"Madama Butterfly" was, according to Puccini’s own statement, Puccini’s favorite work: "...of all the operas I have written, the most deeply felt and suggestive. After the composer had approached the Far Eastern subject with zeal, he set about studying Japanese musical culture and the customs and traditions of the country with great energy. He even sought out a Japanese actress who was touring Europe to listen to the timbre of the Japanese female voice. Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) masterfully blended his own style with authentic Japanese melodies and the use of exotic instruments, giving the opera its unmistakable atmosphere.
Guilt, atonement and the blossoming of a deep love are the core themes of the work. The tragic figure of the Butterfly is at the center of the action: Puccini completes her development from happy bride to abandoned mother and finally to suicide victim with dreamy, ecstatic melodies and arias. All the other characters in the piece, even the male lead character Pinkerton, are vocally and action-determining rather than marginal figures.
As devastating as the premiere was for the composer in February 1904 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, "Madama Butterfly" began its great triumphal march around the world in a revised version in May 1904 in Brescia.

“The Bartered Bride” (original title: “Prodaná nevěsta”) is probably the best-known opera by the Czech national composer Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884). And as one would expect, Smetana also works here with numerous folkloristic melodies, which transport the listener to a Bohemian village already in the roaring overture. There, everything revolves around young Marie, whose heart beats for Hans, a stranger in the village. According to her parents’ wishes, however, she is to marry Wenzel, the son of the wealthy farmer Michas. Finally, the matchmaker Kezal intervenes to suggest another bride to Hans. Hans agrees, with the addition that only one of Micha’s sons may marry Marie. Marie, stunned by this apparent betrayal of Hans, has no choice but to finally agree to marry what she thinks is Wenzel. Hans finally reveals his true identity: he is Micha’s son from his first marriage. The bride and groom lie happily in each other’s arms.