The Bartered Bride

The Bartered Bride (Czech: Prodaná nevěsta, The Sold Bride) is a comic opera
The Bartered Bride
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 Opera by Bedřich Smetana
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 schemingmarriage 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.

Czech national opera until this time had been represented only 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 Cover of the score, 1919
he largely avoided the direct quotation of folksong he nevertheless created
Native Prodaná nevěsta
music considered by Czechs to be quintessentially Czech in spirit.
title
The overture, often played as a concert piece independently from the opera, was, Librettist Karel Sabina
unusually, composed before almost any of the other music had been written. Language Czech

After a performance at the Vienna Music and Theatre Exhibition of 1892, the Premiere 30 May 1866
opera achieved international recognition. It was performed in Chicago in 1893, Provisional Theatre, Prague
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 Die verkaufte Braut, and the German-language
version continues to be played and recorded. A German film of the opera was made in 1932 by
Max Ophüls.

Contents
1 Context
2 Composition history
2.1 Libretto
2.2 Composition
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
5 Reception and performance history
5.1 Premiere
 5.2 Restructure
5.3 Later performances
5.4 Modern revivals
6 Music
7 Film and other adaptations
8 List of musical numbers
9 Recordings
10 References
11 External links

Context
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.[1] During this period he extended his compositional range to large-scale orchestral works in the descriptive style championed
by Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.[2] 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.[3] 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, Der
Barbier von Bagdad.[4] Their discussions centred on the need to create a modern style of comic opera, as a counterbalance to
Wagner's new form of music drama. A comment was made by the Viennese conductor Johann von Herbeck to the effect that Czechs
were incapable of making music of their own, a remark which Smetana took to heart: "I swore there and then that no other than I
should beget a native Czech music."[4]

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.[5] 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.[5][6]
The Brandenburgers, which was awarded the opera prize, was a serious historical drama, but even before its completion Smetana was
noting down themes for use in a future comic opera. By this time he had heard the music of Cornelius's Der Barbier, and was ready
to try his own hand at the comic genre.[7]

Composition history

Libretto
For his libretto, Smetana again approached Sabina, who by 5 July 1863 had produced an untitled one-act sketch in German.[4] Over
the following months Sabina was encouraged to develop this into a full-length text, and to provide a Czech translation. According to
Smetana's biographer Brian Large, this process was prolonged and untidy; the manuscript shows amendments and additions in
Smetana's own hand, and some pages apparently written by Smetana's wife Bettina (who may have been receiving dictation).[8] By
the end of 1863 a two-act version, with around 20 musical numbers separated by spoken dialogue, had been assembled.[4][8]
Smetana's diary indicates that he, rather than Sabina, chose the work's title because "the poet did not know what to call it."[8] The
translation "Sold Bride" is strictly accurate, but the more euphonious "Bartered Bride" has been adopted throughout the English-
speaking world.[9] Sabina evidently did not fully appreciate Smetana's intention to write a full-length opera, later commenting: "If I
had suspected what Smetana would make of my operetta, I should have taken more pains and written him a better and more solid
libretto."[4]
The Czech music specialist John Tyrrell has observed that, despite the casual way in
which The Bartered Bride's libretto was put together, it has an intrinsic "Czechness",
being one of the few in the Czech language written in trochees (a stressed syllable
followed by an unstressed one), matching the natural first-syllable emphasis in the
Czech language.[10]

