Performances
30 June 2023
3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 20, 23 July 2023
Start time: 5.55pm
End time: c.10.10 - 10.15pm


This is a story of thwarted love and arranged marriage, an arrangement which the spirited heroine, Mařenka, is not prepared to accept. She has to use every last ounce of determination, charm and cunning that she possesses in order to marry the man she loves, encountering bribery, corruption and parental opposition along the way. Smetana’s opera has come to be seen as a celebration of Czech culture and identity, which translates here into a more familiar setting, complete with village pub and a maypole on the green. Dance is at the heart and soul of The Bartered Bride – from the intoxicatingly lively overture to a riotous and festive polka. There’s a circus with jugglers and acrobats, an escaped bear, rousingly beery drinking songs and heart-stopping love duets and arias. It’s an irresistible combination.


Sung in Czech with English supertitles

Mařenka
Pumeza Matshikiza
Jeník
Oliver Johnston
Kecal
David Ireland
Vašek
John Findon
Ludmila
Yvonne Howard
Krušina
William Dazeley
Ringmaster
Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts
Esmeralda
Isabelle Peters
Mícha
John Savournin
Háta
Louise Winter
Conductor
Jac van Steen
Director
Rosie Purdie
Original production by Paul Curran
Designer
Kevin Knight
Lighting Designer
Howard Hudson
Choreographer
Darren Royston
Philharmonia Orchestra
Garsington Opera Chorus
Circus Troupe (led by Jennifer Robinson)
June
Friday 30 June
July
Monday 3 July
Wednesday 5 July
Saturday 8 July
Monday 10 July
Thursday 13 July
Saturday 15 July
Thursday 20 July
Sunday 23 July
Start time: 
5.55pm