Bedřich Smetana public success. Back in 1866, as the composer of "The Brandenburgers" with its overtones of German military aggression, Smetana thought he might be targeted by the invading Prussians, so he absented himself from Prague until hostilities ceased. He returned in September, and almost immediately achieved a long-standing ambition—appointment as principal conductor of the Provisional Theatre, at an annual salary of 1,200 gulden. In the absence of a body of suitable Czech opera, Smetana in his first season presented standard works by Weber, Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini and Glinka, with a revival of his own "Bartered Bride". The quality of Smetana's production
The Bartered Bride premiere "The Bartered Bride" has entered the repertory of all major opera companies, and is regularly revived worldwide. After several unsuccessful attempts to stage it in France, it was premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1928, sung in French as "La Fiancée vendue". In 2008 the opera was added to the repertoire of the Paris Opera, in a new production staged at the Palais Garnier. In the English-speaking world, recent productions of "The Bartered Bride" in London have included the Royal Opera House (ROH) presentation in 1998, staged at Sadler's Wells during the restoration of the ROH's headquarters at