Together with Vienna and Budapest, Prague became an internationally-known centre for opera at the end of the nineteenth century, a reputation which it has retained ever since. It was the opening of the Národní Divadlo (National Theatre) in 1881 that provided the showcase venue for operas old and new, and many of Jaroslav Štika’s clients would have been very familiar with the tally of operas included in this erotic portfolio. It was one of his most popular and widely reproduced albums.
The operas included in Oblíbené Opery s Rozdílem (Favourite Operas with a Difference) are:
Čertova Stěna, Bedřich Smetana 1892 (The Devil’s Wall)
Cudná Zuzana, Jean Gilbert, 1926 (Chaste Susanna)
Bludný Holanďan, Richard Wagner, 1841 (The Flying Dutchman)
Žebravý Student, Karl Millöcker, 1882 (The Beggar Student)
Romeo a Julie, Charles Gounod, 1867 (Romeo and Juliet)
Madame Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini, 1904
Švanda Dudák, Jaromír Weinberger, 1926 (Schwanda the Bagpiper)
Don Quijote, William Kienzl, 1898 (Don Quixote)
Růžový kavalír, Richard Strauss, 1911 (Der Rosenkavalier)
Rusalka, Antonín Dvořák, 1901
Lohengrin, Richard Wagner, 1850
Don Juan, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1787 (Don Giovanni)
Die Bajadere, Emmerich Kálmán, 1921 (The Yankee Princess)
Lehká Kavalerie, Franz von Suppé, 1866 (The Light Cavalry)
Car a Tesař, Gustav Albert Lortzing, 1837 (The Tsar and the Carpenter)
Komedianti, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, 1892 (Comedianti)
Die Zauberflöte, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1791 (The Magic Flute)
Carmen, Georges Bizet, 1875
Královna Loutek, Josef Bayer, 1888 (The Fairy Doll)