For rights reasons, this programme is not available in your country.
Bedřich Smetana: The Bartered BrideCzech National Theatre, Prague
130 min
Available until 08/09/2025
Young Mařenka is madly in love with Jeník, but her father has a better catch in mind for her... From Prague’s National Theatre, Czech film and stage director Alice Nellis revisits Bedřich Smetana’s iconic opera.
Despite premiering to a half-empty house at Prague’s National Theatre in 1866, The Bartered Bride has become an integral part of the Czech repertoire. Composed by Bedřich Smetana to a libretto by Karel Sabina, this comic opera tells the tender, ordinary story of Mařenka and Jeník, two young peasants in love who come up against the tyranny of social conventions, but gather all their wits to get around them... Conducted by Jaroslav Kyzlink of the Prague National Theatre Orchestra, soprano Kateřina Kněžíková and tenor Richard Samek deliver a highly intense vocal performance in the roles of the ultimately triumphant lovers. Directed by Alice Nellis, this production relocates the action – traditionally set in a picturesque village – to the heart of a peripheral housing estate. With its unprecedented meta-artistic dimension, it questions the status of an “untouchable” work by giving us a behind-the-scenes insight into the creation of a new version.
Recorded on 20 December 2023 at the National Theatre in Prague.
Recorded on 20 December 2023 at the National Theatre in Prague.
With
Kateřina Kněžíková, Doubravka Součková
Richard Samek
Jiří Sulženko
Josef Moravec
Jiří Hájek
Lucie Hájková
Roman Vocel
Yvona Škvárová
With
Ballet des Prager Nationaltheaters
Composer
Bedřich Smetana
Director
Alice Nellis
TV production
Alice Nellis
Music director
Jaroslav Kyzlink, David Švec
Orchestra
Orchester des Prager Nationaltheaters
Choir
Chor des Prager Nationaltheaters
Country
Czech Republic
Year
2023