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Prodaná nevěsta

Bedřich Smetana
A Comic Opera in Three Acts
Libretto by Karel Sabina, German translation by Kurt Honolka
In German with German and English surtitles
Co-production with Teatro Real Madrid, La Monnaie Brussels and Opéra National de Lyon
Events and Tickets
Close-up of a young bride in warm, cinematic lighting. She wears a transparent veil adorned with pearls, softly framing her face. Her gaze is directed slightly upward to the left, as if looking toward an uncertain future. Her expression combines longing and determination. Warm tones, delicate fabric textures, and soft light create an intimate, poetic atmosphere. Inspired by Marie from Smetana’s opera The Bartered Bride.
The Bartered Bride by Bedřich Smetana © Teresa Rothwangl
Abstract, atmospheric image in warm brown and copper tones: soft color gradients and blurred forms create a warm, rural mood, evoking the world of The Bartered Bride by Bedřich Smetana.
A Comic Opera in Three Acts
Libretto by Karel Sabina, German translation by Kurt Honolka
In German with German and English surtitles
Co-production with Teatro Real Madrid, La Monnaie Brussels and Opéra National de Lyon
Events and Tickets

Description

It is fair day in Bohemia; the entire village is drinking and celebrating merrily – except Marie, who remains sad. Because of old family ties, her father insists that she marries a man she does not know. The matchmaker Kezal has arranged what appears to be a profitable deal for everyone involved, by which the wealthy Wenzel and Marie are to become a couple. But Marie has already sworn eternal fidelity to her beloved Hans and now steadfastly refuses to give in. Then, however, a new agreement is made: Kezal persuades Hans to give up Marie for 300 gulden. Everyone is shocked: Hans sells his bride! That everything ultimately turns out well, that love prevails and the dealmaker comes away empty-handed, is due not only to Marie’s strong will and a clever trick by Hans, but also to a traveling circus troupe and a bear costume.

„‚The Bartered Bride‘ soothes our nerves, shattered by Wagner, like a gentle balm,” declared the critic Eduard Hanslick. In 1866, Bedřich Smetana achieved the remarkable feat of composing a model comic opera, one that relies fully on melody, aria, recitative, duet, and ensemble, and does not deny its Italian predecessors. At the same time, the opera is entirely in step with the compositional standards of its time, combining the story of the supposed sale of a bride with lively choruses and dances. Soon PRODANÁ NEVĚSTA came to be regarded as a Czech national opera and, in the 1890s, became a highly sought-after export success. In the German-speaking world, THE BARTERED BRIDE was a sensational hit at the Theater an der Wien in 1893.

Since then, performance traditions have particularly emphasized the realistic aspects of the tightly knit village community that Smetana clearly outlines. Now, Oper Köln presents a new production by the internationally renowned director Laurent Pelly, who is especially known for his vibrant stagings of comic opera.

cast

Anpassung Lichtkonzept

Marie

Hans

Wenzel

Kezal

Kruschina

Ludmila

Micha

Háta (Agnes)

Zirkusdirektor

Esmeralda

Artist

Chor

Orchester

Please refer to the respective event listings for the current cast.

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True love must prevail in the end.

Choir
A co-production with Teatro Real Madrid
A co-production with La Monnaie Brussels
A co-production with Opéra National de Lyon