The Bartered Brides

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Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally he is best known for his opera The Bartered Bride and for the symphonic cycle Má vlast ("My Homeland"), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia. It contains the famous symphonic poem "Vltava", also popularly known by its German name "Die Moldau" (in English, "The Moldau"). Schonberg, Harold C. (1975). The Lives of the Great Composers, Vol. II. London: Futura Publications. ISBN 978-0-86007-723-7. If the reader is interested in occult studies there are decent passages on tarot cards, magic theory and symbolism and every book features someone with elemental (earth, air, fire, water) magic powers with corresponding creatures as familiars. 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. It’s always a pleasure to zip along the M40 for 45 minutes from West London to the Getty family’s stunning Wormsley Estate in the Chiltern Hills. The home of Garsington Opera, the summer opera festival was founded in 1989 by Leonard and Rosalind Ingrams at Garsington Manor, near Oxford, moving to the Wormsley Estate in 2011 after Leonard’s death. I’m reviewing Czech composer Bedrich Smetana’s three-act comic opera The Bartered Bride, the final opera of four in Garsington’s 2023 season, with director Rosie Purdie staging a revival of the 2019 production by Paul Curran, an early 1960s English village hall Bartered Bride that transplanted this rural Bohemian idyll to the more familiar world of the Woman’s Institute.

The Bartered Bride 20 June 2008". Národní divlado (National Theatre, Prague). June 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011 . Retrieved 21 June 2009. The English wordings are taken from Large 1970, Appendix C: "The Genesis of The Bartered Bride", pp.399–408 By the end of 1874, Smetana had become completely deaf but, freed from his theatre duties and the related controversies, he began a period of sustained composition that continued for almost the rest of his life. His contributions to Czech music were increasingly recognised and honoured, but a mental collapse early in 1884 led to his incarceration in an asylum and subsequent death. Smetana's reputation as the founding father of Czech music has endured in his native country, where advocates have raised his status above that of his contemporaries and successors. However, relatively few of Smetana's works are in the international repertory, and most foreign commentators tend to regard Antonín Dvořák as a more significant Czech composer. 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 ]Even as they mourn the loss of their colleague, psychic Nan Killian, medium Sarah Lyon-White, and Elemental Masters John and Mary Watson must be vigilant, for members of Moriarty’s network are still at large. And their troubles are far from over: in a matter of weeks, two headless bodies of young brides wash up in major waterways. A couple who fears for their own recently-wedded daughter hires the group to investigate, but with each new body, the mystery only deepens. Putting aside exactly who the marriage broker Kecal is in this new scenario, the updating works neatly in Kevin Knight’s designs and the hardworking choreographer Darren Royston’s movement. As the village hall fills up at the start, we see a prissy vicar air-conducting an LP of the overture, one of the most exhilarating in the whole repertoire. The real conductor Jac van Steen may be no Rafael Kubelik, and textures could be more airy, but he draws strong playing from the Philharmonia.

Tyrrell, John. " The Bartered Bride ( Prodaná nevěsta)". In Macy, Laura (ed.). Grove Music Online. (subscription required)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] Mařenka – Pumeza Matshikiza, Jeník – Oliver Johnston, Kecal – David Ireland, Vašek – John Findon, Ludmila – Yvonne Howard, Krušina – William Dazeley, Ringmaster – Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Esmeralda – Isabelle Peters, Mícha – John Savournin, Háta – Louise Winter; Original Director – Paul Curran, Revival Director – Rosie Purdie, Conductor – Jac van Steen, Designer – Kevin Knight, Lighting Designer – Howard Hudson, Choreographer – Darren Royston, Philharmonia Orchestra, Garsington Opera Chorus & Circus Troupe (led by Jennifer Robinson) In The Bartered Brides, Lestrade is desperate for help with the latest murders, but Holmes isn't there to help, and so he turns to Dr Watson and the girls. And it's one pip of a story, as none of them, including the Lodge, can find any trace of where those headless bodies are coming from. Smetana was naturally gifted as a composer, and gave his first public performance at the age of 6. After conventional schooling, he studied music under Josef Proksch in Prague. His first nationalistic music was written during the 1848 Prague uprising, in which he briefly participated. After failing to establish his career in Prague, he left for Sweden, where he set up as a teacher and choirmaster in Gothenburg, and began to write large-scale orchestral works.

