The Bride of Messina (opera)
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The Bride of Messina (Czech: Nevěsta messinská) is a tragic opera in three acts, op. 18, by composer Zdeněk Fibich. The Czech language libretto by Otakar Hostinský is based on Friedrich Schiller's play Die Braut von Messina. Fibich's most Wagnerian opera, he composed the work between 1882 and 1883 for the purposes of submitting it in an opera competition sponsored by the National Theatre in Prague. The opera won first prize in the 1883 competition and it premiered at the National Theatre on 28 March 1884. At its first presentation music critics responded with high praise to the work and it is now considered to be Fibich's masterpiece. However, the opera's morose story, melancholy scoring and astringent style have hindered it from gaining wide popularity.[1]