The Bartered Bride

Surrey Opera were delighted to return to the Harlequin and the Minack with a brand new production of Bedřich Smetana’s comic masterpiece The Bartered Bride.

This light-hearted opera is set in a Bohemian village in the 19^th century. It tells the story of lovers Mařenka and Jeník, and how their true love prevails over the combined efforts of ambitious parents and a scheming marriage broker. Matters are complicated by the arrival of a travelling circus and a jilted lover dressed as a dancing bear! The lively music reflects Bohemian and Czech folk song and dance tunes.

Surrey Opera staged the opera in traditional style but in a modern English translation by Amanda Holden, with professional soloists, full chorus and orchestra conducted by Jonathan Butcher.

Click here for an excellent review by Peter Townsend in Words and Music.

Photographs from the Minack Theatre

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