With the exception of Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, and it is hard to picture anyone portraying the Ringmaster in this production so well, all of the principals are different to 2019, but undoubtedly superb. As Mařenka, Pumeza Matshikiza reveals a full yet nuanced soprano that possesses a great flexibility so that all of the required sounds are shaped extremely well. Oliver Johnston, with his strong and vibrant tenor, captures Jeník’s determination to succeed and wry humour in equal measure, while the chemistry between the pair manifests itself from very early on as they even reveal it through the simple act of making sandwiches together. The Bartered Bride is ultimately a comedy, and this production makes the scene in which Mařenka refuses to listen to Jeník’s explanation particularly amusing, but what comes across most clearly is the extent of her grief because she genuinely believes that the man who loves her has sold out.Mary O'Brien's parents, Ned and Meggie, sell her to Gerald "Jerry" Baker, who is moving to Canada. Her older sister, Sally, had also married a man who going to Australia. Peg had been in service but became pregnant by the master. Xi'er is an ugly Chinese woman carefully prepped by Shen Li.

The energy and dynamism cannot be faulted, as every chorus member is handed a unique character that they maintain throughout the evening. Kevin Knight’s sets ensure that when it is their turn to take centre stage the results are overwhelmingly joyous, but when their presence is to add context they do not excessively distract from the central action. Act I sees the church hall comprise a main area, with a largely cut away proscenium stage at one end, and a small kitchen, separated by a door, at the other. This enables Mařenka’s lengthy Act I scene with Jeník to take place in the latter more intimate space, while workmen tinker with spotlights in the main hall. All of the chorus members are involved in the dancing, and the Polka that ends Act I becomes a maypole routine that is as impressive for its design as its obvious exuberance. There are also some beautiful touches as an upset Mařenka leaves the dance, and everyone rushes towards her for spoiling it before realising they have unbalanced the maypole and it is on the verge of collapse. The book has a lot of feelings. As such there is way too much trivial dialogue between maids, housekeepers, cooks, Nan and Sarah, their pet birds, and everyone else. It actually drags the book along. Once in a while someone has an idea that leads to action (and a dead end). The heroes and heroines complain incessantly about not being able to do anything. It is group think at its worst. Then, all of a sudden, the story ends. headed up by Professor James Moriarty who died at Reichenbach Falls. Supposedly. A Spirit Master who has embraced the dark side as a necromancer and Moriarty's executioner, Spencer is holding the men together. Mrs Kelly, an Earth magician, is the woman acting as his housekeeper/cook with an amazing ability to lie. Geoff the Elf is Spencer's primary henchman. Tony, Rudolfo, and Michael are an intimidating group of brothers. George is another member of the gang. Bartered Brides is a take on the Bluebeard tale, with an explanation as to just what that guy was up to that makes a horrible kind of sense. There are some really inspired new ideas here, such as the ability of some spirits to change things that was intriguing but not really delved into, and could also quite easily become terrifying. And also a sneaky, sneaky take on one person that had me grinning viciously when it came time to learning of their impending comeuppance - alas, not shown ¨on screen¨ as it were. 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.The Bartered Bride (Czech: Prodaná nevěsta, 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 final opening night of this summer’s Garsington opera season certainly whets the appetite for more Smetana. But given that Paul Curran’s 2019 production (revived here by Rosie Purdie) transposes the action from 19th-century to 1960s Britain, with Elvis fans doing the twist in place of the polka, it’s odd to find an entirely non-Czech cast parroting the original Czech rather than presenting the comedy in an English translation. With misplaced snobbery, “an exotic and irrational entertainment” is evidently still how the Brits like opera best.