Composition
By October 1862, well before the arrival of any libretto or plot sketch, Smetana had
noted down 16 bars which later became the theme of The Bartered Bride's opening
chorus. In May 1863 he sketched eight bars which he eventually used in the love
duet "Faithful love can't be marred", and later that summer, while still awaiting
Sabina's revised libretto, he wrote the theme of the comic number "We'll make a
pretty little thing".[4] He also produced a piano version of the entire overture, which
was performed in a public concert on 18 November. In this, he departed from his
The tune of the opening chorus to
normal practice of leaving the overture until last.[8] The Bartered Bride (English and
German texts, published 1909)
The opera continued to be composed in a piecemeal fashion, as Sabina's libretto
gradually took shape. Progress was slow, and was interrupted by other work.
Smetana had become Chorus Master of the Hlahol Choral Society in 1862, and spent much time rehearsing and performing with the
Society.[11] He was deeply involved in the 1864 Shakespeare Festival in Prague, conducting Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette and
composing a festival march.[12] That same year he became music correspondent of the Czech language newspaper Národní listy.
Smetana's diary for December 1864 records that he was continuing to work on The Bartered Bride; the piano score was completed by
October 1865. It was then put aside so that the composer could concentrate on his third opera Dalibor.[13] 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.[13]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 30 May 1866[14]

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
Chorus: Villagers, circus artists, boys

Synopsis
Act 1
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 Open-air performance at the Zoppot
with the marriage broker Kecal. After some discussion, Kecal announces that Waldoper, near Danzig, July 1912

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.

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.

The celebrated Czech opera
singer Emmy Destinn in the
role of Mařenka, circa 1917
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").
The circus folk leave. Vasek'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 The opera singer Otto Gortiz
as Kecal, circa 1913
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
[10] The role of Mařenka was sung by the theatre's principal soprano,
were by Josef Macourek and Josef Jiři Kolár produced the opera.
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,
, a role which involves little singing skill.[10]
Jindřich Mošna, was engaged to play the Ringmaster

The choice of date proved unfortunate for several reasons. It clashed with a public holiday, and many people had left the city for the
country. It was an intensely hot day, which further reduced the number of people prepared to suffer the discomfort of a stuffy theatre.
Worse, the threat of an imminent war between Prussia and Austria caused unrest and anxiety in Prague, which dampened public
enthusiasm for light romantic comedy. Thus on its opening night the opera, in its two-act version with spoken dialogue, was poorly
attended and indifferently received.[17] Receipts failed to cover costs, and the theatre director was forced to pay Smetana's fee from
his own pocket.[9]

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] 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
Smetana began revising The Bartered Bride as soon as its first performances were complete.[9] 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.[18] 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.[18]

So far, changes to the original had been of a minor nature, but when the opera reappeared in June 1869 it had been entirely
restructured. Although the musical numbers were still linked by dialogue, the first act had been divided in two, to create a three-act
opera.[18] Various numbers, including the drinking song and the new polka, were repositioned, and the polka was now followed by a
furiant. A "March of the Comedians" was added, to introduce the strolling players in what was now act 3. A short duet for Esmeralda
and the Principal Comedian was dropped.[18][19] In September 1870 The Bartered Bride reached its final form, when all the dialogue
was replaced by recitative.[18] Smetana's own opinion of the finished work, given much later, was largely dismissive: he described it
as "a toy ... composing it was mere child's play". It was written, he said "to spite those who accused me of being Wagnerian and
incapable of doing anything in a lighter vein."[20]

Later performances
The Metropolitan Opera House, New
York, around the time ofThe
Bartered Bride's New York premiere
under Gustav Mahler in 1909
In February 1869 Smetana had the text translated into French, and sent the libretto
and score to the Paris Opera with a business proposal for dividing the profits. The
management of the Paris Opera did not respond.[21] The opera was first performed
outside its native land on 11 January 1871, when Eduard Nápravník, conductor of
the Russian Imperial Opera, gave a performance at the Mariinsky Theatre in St
Petersburg. The work attracted mediocre notices from the critics, one of whom
compared the work unfavourably to the Offenbach genre. Smetana was hurt by this
remark, which he felt downgraded his opera to operetta status,[22] and was
convinced that press hostility had been generated by a former adversary, the Russian
composer Mily Balakirev. The pair had clashed some years earlier, over the
Provisional Theatre's stagings of Glinka's A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and
Lyudmila. Smetana believed that Balakirev had used the Russian premiere of The
Bartered Bride as a means of exacting revenge.[23]

