The lyrical fairy tale "Rusalka" was premiered in Prague in 1901. The touching and idyllic musical work by Antonín Dvořák transports the opera-goer into a colorful, atmospheric-melancholic dream world of timeless beauty and elegance. The vocal soloists find grateful tasks through the catchy and cantabile melodies - Dvořák also finally achieved his breakthrough in the stage dramatic field with his most successful opera.
The story of an attempted incarnation fails, even though the mermaid Rusalka is able to take on human form and follow her beloved prince into his kingdom. However, in order to obtain a soul, she must bear the consequence mentioned by the witch Ježibaba: the transformed woman must remain mute. From now on, the prince experiences Rusalka as a stranger and soon succumbs to the seduction of another woman.
Nature and human coexistence remain incompatible: as prophesied by Aquarius, Rusalka cannot experience the longingly awaited earthly happiness of love - nor is the prince’s romantic desire for an idealized, free-spirited world of nature fulfilled.

"Tosca" was first performed on January 14, 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi, now the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, symbolically on the spot. The evening was a major social event, and in addition to the Prime Minister and the Queen, the composers Pietro Mascagni and Francesco Cilea were also present. With his "Tosca" Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) entered a new century and, with his highly theatrical and effective scenes, he committed himself to Verist opera on the one hand and to the tragic-heroic grand opera on the other.
After seeing the drama of the same name by Victorien Sardous, which was a huge international success with Sarah Bernhardt in the leading role, the composer successfully applied to Sardou for the rights to create a libretto. The wealth of musical ideas (more than 60 themes appear as leitmotifs) and the breathless sequence of events are largely responsible for the immense tension and drama of the opera. By focusing on the main character, the work is considered a "prima donna opera" par excellence. Although it has always been suspected that a historical figure is behind Tosca, the characters and plot are freely invented.
However, the background against which the plot unfolds is historically determined by the Second Coalition War and the Battle of Marengo in 1800 between French and Austrian troops. Napoleon’s supposed defeat and his final victory over the coalition troops are reported in the first and second act of the opera.
Today "Tosca" is one of the most popular and most performed operas of all.