Composer Bedřich Smetana is a remarkable personality of the Czech music culture of the 19th century. His creative dowry involves eight operas, symphonic poems, chamber, vocal, piano music, and more. Smetana is the father of the national opera. Although all of his operas were written on national themes, none of them gained such popularity as the composer’s second opera, The Bartered Bride. This opus was originally written as a two-act operetta with spoken dialogues based on a libretto by Czech writer Karel Sabina. Its premiere took place in Prague on May 30, 1866. Assuming that this was great material for opera, the composer took advantage of the same plot and reworked it into an operatic work. The new version was staged on September 25, 1870. This adventurous comedy by Smetana is a colourful, lively and melodious opera depicting a cheerful rural life, matchmaking and marriage. The music is rich in harmonies of the Bohemian traditional folklore. With this opus, the composer not only enriched the spiritual life of his nation, but also made a significant contribution to the fostering of Czech national music, which was continued by other Czech composers: Antonín Dvořák and Leoš Janáček.

Often performed in concert setting, the overture to the opera features the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Tung-Chieh Chuang, a Taiwanese conductor, the winner of the prestigious Nicolai Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen.