The Bartered Bride (, The Sold Bride) is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863 to 1866, and first performed at the Provisional Theatre, Prague, on 30 May 1866 in a two-act format with spoken dialogue. Set in a country village and with realistic characters, it tells the story of how, after a late surprise revelation, true love prevails over the combined efforts of ambitious parents and a scheming marriage broker.
The opera was not immediately successful, and was revised and extended in the following four years. In its final version, premiered in 1870, it rapidly gained popularity and eventually became a worldwide success. Until this time, the Czech national opera had only been represented by minor, rarely performed works. This opera, Smetana's second, was part of his quest to create a truly Czech operatic genre. Smetana's musical treatment made considerable use of traditional Bohemian dance forms, such as the polka and furiant, and, although he largely avoided the direct quotation of folksong, he nevertheless created music considered by Czechs to be quintessentially Czech in spirit. The overture, often played as a concert piece independently from the opera, was, unusually, composed before almost any of the other music had been written.
After a performance at the Vienna Music and Theatre Exhibition of 1892, the opera achieved international recognition. It was performed in Chicago in 1893, London in 1895 and reached New York in 1909, subsequently becoming the first, and for many years the only, Czech opera in the general repertory. Many of these early international performances were in German, under the title , and the German-language version continues to be played and recorded. A German film of the opera was made in 1932 by Max Ophüls.
Context
thumb|Disegno per copertina di libretto, drawing for La sposa venduta (undated).
Until the middle 1850s Bedřich Smetana was known in Prague principally as a teacher, pianist and composer of salon pieces. His failure to achieve wider recognition in the Bohemian capital led him to depart in 1856 for Sweden, where he spent the next five years. During this period he extended his compositional range to large-scale orchestral works in the descriptive style championed by Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. Liszt was Smetana's long-time mentor; he had accepted a dedication of the latter's Opus 1: Six Characteristic Pieces for Piano in 1848, and had encouraged the younger composer's career since then. In September 1857 Smetana visited Liszt in Weimar, where he met Peter Cornelius, a follower of Liszt's who was working on a comic opera, .
Smetana did not act immediately on this aspiration. The announcement that a Provisional Theatre was to be opened in Prague, as a home for Czech opera and drama pending the building of a permanent National Theatre, influenced his decision to return permanently to his homeland in 1861. He was then spurred to creative action by the announcement of a prize competition, sponsored by the Czech patriot Jan von Harrach, to provide suitable operas for the Provisional Theatre. By 1863 he had written The Brandenburgers in Bohemia to a libretto by the Czech nationalist poet Karel Sabina, whom Smetana had met briefly in 1848. Smetana's diary indicates that he, rather than Sabina, chose the work's title because "the poet did not know what to call it." Smetana evidently did not begin the orchestral scoring of The Bartered Bride until, following the successful performance of The Brandenburgers in January 1866, the management of the Provisional Theatre decided to stage the new opera during the following summer. The scoring was completed rapidly, between 20 February and 16 March.<br>Conductor: Bedřich Smetana
|-
|Krušina, a peasant
|baritone
|Josef Paleček
|-
|Ludmila, his wife
|soprano
|Marie Procházková
|-
|Mařenka, their daughter
|soprano
|Eleonora von Ehrenberg
|-
|Mícha, a landowner
|bass
|Vojtěch Šebesta
|-
|Háta, his wife
|mezzo-soprano
|Marie Pisařovicová
|-
|Vašek, their son
|tenor
|Josef Kysela
|-
|Jeník, Mícha's son by a former marriage
|tenor
|Jindřich Polák
|-
|Kecal, a marriage broker
|bass
|František Hynek
|-
|Principál komediantů, Ringmaster
|tenor
|Jindřich Mošna
|-
|Indián, an Indian comedian
|bass
|Josef Křtín
|-
|Esmeralda, dancer and comedienne
|soprano
|Terezie Ledererová
|-
| colspan="3" | Chorus: Villagers, circus artists, boys
|}
Synopsis
Act 1
thumb|upright=1.2|alt=A theatre production, showing a crowd of villagers celebrating outside an inn|Open-air performance at the Zoppot Waldoper, near Danzig, July 1912
A crowd of villagers is celebrating at the church fair ("Let's rejoice and be merry"). Among them are Mařenka and Jeník. Mařenka is unhappy because her parents want her to marry someone she has never met. They will try to force her into this, she says. Her desires are for Jeník even though, as she explains in her aria "If I should ever learn", she knows nothing of his background. The couple then declare their feelings for each other in a passionate love duet ("Faithful love can't be marred").
