The Bartered Bride language newspaper "Národní listy". Smetana's diary for December 1864 records that he was continuing to work on "The Bartered Bride"; the piano score was completed by October 1865. It was then put aside so that the composer could concentrate on his third opera "Dalibor". Smetana evidently did not begin the orchestral scoring of "The Bartered Bride" until, following the successful performance of "The Brandenburgers" in January 1866, the management of the Provisional Theatre decided to stage the new opera during the following summer. The scoring was completed rapidly, between 20 February and 16 March. A crowd of villagers is celebrating
The Bartered Bride in a rousing drinking song ("To beer!"), while Jeník and Kecal argue the merits, respectively, of love and money over beer. The women enter, and the whole group joins in dancing a furiant. Away from the jollity the nervous Vašek muses over his forthcoming marriage in a stuttering song ("My-my-my mother said to me"). Mařenka appears, and guesses immediately who he is, but does not reveal her own identity. Pretending to be someone else, she paints a picture of "Mařenka" as a treacherous deceiver. Vašek is easily fooled, and when Mařenka, in her false guise, pretends to woo him ("I