The Bartered Bride was not performed abroad again until after Smetana's death in 1884. It was staged by the Prague National Theatre
company in Vienna, as part of the Vienna Music and Theatre Exhibition of 1892, where its favourable reception was the beginning of
its worldwide popularity among opera audiences.[10] Since the Czech language was not widely spoken, international performances
tended to be in German. TheUnited States premiere took place at the Haymarket Theatre,Chicago, on 20 August 1893.[24] The opera
was introduced to the Hamburg State Opera in 1894 by Gustav Mahler, then serving as its director;[25] a year later a German
company brought a production to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.[26] 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.[25] Mahler's enthusiasm for the work was such that he had incorporated a quote from the overture into the
final movement of his First Symphony (1888).[25] When he became Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1907 he
added the opera to its repertory.[25] The New York premiere, again in German, took place on 19 February 1909, and was warmly
received. The New York Times commented on the excellence of the staging and musical characterisations, and paid particular tribute
to "Mr. Mahler", whose master hand was in evidence throughout. Mahler chose to play the overture between acts 1 and 2, so that
latecomers might hear it.[27]

Modern revivals
The opera was performed more than one hundred times during Smetana's lifetime (the first Czech opera to reach this landmark),[28]
subsequently becoming a permanent feature of the National Theatre's repertory. On 9 May 1945 a special performance in memory of
[29]
the victims of World War II was given at the theatre, four days after the last significant fighting in Europe.
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]

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.[33][34]

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.[35] In its May 2009 production at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Opera Boston transplanted the
action to 1934, in the smallIowan town of Spillville, once the home of a large Czech settlement.[36]

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,[37] with a few other occasional glimpses of basic Czech folk melodies.[38] The "Czechness" of the music is further illustrated
by the closeness to Czech dance rhythms of many individual numbers.[10] Smetana's diary indicates that he was trying to give the
music "a popular character, because the plot [...] is taken from village life and demands a national treatment."[13] According to his
biographer John Clapham, Smetana "certainly felt the pulse of the peasantry and knew how to express this in music, yet inevitably he
added something of himself."[38] Historian Harold Schonberg argues that "the exoticisms of the Bohemian musical language were not
in the Western musical consciousness until Smetana appeared." Smetana's musical language is, on the whole, one of happiness,
expressing joy, dancing and festivals.[39]

The mood of the entire opera is set by the overture, a concert piece in
Overture to The Bartered Bride
its own right, which Tyrrell describes as "a tour de force of the genre,
wonderfully spirited & wonderfully crafted." Tyrrell draws attention 0:00

to several of its striking features – its extended string fugato, climactic Performed by the London
tutti and prominent syncopations.[10] The overture does not contain Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamilton
Harty, conductor, 1930
many of the opera's later themes: biographer Brian Large compares it
to Mozart's overtures to The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute,
Problems playing this file? See media help.
in establishing a general mood.[40] It is followed immediately by an
extended orchestral prelude, for which Smetana adapted part of his Three dances from The Bartered
1849 piano work Wedding Scenes, adding special effects such as Bride
bagpipe imitations.[10][41] Polka
0:00
Schonberg has suggested that Bohemian composers express
melancholy in a delicate, elegiac manner "without the crushing world-
weariness and pessimism of the Russians."[39] Thus, Mařenka's Furiant
unhappiness is illustrated in the opening chorus by a brief switch to 0:00
the minor key; likewise, the inherent pathos of Vašek's character is
demonstrated by the dark minor key music of his act 3 solo.[10]
Dance of the Comedians
Smetana also uses the technique of musical reminiscence, where
particular themes are used as reminders of other parts of the action; 0:00

