Opuses in Pieces • Bedřich Smetana: Skočná from The Bartered Bride

Workshop for teachers.

One composer, one opus, and many paths to understanding it. Smetana lived to see the hundredth performance of The Bartered Bride in 1882 - the opera remains a success to this day, perhaps because we understand the small village world where what people say matters. From the story we know marriages for money, we root for Jeník, and we are familiar with characters like Vašek and Kecal. We also sense the larger world behind the scenes, which announces itself through comedians who smell of distant lands, fantasy, and self-confidence.

Smetana set The Bartered Bride dancing three times over - with a polka, a furiant, and a skočná. The skočná in the opera accompanies the comedians' promotional performance, and it is music that is part opera, part folk, and part comedic.