Antonín Dvořák is known especially for his vast output of orchestral works, but he is one of several Czech composers who helped bring opera to the Czech stage.

Dvořák composed nine operas over the course of his life for theaters in Prague and other regions Czechoslovakia, but his most successful and oft-performed opera is Rusalka, a magical story based on Czech folklore as well as Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid.

In this famous aria, the "Song to the Moon" the water sprite Rusalka has fallen in love with a human prince.

Unfortunately, she cannot come out of the water to communicate with him, and therefore asks the moon to tell her love that she is thinking of him.

The aria has become a go-to piece for every aspiring soprano, and the opera is frequently performed both in Dvořák's native homeland and abroad.