BEDRICH SMETANA 1824-1884
Overture to The Bartered Bride
Regarded as the founder of Czech musical nationalism, Smetana was one of the first composers to integrate folk-based material from his native country into his compositions. The son of an innkeeper who was an amateur violinist, he began playing in a string quartet at age five, and produced his first symphony at age eight.
Like many 19th-century operas, The Bartered Bride centres on an arranged marriage. (The original Czech title can be literally translated as 'The Sold Bride' or 'The Purchased Fiancée.') Set in a Bohemian village, it tells the story of a young girl, Marenka, who is in love with Jenik. However, she has been betrothed against her wishes to the son of Micha, a local landlord. Unknown to everyone but himself, Jenik is in fact none other than Micha’s long lost eldest son. Jenik shrewdly persuades the marriage broker to state that Marenka should be married to the eldest son of Micha. When it is revealed that it is none other than Jenik, all ends happily.
The work begins with a theme bursting with rhythmic energy. After this has been presented fugally, a sudden crescendo ushers in the second subject, which has the flavour of a Czech dance tune. Both themes are explored in a short development section, which is followed by the conventional recapitulation. At the end, an unexpected, wistful passage revisits the second theme before the overture reaches its brilliant conclusion.
Overtures to operas are usually written almost as afterthoughts, but Smetana was so taken with the story that he wrote the lively prelude before beginning any other work on the opera. The result is a piece that stands alone beautifully, yet still serves as a wonderful introduction to the work that made Smetana famous. The first production opened in Prague on May 30, 1866, though an early version of the overture, for piano four hands, may have been performed some three years earlier.
via http://bhco.co.uk/pages/node/265#
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