Music that goes to the heart

Brilliant. Very touching. Funny. - But not that funny.

This is a topic that actually requires a symposium. Personally, I think that the opera was certainly understood in this way at the time and it was certainly Smetana's intention to compose something "typically Czech". On the other hand, if we look at his entire biography and his oeuvre, then there are works that would have been more obvious as national operas than The Bartered Bride. Moreover, it is a little difficult to use the term national opera in view of what we think of today. In any case, Smetana offered a very convincing work - and that is the main thing.

That's how it is! It must be said, however, that Smetana developed the dance music he found in folk music further in terms of quality and brilliance. In other words, it was by no means the case that he simply incorporated the original dance music from existing sources. Rather, it was an act of composing and musical formulation. Strictly speaking, the Czech aspect of The Bartered Bride should be formulated in this way: What you hear is typical Smetana. Later, people said of this style: "This is typically Czech. And at some point, this tonal language shaped by him became a tradition. In truth, however, it is more Smetana than anything else. To exaggerate, you could say that he was a first-class German-language composer who founded the Czech musical tradition. A joke - but not entirely wrong for understanding the matter.

The versions of this opera allow us to follow the compositional struggle that Smetana went through. Originally, he wanted a singspiel, a light operetta. But then he changed the work, transforming the spoken dialog into recitatives and the sound world became more profound. We are presenting the popular final version, as this was his preferred one. And it can be said quite objectively that the later changes made the work better.

From a global perspective, The Bartered Bride is certainly his best-known operatic work. But I can understand that, from his point of view, he considered other operas that were more difficult to communicate internationally to be more important. And it certainly also has to do with the fact that he later developed his personal style - which we of course see very clearly in the Bartered Bride . This can also be seen in the musical numbers that were subsequently added to The Bartered Bride . As far as the libretto is concerned, the librettos that he set to music were always a problem; he was repeatedly limited by their mediocre quality. In addition, he felt more comfortable in German than in Czech, which is why there are often questionable connections between text and music in his works. Seen in this light, it is not at all unjustified to perform The Bartered Bride in German.

Yes, or that the structure of sentences is atypical or unwieldy.

I would say that Czech Romanticism as embodied by Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák can be understood as a Slavic version of a post-Mozart development. Later, in Rusalka, for example, this Romanticism, which sometimes seems almost simple, reveals almost impressionistic influences - but the actual starting point always remains Mozart. As far as Richard Wagner is concerned, Smetana certainly has a corresponding inspiration - think of the orchestra, which also plays such an enormously important role dramaturgically; think of aspects such as the leitmotif or an endless melody. But I must nevertheless defend Smetana from the accusation of Wagnerian eclecticism. Because influences: yes, but he always remained completely himself.

It undoubtedly works very well vocally and stylistically if you can fall back on Mozart voices for some roles. But there are also concepts in the Czech tradition that suggest a different instrumentation, for example coming from the Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Weber or Wagner direction. First and foremost, however, it is about understanding phrasing, colors and moods and implementing them according to Smetana. If you internalize this, many questions are answered.

Firstly, Smetana also shows darker sides in this comedy and is not content with light humor. And secondly, he does not make fun of his characters. This can be demonstrated with the example of Vašek: Smetana composes his character very seriously, his stuttering very detailed, but apart from the funny aspect, he never laughs at him musically. It's about compassion, you also have to hear the character's pain.

Yes, a good example is Kecal. This is a person who likes to hear himself speak and so he always repeats things that he has already said several times. And that brings us to the subject of translation and retranslation. Because this almost primitive repetitiveness in Kecal's speech was not so clearly presented in other translations - but it is of particular importance in understanding the character. He is a character who can sing for a whole evening and yet actually says very little. Of course, this should not be missing in German. Jeník and Mařenka, on the other hand, must be carried by a very special, typically Smetanaian lyricism. It is full of intimacy and simplicity - and very difficult to create. For sentiment and sentimentality are only separated by a dangerously thin line. And only if you stay on the right side of this border does the music shine in its full, honest beauty.

The fact that Smetana learned to use the chorus skillfully was a decisive part of his personal development as a composer. In The Bartered Bride, the chorus has less of a dramatic function than that of brilliantly depicting the atmosphere, showing the reality of village life. These are absolute masterpieces, and all the ensembles are delighted to be able to create them.

At the very beginning, you have to decide in which language you want to perform the opera. In contrast to the works of Leoš Janáček, Czech is not a decisive principle in Smetana's music, nor is it an absolute necessity, as his music is based much less on the melody of the language than that of his colleague Janáček. And if one also considers that it was the first Viennese German-language performances of this opera that brought the final breakthrough for the work and that a long performance tradition is linked to it, indeed, The Bartered Bride also has a Viennese home, a German-language performance is fully justified, with all due respect to the original language and the positive aspects of such performances.

The well-known German translations have already done a very good job of opening up the opera to German-speaking audiences. However, as they are in no way obligatory, a new translation offers the opportunity to get closer to the spirit and content of the original. One that is musically correct, but also fully conveys the meaning. We talked about characterizations and nuances: these must not be lost, of course; it is not enough that something is just right, the deeper meaning must also be captured and rendered. And because this is a work in progress, there will undoubtedly still be a lot to do in the rehearsal process.

Although there are great similarities in the tonal language, one notices in Vaterland that it is a very modern way of composing. One must not forget that Smetana was already deaf at the time and therefore only moved in his world of sound and in his imagination - without aural control. In this sense, I would say that these symphonic works, as well as the wonderful string quartets or the piano trio in chamber music, were very modern in their thinking, almost avant-garde. Vaterland is also less harmlessly composed than it is sometimes understood, with sharp corners and edges. The operas, on the other hand, are more traditional.

My homeland was not a free country for many decades in the 20th century. The Bartered Bride was exploited for political purposes during this time and misused as unproblematic entertainment in the totalitarian system. According to the motto: the people should keep their mouths shut and enjoy a supposedly harmless, comic opera. And even when great conductors, singers and directors worked on the productions, there were always interpretative walls to be overcome.

As an example, I would like to refer once again to Vašek, who I mentioned earlier: It is an affecting affair when you experience this son who has never grown up, who is simply rich but is exploited for the economic stability of the families. Does his character really fit into a smooth national celebration? Or Mařenka, is she really this clichéd village girl that people like to paint in romantic pictures? Of course not. There's no doubt that the music of The Bartered Bride is so strong that it can bear some of this bending. But if you interpret it honestly, you hear a lot of complex things, and by no means a harmless popcorn opera.

I used the word simplicity earlier, in the best sense of the word. I feel something completely uncalculated, uncommercial, unforced in the music. Even in my younger years, it appealed to me so strongly, so intensely, that some of the lyrical passages brought tears to my eyes. Smetana can innocently tell something beautiful, deeply touching and heartfelt, without any constructive principle or compositional pattern shining through. Perhaps it is this unobtrusiveness that casts a spell over even a less experienced audience.