Program Notes & Synopses

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Smetana: The Bartered Bride Overture

25.00

139 words. (Recommended companion note: The Sound of the Czechs)
program notes by Chris Myers

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Prodaná nevěsta (The Bartered Bride) Overture
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)
piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings

Composed 1862. First performance: May 30, 1866, Provisional Theatre, Prague. Bedřich Smetana, conductor.

Unlike most opera overtures, Smetana composed this piece before the opera itself. The result is a thrilling romp which sets the mood for the comedy (and, arguably, the entire tradition of Czech classical music) to follow. After a syncopated opening figure played by full orchestra, the strings launch into a moto perpetuo fugato that brings to mind Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. The winds soon burst in with the rhythmic drive of Bohemian folk dances, and the two themes interact and develop, giving the orchestra a chance to show off its virtuosity until it races to a brilliant conclusion.

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