La vestale, a hit when it premiered in Naples in 1840, is perhaps most familiar today because of its influence on Verdi, who stole from it a number of plot details for Aida.
The Czech Foerster was long associated with Prague's National Theater, and Eva premiered there in 1899. Eva is based on a play by Gabriela Prissovš, whose work was also the source of Janšcek's Jenufa.
Once one of Germany's most popular composers, the half-Jewish Braunfels saw his career cut short by the Nazis. His Prinzessin Brambilla is based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