As the pair leave separately, Mařenka's parents, Ludmila and Krušina, enter with the marriage broker Kecal. After some discussion, Kecal announces that he has found a groom for Mařenka – Vašek, younger son of Tobiáš Mícha, a wealthy landowner; the older son, he explains, is a worthless good-for-nothing. Kecal extols the virtues of Vašek ("He's a nice boy, well brought up"), as Mařenka re-enters. In the subsequent quartet she responds by saying that she already has a chosen lover. Send him packing, orders Kecal. The four argue, but little is resolved. Kecal decides he must convince Jeník to give up Mařenka, as the villagers return, singing and dancing a festive polka.
Act 2
The men of the village join in a rousing drinking song ("To beer!"), while Jeník and Kecal argue the merits, respectively, of love and money over beer. The women enter, and the whole group joins in dancing a furiant. Away from the jollity the nervous Vašek muses over his forthcoming marriage in a stuttering song ("My-my-my mother said to me"). Mařenka appears, and guesses immediately who he is, but does not reveal her own identity. Pretending to be someone else, she paints a picture of "Mařenka" as a treacherous deceiver. Vašek is easily fooled, and when Mařenka, in her false guise, pretends to woo him ("I know of a maiden fair"), he falls for her charms and swears to give Mařenka up.
thumb|left|upright|alt=An actress in an elaborate head-dress and peasant costume|[[Emmy Destinn in the role of Mařenka, circa 1917]]
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 300 florins, 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.
Kecal summons the villagers to witness the contract he has made ("Come inside and listen to me"). He reads the terms: Mařenka is to marry no one but Mícha's son. Krušina and the crowd marvel at Jeník's apparent self-denial, but the mood changes when they learn that he has been paid off. The act ends with Jenik being denounced by Krušina and the rest of the assembly as a rascal.
Act 3
Vašek expresses his confusions in a short, sad song ("I can't get it out of my head"), but is interrupted by the arrival of a travelling circus. The Ringmaster introduces the star attractions: Esmeralda, the Spanish dancer, a "real Indian" sword swallower, and a dancing bear. A rapid folk-dance, the skočná, follows. Vašek is entranced by Esmeralda, but his timid advances are interrupted when the "Indian" rushes in, announcing that the "bear" has collapsed in a drunken stupor. A replacement is required. Vašek is soon persuaded to take the job, egged on by Esmeralda's flattering words ("We'll make a pretty thing out of you").
thumb|upright|alt=Actor in exaggerated stage pose, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and long heavy coat, carrying an umbrella|[[Otto Goritz as Kecal, circa 1913]]
The circus folk leave. Vašek's parents – Mícha and Háta – arrive, with Kecal. Vašek tells them that he no longer wants to marry Mařenka, having learned her true nature from a beautiful, strange girl. They are horrified ("He does not want her – what has happened?"). Vašek runs off, and moments later Mařenka arrives with her parents. She has just learned of Jeník's deal with Kecal, and a lively ensemble ("No, no, I don't believe it") ensues. Matters are further complicated when Vašek returns, recognises Mařenka as his "strange girl", and says that he will happily marry her. In the sextet which follows ("Make your mind up, Mařenka"), Mařenka is urged to think things over. They all depart, leaving her alone.
