THE BARTERED BRIDE is Now Playing at the National Theatre in Prague

The Bartered Bride is coming to The National Theatre in Prague next month.

Bedřich Smetana's The Bartered Bride is a true evergreen of Czech theatre and music. Every single Czech should see the opera at the National at least once! Depicting the story of calculating, ridiculous, but also sincerely loving figures from a small Czech village, the piece has been staged for more than 150 years, enthralling generations and always winning new fans. If you are still not among them, come and see the opera for yourself!

Set to Karel Sabina's comic libretto, Bedřich Smetana endowed his music with jest and wit, hyperbole, cheerful energy and moving ardour. No other composer had previously succeeded in conceiving an opera possessing such a natural, while original, Czech tone. That is why The Bartered Bride has deservedly been deemed the founding work of modern Czech opera and, by extension, Czech music in general. The piece soon exceeded the domestic framework and became a permanent part of the world's opera repertoire.

The 20th National Theatre production of one of the most famous Czech operas is, for the first time in our history, directed by a woman. Magdalena Švecová has chosen neither the path of provocative or divisive interpretation, nor that of conventional imitation of outdated models. The Bartered Bride's burlesque yet highly moving story is grasped with tenderness and intelligent wit, as well as an understanding for the long-gone order (disorder) of human lives in the Czech village. The production's forcibility is enhanced by Zuzana Přidalová's costumes, inspired by plant and animal motifs, and Ladislava Košíková's stylish choreography, charged with energy and verve.

Performances will run November 4, 2021-January 1, 2022.

Learn more at https://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/en/show/prodana-nevesta-1520149?t=2021-10-28-17-00.