from Act II of the Czech opera The Bartered Bride (Prodaná Nevesta) by Bedrich Smetana

Libretto: Karel Sabina

Role: Jenik, son of Micha by his first marriage

Voice Part: tenor

Setting: inside an inn in a Bohemian village, Bohemia

Synopsis: Jenik and the marriage broker, Kecal, have been bargaining. Kecal wants Jenik to give up any claim to his beloved, Marenka. Jenik finally agrees but only if he receives a large sum of money and under the condition that Marenka marries the elder son of Micha. Kecal thinks he has made a good deal because the elder son of Micha is presumed dead. However, he doesn't know that Jenik is really Micha's eldest son. After Kecal leaves, Jenik gloats over his clever victory, saying that anyone who could expect him to sell Marenka is a fool. To him, Marenka is too valuable to be sold for any amount of money.