In her aria ("Oh what grief"), Mařenka sings of her betrayal. When Jeník appears, she rebuffs him angrily, and declares that she will marry Vašek. Kecal arrives, and is amused by Jeník's attempts to pacify Mařenka, who orders her former lover to go. The villagers then enter, with both sets of parents, wanting to know Mařenka's decision ("What have you decided, Mařenka?"). As she confirms that she will marry Vašek, Jeník returns, and to great consternation addresses Mícha as "father". In a surprise identity revelation it emerges that Jeník is Mícha's elder son, by a former marriage – the "worthless good-for-nothing" earlier dismissed by Kecal – who had in fact been driven away by his jealous stepmother, Háta. As Mícha's son he is, by the terms of the contract, entitled to marry Mařenka; when this becomes clear, Mařenka understands his actions and embraces him. Offstage shouting interrupts the proceedings; it seems that a bear has escaped from the circus and is heading for the village. This creature appears, but is soon revealed to be Vašek in the bear's costume ("Don't be afraid!"). His antics convince his parents that he is unready for marriage, and he is marched away. Mícha then blesses the marriage between Mařenka and Jeník, and all ends in a celebratory chorus.
Reception and performance history
Premiere
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. 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. The parts of Krušina, Jeník and Kecal were all taken by leading members of the Brandenburgers cast. A celebrated actor, Jindřich Mošna, was engaged to play the Ringmaster, a role which involves little singing skill. Receipts failed to cover costs, and the theatre director was forced to pay Smetana's fee from his own pocket. For its first revival, in October 1866, the only significant musical alteration was the addition of a gypsy dance near the start of act 2. For this, Smetana used the music of a dance from The Brandenburgers of Bohemia. When The Bartered Bride returned to the Provisional Theatre in January 1869, this dance was removed, and replaced with a polka. A new scene, with a drinking song for the chorus, was added to act 1, and Mařenka's act 2 aria "Oh what grief!" was extended. In September 1870 The Bartered Bride reached its final form, when all the dialogue was replaced by recitative. The opera was introduced to the Hamburg State Opera in 1894 by Gustav Mahler, then serving as its director; in 1895 the Coburg Company brought its production to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. In 1897, after his appointment as director of the Vienna State Opera, Mahler brought The Bartered Bride into the Vienna repertory, and conducted regular performances of the work between 1899 and 1907.
In the English-speaking world, recent productions of The Bartered Bride in London have included the Royal Opera House (ROH) presentation in 1998, staged at Sadler's Wells during the restoration of the ROH's headquarters at Covent Garden. This production in English was directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Bernard Haitink; it was criticised both for its stark settings and for ruining the act 2 entrance of Vašek. It was nevertheless twice revived by the ROH – in 2001 and 2006, under Charles Mackerras.
A New York Metropolitan staging was in 1996 under James Levine, a revival of John Dexter's 1978 production with stage designs by Josef Svoboda. In 2005 The Bartered Bride returned to New York, at the Juilliard School theatre, in a new production by Eve Shapiro, conducted by Mark Stringer. In its May 2009 production at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Opera Boston transplanted the action to 1934, in the small Iowan town of Spillville, once the home of a large Czech settlement.
Music
Although much of the music of The Bartered Bride is folk-like, the only significant use of authentic folk material is in the act 2 furiant, with a few other occasional glimpses of basic Czech folk melodies. The "Czechness" of the music is further illustrated by the closeness to Czech dance rhythms of many individual numbers.
Large has commented that despite the colour and vigour of the music, there is little by way of characterisation, except in the cases of Kecal and, to a lesser extent, the loving pair and the unfortunate Vašek. The two sets of parents and the various circus folk are all conventional and "penny-plain" figures. The screenplay was drawn from Sabina's libretto by Curt Alexander, and Smetana's music was adapted by the German composer of film music, Theo Mackeben. The film starred the leading Czech opera singer Jarmila Novotná in the role of Mařenka ("Marie" in the film), and the German baritone Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender as Jeník ("Hans").
