Artist

Admin

Singer

Bass

Péter Magyar

Indian

Mezzo-soprano

Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz

Hata

Conductor

Gábor Hollerung

Stage director

Szente Vajk

Soprano

Melinda Heiter

Marenka

Tenor

Botond Ódor

Jenik

Krisztián Cser

Kecal

Zoltán Megyesi

Vasek

Choreographer

Turi Lajos Péter

Baritone

András Hábetler

Krusina

Zoltán Bátki Fazekas

Micha

Attila Serbán

Principal of comedians

Barbara Bordás

Esmeralda

Beatrix Fodor

Ludmila

Orchestra

Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

Müpa Budapest

Dramaturge

Ildikó Turcsányi

Hungarian

Prodaná nevěsta -  (The Bartered Bride)

Budapest

Hungary

MÜPA 2022 Smetana: The Sold Bride
06.06.2023

134 minutes, 2022

Bedřich Smetana's work, completed in 1866, can rightly be considered a folk opera, on the other hand, it follows the patterns of the fashionable German Singspiels of the time in many ways, but with our modern knowledge, the play can be interpreted as the ancestor of the musical with its rich, life-affirming, energetic music, colorful grand scenes, and frenetic dance movements. It is therefore not at all a coincidence that Gábor Hollerung asked Szente Vajko, famous for his spectacular, whirlwind musical arrangements, to stage the production. The BDZ workshop dusted off the play, the upcoming brand new Hungarian version moves the story into the world of Menzel's films without departing from Smetana's original intentions. Dr. Kecal (Krisztián Cser), a lawyer from Prague who arrives in a closed rural community, works on behalf of the village headman, Mr. Mícha, to find Mícha's son, marry the bankrupt Vašek (Zoltán Megyesi) and the famously beautiful daughter of the Krušinás, who live in modest circumstances, Mařenka (Heiter Melinda) as soon as possible. However, the girl is head over heels in love with the mysterious Jeník (Ódor Botond), who even she herself does not know exactly who he is. This is where the complications begin - betrayal, lies, misunderstandings, hysteria, quarrels, mischief - and all of this takes place in front of the village's community, which is always curious and expresses its opinion on everything. Together with them, we can hug the lovers in the hope of an inevitably happy ending. With lots of dancing and passion, we promise you real refreshment during the carnival season. This is where the complications begin - betrayal, lies, misunderstandings, hysteria, quarrels, mischief - and all of this takes place in front of the village's community, which is always curious and expresses its opinion on everything. Together with them, we can hug the lovers in the hope of an inevitably happy ending. With lots of dancing and passion, we promise you real refreshment during the carnival season. This is where the complications begin - betrayal, lies, misunderstandings, hysteria, quarrels, mischief - and all of this takes place in front of the village's community, which is always curious and expresses its opinion on everything. Together with them, we can hug the lovers in the hope of an inevitably happy ending. With lots of dancing and passion, we promise you real refreshment during the carnival season.

Prodaná nevěsta Smetana

Public

The Bartered Bride

Approved

A Cinema Smetana bemutatja: Az eladott menyasszonySmetana szcenírozott vígoperája vadonatúj magyar szöveggel, operaénekes-szólistákkal, cseh kertmozi hangula...

Of all Smetana‘s operas, The Bartered Bride (Prodaná Nevesta) is the most important in the Czech national classical canon. The use of the term “bartered” (in many translations – but the Hungarian – of the title) further emphasises the comic, folk tale like character of Smetana’s opera. The village love story is very simple: Mařenka loves Jeník, but her parents intend her to marry the local rich man Micha’s other son, Vasek. For a huge sum of money Jeník agrees with the matchmaker to give up the matrimony he planned with Mařenka, but on the condition that Mařenka marries Micha’s eldest son. Apart from Jenik, no one in the village knows that he himself is Micha’s lost son. So the bargain is made, which causes many-many complications and love struggles. But in the end, as in Molière’s comedies, everything falls into place with an unexpected twist. All’s well that ends well: the people of the village are also pleased with the outcome which they celebrate by singing and dancing merrily. Smetana was so enchanted by the fable like story that he composed a beautiful prelude: the opera’s overture was later performed as a concert piece in its own right.

English

The Bartered Bride by Smetana, From (2022/2022), Directed by Szente Vajk,, Conductor Gábor Hollerung, Müpa Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

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