the lilting clarinet theme of "faithful love" is an example, though it Performed by the U.S. Marine
and other instances fall short of being full-blown Wagnerian leading Band
themes or Leitmotifs.[42]
Problems playing these files? See media
help.
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 unfortunateašek.
V
The two sets of parents and the various circus folk are all conventional and "penny-plain" figures.[42] In contrast, Kecal's character –
[10][42] Large suggests that
that of a self-important, pig-headed, loquacious bungler – is instantly established by his rapid-patter music.
the character may have been modelled on that of the boastful Baron in Cimarosa's opera Il matrimonio segreto.[42] Mařenka's
temperament is shown in vocal flourishes which include coloratura passages and sustained high notes, while Jeník's good nature is
reflected in the warmth of his music, generally in the G minor key. For Vašek's dual image, comic and pathetic, Smetana uses the
major key to depict comedy, the minor for sorrow. Large suggests that Vašek's musical stammer, portrayed especially in his opening
act 2 song, was taken from Mozart's character Don Curzio inThe Marriage of Figaro.[43]

Film and other adaptations

A silent film of The Bartered Bride was made in 1913 by the Czech film production studio Kinofa. It was produced by Max Urban
and starred his wife Andula Sedláčková.[44] A German-language version of the opera, Die verkaufte Braut, was filmed in 1932 by
Max Ophüls, the celebrated German director then at the beginning of his film-making career.[45] 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-Fassbaenderas Jeník ("Hans").[46][47]

Ophuls constructed an entire Czech village in the studio to provide an authentic background.[45] Following the film's US release in
1934, The New York Times commented that it "carr[ied] most of the comedy of the original" but was "rather weak on the musical
side", despite the presence of stars such as Novotná. Opera-lovers, the review suggested, should not expect too much, but the work
nevertheless gave an attractive portrait of Bohemian village life in the mid-19th century. The reviewer found most of the acting first-
rate, but commented that "the photography and sound reproduction are none too clear at times."[48] Other film adaptations of the
opera were made in 1922 directed by Oldrich Kminek (Atropos), in 1933, directed by Jaroslav Kvapil, Svatopluk Innemann and Emil
Pollert (Espofilm), and in 1976, directed by Václav Kašlík (Barrandov).[49] A version was produced for Australian television in
1960.[50]

List of musical numbers

The list relates to the final (1870) version of the opera.
 Number Performed by Title (Czech) Title (English)[51]
Overture Orchestra
Act 1
Villagers Proč bychom se netěšili "Let's rejoice and be merry"
Opening Chorus
Aria Mařenka Kdybych se co takového "If I should ever learn"
"While a mother's love..."
Jako matka požehnáním ...
Duet Mařenka and Jeník (leading to) "Faithful love can't
Věrné milování
be marred"
Ludmila, Krušina, "As I was saying, my good
Trio Jak vám pravím, pane kmotře
Kecal fellow"
Ludmila, Krušina, "He's a nice boy, well brought
Trio Mladík slušný
Kecal up"
Ludmila, Krušina,
Quartet Tu ji máme "Here she is now"
Kecal, Mařenka
Dance: Polka Chorus and orchestra Pojd' sem, holka, toč se, holka "Come, my darlings!"
Act 2
Chorus with Chorus, Kecal, Jeník To pivečko "To beer!"
soloists
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"
Nuže, milý chasníku, znám
Duet Kecal and Jeník "Now, sir, listen to a word or two"
jednu dívku
"When you discover whom
Aria Jeník Až uzříš – Jak možna věřit
you've bought"
Kecal, Jeník, Krušina,
Ensemble Pojďte lidičky "Come inside and listen to me"
Chorus
Act 3
Vašek To-to mi v hlavě le-leži "I can't get it out of my head"
Aria
March of the
Orchestra
Comedians
Dance: Skočná
(Dance of the Orchestra
Comedians)
"We'll make a pretty thing out of
Duet Esmeralda, Principál Milostné zvířátko
you"
Háta, Mícha, Kecal, "He does not want her – what
Quartet Aj! Jakže? Jakže?
Vašek has happened"
Mařenka, Krušina,
Ensemble Kecal, Ludmila, Háta, Ne, ne, tomu nevěřím "No, no, I don't believe it"
Mícha, Vašek
Ludmila, Krušina,
Sextet Kecal, Mařenka, Háta, Rozmysli si, Mařenko "Make your mind up, Mařenka"
Mícha,
"Oh what grief"... (leading to)
Aria Mařenka Ó, jaký žal ... Ten lásky sen
"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, Jak jsi se, Mařenko rozmyslila? "What have you decided,
Jeník, Háta, Mícha, Mařenka?"
 Kecal, Ludmila,
Krušina,
"He's not grown up yet..."
All characters and Pomněte, kmotře ... Dobrá věc (leading to) "A good cause is
Finale
Chorus se podařila won, and faithful love has
triumphed."

