The Czechiest features of The Bartered Bride – cornerstone of Czech opera and the first to go international after premiering in 1866 – are in the music rather than the story or setting. No accident: ...

The opening production of Garsington Opera’s 30th-anniversary season finds the festival at the top of its game. The Philharmonia – one of the world’s leading orchestras – is in the pit, with conductor ...

Musically, Bedřich Smetana’s The Bartered Bride is marvellous, vivid, dance-infused work. In the second performance of the run, conductor Jac van Steen and the Philharmonia Orchestra were achieving ...

SOME dislike The Bartered Bride because Vasek is a comic character with a stammer. Not right to laugh at people's handicaps, they say. But you could argue that to present him as a sympathetic ...

Although in The Bartered Bride Smetana largely avoided the direct quotation of folksong, the music he composed was considered to be Czech in spirit, meaning that he succeeded in his aim of creating a ...

“My music is rhythmic because I am Czech… the natural music of the Czechs is rhythm – strong and agile rhythm.” (Martinů). How well the conductor Jac van Steen and the director Paul Curran understood ...

Kentish Opera’s successful production of opera, by Bedrich Smetana, was a comic depiction of life in the Czech countryside in the 19 century. Lively and tuneful, the opera calls for fine singing and a ...

Sarah Scott finds The Bartered Bride at the Theatre Royal Newcastle entertaining and a good introduction to opera for newbies Opera North kicked off the latest season at the Theatre Royal with The ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

With Sir Charles Mackerras at the helm, Smetana's Bartered Bride not only has a spring in her step, she's several inches off the ground for much of the duration. Mackerras isn't just well-versed in ...

As one of The Lowry’s partner companies, Opera North always mix their touring programme to bring something well-loved and something less well known. ‘The Bartered Bride’ is a perfect introduction to ...