The Bartered Bride which Smetana took to heart: "I swore there and then that no other than I should beget a native Czech music." Smetana did not act immediately on this aspiration. The announcement that a Provisional Theatre was to be opened in Prague, as a home for Czech opera and drama pending the building of a permanent National Theatre, influenced his decision to return permanently to his homeland in 1861. He was then spurred to creative action by the announcement of a prize competition, sponsored by the Czech patriot Jan von Harrach, to provide suitable operas for the Provisional Theatre. By 1863
The Bride of Messina sposa di Messina" by the Italian composer Nicola Vaccai (premiered in 1839). Robert Schumann wrote an overture to "Die Braut von Messina", his Opus 100. (English translation) The Bride of Messina The Bride of Messina () is a tragedy by Friedrich Schiller; it premiered on 19 March 1803 in Weimar. It is one of the most controversial works by Schiller, due to his use of elements from Greek tragedies (which were considered obsolete at the time it was written). In the play, Schiller attempts to combine antique and modern theatre. It is set in Sicily, at a time when Paganism