Ophuls constructed an entire Czech village in the studio to provide an authentic background. A version was produced for Australian television in 1960.
List of musical numbers
The list relates to the final (1870) version of the opera.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
!width= 150|Number
!width= 200|Performed by
!width= 300|Title (Czech)
!width= 300|Title (English)
|-
|Overture
|Orchestra
|
|
|-
|Act 1<br>Opening chorus
|Villagers
|Proč bychom se netěšili
|"Let's rejoice and be merry"
|-
|Aria
|Mařenka
|Kdybych se co takového
|"If I should ever learn"
|-
|Duet
|Mařenka and Jeník
|Jako matka požehnáním ... Věrné milování
|"While a mother's love..." (leading to) "Faithful love can't be marred"
|-
|Trio
|Ludmila, Krušina, Kecal
|Jak vám pravím, pane kmotře
|"As I was saying, my good fellow"
|-
|Trio
|Ludmila, Krušina, Kecal
|Mladík slušný
|"He's a nice boy, well brought up"
|-
|Quartet
|Ludmila, Krušina, Kecal, Mařenka
|Tu ji máme
|"Here she is now"
|-
|Dance: Polka
|Chorus and orchestra
|Pojd' sem, holka, toč se, holka
|"Come, my darlings!"
|-
|Act 2<br>Chorus with soloists
|Chorus, Kecal, Jeník
|To pivečko
|"To beer!"
|-
|Dance: Furiant
|Orchestra
|
|
|-
|Aria
|Vašek
|Má ma-ma Matička
|"My-my-my mother said to me"
|-
|Duet
|Mařenka and Vašek
|Známť já jednu dívčinu
|"I know of a maiden fair"
|-
|Duet
|Kecal and Jeník
|Nuže, milý chasníku, znám jednu dívku
|"Now, sir, listen to a word or two"
|-
|Aria
|Jeník
|Až uzříš – Jak možna věřit
|"When you discover whom you've bought"
|-
|Ensemble
|Kecal, Jeník, Krušina, Chorus
|Pojďte lidičky
|"Come inside and listen to me"
|-
|Act 3<br>Aria
|Vašek
|To-to mi v hlavě le-leži
|"I can't get it out of my head"
|-
|March of the Comedians
|Orchestra
|
|
|-
|Dance: Skočná (Dance of the Comedians)
|Orchestra
|
|
|-
|Duet
|Esmeralda, Principál
|Milostné zvířátko
|"We'll make a pretty thing out of you"
|-
|Quartet
|Háta, Mícha, Kecal, Vašek
|Aj! Jakže? Jakže?
|"He does not want her – what has happened"
|-
|Ensemble
|Mařenka, Krušina, Kecal, Ludmila, Háta, Mícha, Vašek
|Ne, ne, tomu nevěřím
|"No, no, I don't believe it"
|-
|Sextet
|Ludmila, Krušina, Kecal, Mařenka, Háta, Mícha,
|Rozmysli si, Mařenko
|"Make your mind up, Mařenka"
|-
|Aria
|Mařenka
|Ó, jaký žal ... Ten lásky sen
|"Oh what grief"... (leading to) "That dream of love"
|-
|Duet
|Jeník and Mařenka
|Mařenko má!
|"Mařenka mine!"
|-
|Trio
|Jeník, Mařenka, Kecal
|Utiš se, dívko
|"Calm down and trust me"
|-
|Ensemble
| Chorus, Mařenka, Jeník, Háta, Mícha, Kecal, Ludmila, Krušina,
|Jak jsi se, Mařenko rozmyslila?
|"What have you decided, Mařenka?"
|-
|Finale
|All characters and Chorus
|Pomněte, kmotře ... Dobrá věc se podařila
|"He's not grown up yet..." (leading to) "A good cause is won, and faithful love has triumphed."
|}
Recordings
See The Bartered Bride discography.
References
Notes
Sources
Further reading
External links
- Die verkaufte Braut, Public Domain copy of Max Ophüls 1932 film at Internet Archive