Recordings
See The Bartered Bride discography.

References
Notes

1. Large, pp. 67–69

2. Clapham, p. 138
3. Clapham, p. 20
4. Abraham, pp. 28–29
5. Clapham. p. 31
6. Large, p. 43
7. Large, p. 99
8. Large, pp. 160–61
9. Abraham, p. 31
10. Tyrrell
11. Large, pp. 121–25
12. Clapham.p. 32
13. Large, pp. 163–64
14. "Prodaná nevěsta" (http://www.ascolti.cz/opera/Prodaná%20nevěsta__Bedřich%20Smetana). Toulky operou.
Retrieved 28 March 2012. (in Czech)
15. Large, p. 144
16. Large, p. 164
17. Large, pp. 165–66
18. Large, pp. 399–408
19. This duet is reproduced in Large, pp. 409–13
20. Large, p. 160
21. Large, pp. 168–69
22. Large, p. 171
23. Large, p. 210
24. Holden, Amanda; Kenyon, Nicholas; Walsh, Stephen, eds. (1993). The Viking Opera Guide. London: Viking. p. 989.
ISBN 0-670-81292-7.
25. Hefling, pp. 111–12
26. Newmarch, pp. 67–68
27. "Bartered Bride at Metropolitan" (https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D03E6D91439E733A25753C2A9
649C946897D6CF). The New York Times. 20 February 1909. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
28. Large, pp. 356–57
29. Sayer, p. 235
30. Nichols, p. 17
31. Marès, p. 48
32. Lesueur, François (22 October 2008)."Enfin par la grande porte: La Fiancée vendue"(http://www.forumopera.com/s
pectacle/enfin-par-la-grande-porte). ForumOpera.com. Retrieved 30 November 2015. (in French)
33. Seckerson, Edward (11 January 2006)."Shut your eyes and all is perfect"(https://web.archive.org/web/2012110307
0832/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/the-bartered-bride-royal-opera-house-london--
none-onestar-twostar-threestar-fourstar-fivestar-522526.html)
. The Independent on Sunday. Archived from the
original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
34. White, Michael (13 December 1998)."The bride wore an outfit from Habitat"(https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent
ertainment/the-critics-the-bride-wore-an-outfit-from-habitat-1191093.html)
. The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved
21 June 2009.
35. Robinson, Lisa B. (November 2011)."Met-Juilliard Bride Bows"(http://www.juilliard.edu/journal/met-juilliard-bride-bo
ws). The Juilliard Journal online. New York: The Juilliard School. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
36. Eichler, Jeremy (2 May 2009)."Smetana's buoyant Bride"(http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/05/0
2/smetanas_buoyant_bride/). The Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
37. Large, pp. 186–87
38. Clapham, p. 95
39. Schonberg, p. 78
40. Large, p. 173
41. Clapham, p. 59
42. Large, pp. 174–75
43. Large, pp. 176–78
44. Osnes, Beth (2001). Acting: An International Encyclopedia(https://books.google.com/?id=WTkCI62oXjEC&pg=P
A8
2). Oxford: ABC-Clio. p. 82.ISBN 0-87436-795-6. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
45. "Moving Pictures: The European Films of Max Ophuls"(https://web.archive.org/web/20091001181205/http://cinema.
wisc.edu/series/2008_fall/ophuls.htm). University of Wisconsin. Archived fromthe original (http://cinema.wisc.edu/ser
ies/2008_fall/ophuls.htm)on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
46. "Die verkaufte Braut" (http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/56514). British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
47. "Die verkaufte Braut (1932)"(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023657/). IMDb. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
48. H.T.S. (27 April 1934). "Verkaufte Braut (1932)" (https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9C00E7DB123
9E33ABC4F51DFB266838F629EDE&scp=3&sq=V erkaufte%20Braut%20&st=cse). The New York Times. Retrieved
18 December 2011.
49. Turconi, Davide. Filmographie: Cinéma et opéra: du film muet à la vidéo. In:L'Avant Scène Cinéma et Opéra, Mai
1987, 360, pp. 138–39.
50. Listed at 8:00PM on ABV Channel 2(https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rp5VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Sa8DAAAAIB
AJ&pg=4272%2C3618132)at Google News Archive, a clip also appears on Y ouTube with poor sound quality
51. The English wordings are taken from Brian Large'sSmetana, Appendix C: "The Genesis of The Bartered Bride",
pp. 399–408

