At the end of this month The Irish National Opera (INO) national tour of Smetana’s comic folk opera The Bartered Bride comes to Mullingar.

This production of the heart-warming comedy, featuring 11 singers and five musicians, will be performed at the Mullingar Arts Centre on Tuesday, November 25.

Set in a busy Czech village bound by tradition and tangled in secrets, The Bartered Bride is a fast-paced comic opera where two young lovers attempt to rewrite the rules. To be together, they need to outwit a meddling matchmaker, sidestep an unwanted marriage contract and survive the arrival of a travelling circus.

At the heart of the story is Mařenka, played by Irish soprano Amy Ní Fhearraigh, a spirited young woman determined to marry for love but promised to a wealthy landowner’s son. Russian-Ukrainian tenor Egor Zhuravskii sings her devoted, but not entirely honest lover, Jeník.

Among the cast of this exciting production is Birr man John Molloy, who takes on the role of Kecal: “I am really looking forward to it. It's not every day we get the national company down to Mullingar, it's a big event,” he told the Examiner.

Smetana’s opera continues John's association with the Irish National Opera: “I've worked for INO since its inception, coming up on eight years now. I was part of the very first production they did, which was the Marriage of Figaro, and I've worked with them on numerous occasions since, but never in Mullingar,” he quipped, “I've done many tours around the country with the company before, but we've never taken on an opera of this scale where we bring it to places like Mullingar, or smaller towns around the country.” When we think about opera, we think of these massive scale productions, so modifying it for smaller venues has been a significant challenge: “Richard Pearson is the musical director and he looks after all of the music. He has made this a very special arrangement.

He squeezed down the orchestra. A traditional production may have around 80 musicians. He has written this for five instruments so that we can get into smaller venues.” The Bartered Bride will feature infectious folk rhythms, dazzling duets and the vibrant energy of its famous overture and dances.

Irish National Opera’s energetic production brings a fresh musical perspective, with conductor Richard Peirson leading his own dynamic new arrangement of Smetana’s score. Director Louisa Muller makes her INO debut on The Bartered Bride, with set and lighting design by Ciaran Bagnall, costume design by Joan O’Cleary and choreography by Rebecca Howell.

The Bartered Bride is sung in English with English surtitles and will be performed at the Mullingar Arts Centre on Tuesday, November 25.