The Bartered Bride, Opera North, The Lowry, Manchester, 18th and 20th November 2014.

The first and most striking thing about Opera North’s new production of Smetana’s The Bartered Bride is the stage setting. For a reasonably small space, the backdrop of gentle white clouds in a serene blue sky gives a feeling of space and light that belies its actual size. The skilful use of colours and lighting manages to convey a sense of wistful nostalgia; perhaps for a distantly remembered holiday or the memory of a moment captured in an old photograph. And then, you realise what that particular quality of light and tone has come to signify as you notice the costumes… Yes, it’s the 1970s, in all their brown, purple and orange glory!

The little quirks and humorous details in those excellent costumes are a very neat metaphor for the production as a whole. The music, acting, sets and updated script all have beautiful moments of humour, leading not only to unexpected laughs but to a feeling of genuine pleasure generated by a cast who seem to be really enjoying themselves.

If you don’t know the plot of The Bartered Bride, never fear. It’s every Rom Com from Shakespeare to Bridget Jones, and the plot is therefore very much a secondary consideration to the characters, and does not bear close examination under the lens of logic. Marenka is in love with Jenik, but her parents want her instead to marry the son of the wealthy man to whom they owe money, as the local Mayor, Kecal, has negotiated (for his usual fee) that their debts will be cancelled if she does.

There then ensues the usual chaos of misunderstandings, deceptions, mistaken identities, hidden pasts, arguments and escaped bears that is expected from the genre, with the added twist of setting this version of the tale in 1970s communist Czechoslovakia. This allows the production to play with reflections of the opera’s original setting and style, whilst giving elements of it a more modern and political angle, increasing the accessibility of what is already an appealingly accessible story.

Marenka and Jenik make for an enjoyably sparky couple. They bicker beautifully, and whilst no one is in any doubt that they will end up together by the final curtain, they make that moment well worth the wait. Kate Valentine is endlessly engaging as Marenka, managing to be ballsy and yet still vulnerable when it counts, and she has a remarkable voice too. She stands out amongst a strong cast, as does James Cresswell as Kecal, the manipulative, mercenary mayor who has bass notes to die for, and uses them to devastating comic effect. He brings an appropriate air of smugness to the role that makes his eventual downfall all the more pleasing. However, Nicholas Watts as Vasek, Marenka’s intended but unwanted beau, brings an unexpected sweetness to a role that makes you wish he been allowed a little more stage time. It’s a shame that the conclusion of the tale leaves some doubt as to his story’s end. It would have been a nice touch to see him spite his awful mother and run off with the circus and the glamorous Esmerelda.

Oh, yes. Don’t forget the circus! It’s a national holiday in Marenka’s village, and along with folk dancing, drinking and general carousing (which descends into a very nicely staged minor brawl) there is also a visit from a travelling circus to complete the day’s celebrations. The brightly coloured troupe of circus performers are excellent, performing a routine that’s both skilful and comedic, with plenty of classic clowning and tumbling, along with some neat political satire from their ringmaster, played in this performance by Campbell Russell.

In the world of The Bartered Bride, rich, repressed mummy’s boy Vasek and Esmerelda the circus ballerina make a perfect couple, and their plan to marry within five minutes of meeting is a perfectly reasonable one, crowned only by his finding his self-confidence at last in performing as the circus’ dangerous, can-can dancing Russian Bear.

However, even within this foolishly, frivolously likeable world, there are still moments of real emotion. When the villagers find out that Jenik has seemingly sold out his one true love to Kecal, and bartered his bride to be for a few thousand dollars, they turn on him en masse. The final moments of Act Two, where the people of the village hurl coins at Jenik in disgust whilst he sits stony-faced in their midst, make a surprisingly dark conclusion to this section. Likewise, in Act Three when Jenik and Marenka are arguing by practically shouting in each other’s faces, the kiss that suddenly takes both them and the audience by surprise is a breathtaking moment of true passion.

Moments like these make this production what it is – a cleverly constructed and cunningly reimagined interpretation of a classic opera, with cast, costumes, sets and staging combining to make a remarkably enjoyable evening. The only minor downsides are the presence of the slightly distracting surtitles, which feel redundant in what is a very nicely done English translation, and the sound balance which occasionally leaves one or two of the sung passages slightly overwhelmed by the orchestral score. The orchestra themselves are another plus, with a lively performance which adds very positively to the overall atmosphere of the show.

In an attempt to attract a wider audience to this season, Opera North have compared several of their productions to popular films and television series. However, The Bartered Bride actually shares very little with The Princess Bride apart from a similarity of title. It is instead its own delightfully loopy fantasy, and a perfect introduction for newcomers to opera in its own right. It has a heroine in jeans, an evil stepmother who looks like Eva Peron, and a song about how ‘Beer is for Heroes’. Perhaps ‘likeable’ doesn’t seem a very strong plaudit, but in this case it is the perfect word for a production that it is very difficult not to smile all the way through.

Sarah Jane Vespertine

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