Bedřich Smetana (1824 Leitomischl - 1884 Prague) is generally regarded as the founder of Czech national music. His most successful compositions were the opera "The Bartered Bride" and the cycle "My Fatherland", which consists of six symphonic tone poems. His opera "Libussa," premiered in 1881, was also spontaneously hailed as a masterpiece of Czech musical drama.