Twist, and a young mother-to-be gives the glad-eye to the embarrassed vicar. It’s all meticulously crafted and leaves you wanting more. If only conductor Jac van Steen could have found his dancing shoes and peppered those Bohemian rhythms with a little more spice, the dance episodes would have had the audience tapping their feet. Bedrich Smetana wrote music so clearly rooted in his Czech homeland that it would be easy to define him narrowly, as a musical nationalist. But in fact, his achievement goes far deeper than that. Robinson, Lisa B. (November 2011). "Met-Juilliard Bride Bows". The Juilliard Journal Online. New York: Juilliard School . Retrieved 30 November 2015.Smetana's friend Josef Srb-Debrnov, who was unable to attend the performance himself, canvassed opinion from members of the audience as they emerged. "One praised it, another shook his head, and one well-known musician ... said to me: 'That's no comic opera; it won't do. The opening chorus is fine but I don't care for the rest.'" [9] Josef Krejčí, a member of the panel that had judged Harrach's opera competition, called the work a failure "that would never hold its own." [17] Think of John Philip Sousa, for example. At home in America, marches such as "The Stars and Stripes Forever" stir deep, patriotic sentiment. Overseas, those same pieces may seem little more than rousing diversions. Jeník consoles the sad Mařenka, who is supposed to marry Vašek, the son of the rich landowner Mícha, against her will. Jeník vows fidelity to her, but does not tell her that he is Mícha's son from his first marriage and that he went away because of his evil stepmother Agnes years ago. Defiantly Mařenka vows before her parents and the marriage broker Kecal, who has brought about the liaison, that she will not accept anybody as her husband except Jeník. Mitchell, Donald (1997). "Mahler and Smetana". In Hefling, Stephen E. (ed.). Mahler Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521471657.

Holden, Amanda; Kenyon, Nicholas; Walsh, Stephen, eds. (1993). The Viking Opera Guide. London: Viking. p. 989. ISBN 0-670-81292-7. Two sets of parents bring slender characterisations: William Dazeley is a defeated-looking Krušina and husband to Yvonne Howard’s more assertive Ludmila, while John Savournin makes for an anonymous Mícha, but is nicely contrasted by Louise Winter’s feisty Háta. Their combined presence in Act 3 is not dramatically enhanced with the arrival of Kecal for their ensemble number where they simply stand motionless and face the audience without any internal interaction. More rewarding is the partnership found in Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts’ circus Ringmaster and Lara Marie Müller’s sweet-toned Esmeralda, their duet presented with aplomb. A word too for the circus troupe whose dextrous acrobatics and juggling lifts the mood in spectacular fashion. This was the composer’s second opera with its premiere taking place in Prague, on 30 May 1866. For Smetana, its composition was a deliberate attempt to create a distinct Czech musical language through his use of folk-dance elements, but his gorgeous melodies and striking choral writing also come through strongly; he is using nationalism as a conduit for a celebration of culture rather than as an exclusive display of superiority. The contrast with other nationalist cultures is striking with the emphasis being on the primacy of love with a distinct message of anti-materiality. The opera has become central to the nation’s sense of identity although it didn’t become a fixture in the international opera repertoire until after the composer’s death. All this sends Marenka on a roller-coaster emotional journey, and Pumeza Matshikiza plays her with an endearing attitude while singing with gorgeously rich tone, even if her voice is not entirely under control. Oliver Johnston brings an idiomatically plangent tenor to the cunning Jenik. The stammering Vasek can be problematic today, with the humour drawn from his speech impediment, but here he is sympathetically portrayed as simply the product of too much mollycoddling by the excellent tenor John Findon. Meanwhile, Kecal is attempting to buy Jeník off, and after some verbal fencing makes a straight cash offer: a hundred florins if Jeník will renounce Mařenka. Not enough, is the reply. When Kecal increases the offer to 300florins, Jeník pretends to accept, but imposes a condition – no one but Mícha's son will be allowed to wed Mařenka. Kecal agrees, and rushes off to prepare the contract. Alone, Jeník ponders the deal he has apparently made to barter his beloved ("When you discover whom you've bought"), wondering how anyone could believe that he would really do this, and finally expressing his love for Mařenka.Eichler, Jeremy (2 May 2009). "Smetana's buoyant Bride". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 22 June 2009. On World of Opera, host Lisa Simeone presents Smetana's lighthearted masterwork from one of the world's most prestigious stages, at the Palais Garnier, in a production by the Paris Opera. The conductor, Jiøí Bìlohlávek, is among the foremost interpreters of Czech music, and soprano Christiane Oelze stars in the title role. In America, Aaron Copland wrote music like that. The brash, wide open sound of works like "Appalachian Spring" and "Billy the Kid" seems to flow in the blood of American listeners, yet his music has also earned a place in concert halls around the world. From England, the music of Edward Elgar has crossed continents and oceans, but retains an ineffably British nature that has given him a truly special place among his countrymen.

Press comment was less critical; nevertheless, after one more performance the opera was withdrawn. Shortly afterwards the Provisional Theatre temporarily closed its doors, as the threat of war drew closer to Prague. [17] Restructure [ edit ] The scene change between Act I’s church hall and Act II’s pub is also notable because, with the cast being heavily involved in it, it is hard to know where performers end and stage hands begin. It includes some men continuing to dance around the maypole as a way of wrapping the ribbons tight before carrying it off, and it really looks as if workmen are taking up the lino in the kitchen. The pub paints a picture of 1950s English village life as people play darts, and patrons head to and emerge from the ‘ladies’ and ‘gents’ throughout the scene. When Vašek sings ‘Ma… ma… ma… matička’ everyone moves to the other side of the room within seconds, and it is noticeable how the women tend to stay in groups, which is realistic since many may not have ventured into a pub alone in the ’50s. Marès, Antoine (2006). "La Fiancée mal vendue". In Horel, Catherine; Michel, Bernard (eds.). Nations, cultures et sociétés d'Europe centrale aux XIXe et XXe siècles (in French). Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne. ISBN 2-85944-550-1. The premiere of The Bartered Bride took place at the Provisional Theatre on 30 May 1866. Smetana conducted; the stage designs were by Josef Macourek and Josef Jiři Kolár produced the opera. [10] The role of Mařenka was sung by the theatre's principal soprano, Eleonora von Ehrenberg – who had refused to appear in The Brandenburgers because she thought her proffered role was beneath her. [15] The parts of Krušina, Jeník and Kecal were all taken by leading members of the Brandenburgers cast. [16] A celebrated actor, Jindřich Mošna, was engaged to play the Ringmaster, a role which involves little singing skill. [10] David Ireland is excellent as the marriage-broker Kecal, self-important, venal, everything nasty within a somehow likeable frame; his wonderful entry song, done here with superb panache, always reminds me of Eisenstein’s entry in Die Fledermaus, a gust of materialism blowing away the sentimental smoke. John Findon is a big, shambling Vašek, but a touchingly delicate singer, very moving in his Act 2 number with Mařenka, a love duet of thoroughgoing sadism. And the parents (William Dazely, Yvonne Howard, John Savournin and Louise Winter) do as well as Smetana lets them while casting them as money-grubbing hypocrites.Schonberg, Harold C. (1975). The Lives of the Great Composers, Vol. II. London: Futura Publications. ISBN 978-0-86007-723-7.