THE BARTERED BRIDE
Bedrich Smetana
Composer Bedrich Smetana. Libretto by Karel Sabina.
In German with German and English surtitles.
Duration est. 2 hours 50 minutes
1.+2. Akt est. 06:00 pm - 07:25 pm Interval est. 07:25 pm - 07:55 pm 3. Akt est. 07:55 pm - 08:50 pm
Seeing his love succeed against the will of the parents is pretty difficult in a rural setting. Especially when he is also considered an outsider, things do not look good with the parents-in-law, and there's a lot of money in the mix as well. But what Hans negotiates with Kezal the marriage broker, without discussing it with his beloved Marie, certainly requires a very special kind of chutzpah, and it very nearly goes all wrong – bartering his loved one to a certain person, which turns out through rhetorical trickery to be himself, only becomes evident as a good idea at the end. Which once again proves: The comedy is only a tragedy avoided at the very last minute.
The story from Smetana's successful opera The Bartered Bride of 1866 evolved into a hit around the globe via something of a detour – it is not the Czech original that made it into the repertoire, but rather and in particular the German translation by Max Kalbeck, which has the right popular song qualities. And the interplay between seriousness and comedy is as if made for director David Bösch, who is more than happy with ..., "I know a girl, she's got the money".
Die verkaufte Braut (Plakat)
Die verkaufte Braut (Programm)