Sources

Abraham, Gerald (1968). Slavonic and Romantic Music. London: Faber and Faber.
"Bartered Bride at Metropolitan". The New York Times. 20 February 1909. Retrieved 20 June 2009. PDF format
Brandow, Adam (April 2005). "Czech Spirit Enlivens J.O.C.'sBartered Bride". The Juilliard Journal online. New York:
The Juilliard School. XX (7). Archived from the original on 21 November 2008 . Retrieved 21 June 2009.
Clapham, John (1972).Smetana (Master Musicians series). London: J.M. Dent. ISBN 0-460-03133-3.
"Die verkaufte Braut". British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
Eichler, Jeremy (2 May 2009)."Smetana's buoyant Bride". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
Hefling, Stephen, ed. (1997).Mahler Studies (Essay: Mahler and Smetana by Donald Mitchell) . Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-47165-6. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
Kalbeck, Max; Raboch, Wenzel (1909). The Bartered Bride libretto: German and English texts . New York: Oliver
Ditson Company.
Large, Brian (1970). Smetana. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-0512-7.
Marès, Antoine (2006)."La Fiancée mal vendue" in Horel, Catherine and Michel, Bernard (eds): Nations, cultures et
sociétés d'Europe centrale aux XIXe et XXe siècles . Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne.ISBN 2-85944-550-1. (in
French)
 "Moving Pictures: The European Films of Max Ophuls" . University of Wisconsin. Archived fromthe original on 2009-
10-01. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
Newmarch, Rosa (1942). The Music of Czechoslovakia. Oxford: OUP. OCLC 3291947.
Nichols, Roger (2002).The Harlequin Years: Music in Paris, 1917-1929. Berkeley, Ca.: University of California
Press. ISBN 0-520-23736-6.
Osnes, Beth (2001). Acting. Oxford: ABC-Clio. ISBN 0-87436-795-6. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
Seckerson, Edward (11 January 2006)."Shut your eyes and all is perfect". The Independent on Sunday. Archived
from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
"The Bartered Bride 20 June 2008". Národní divlado (National Theatre, Prague). June 2008 . Retrieved 21 June
2009.
Tyrrell, John. "The Bartered Bride (Prodaná nevěsta)". In Macy, Laura. Grove Music Online. (subscription required)
H.T.S. (27 April 1934). "Verkaufte Braut (1932)". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
White, Michael (13 December 1998)."The bride wore an outfit from Habitat". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved
21 June 2009.

External links
The Bartered Bride: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)
Die verkaufte Braut, Public Domain copy of Max Ophüls 1932 film at Internet Archive

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