A committed Bohemian nationalist who drew upon Czechoslovakian  history, folk songs, legends and scenery, Smetana was viewed with suspicion by his contemporaries as sounding too Wagnerian.  Despite having to learn the Czech language in middle age in order to write his operas, his opera subjects and orchestral works leave little doubt of his love for his homeland.  In 1874 after a trip to Italy Smetana composed a cycle of symphonic poems under the general title of  Má Vlast (My Country)  which, although they are all founded on national subjects, have served to carry his fame afield than any other examples of his art, always excepting the popular overture to  The Bartered Bride. Of the eight operas, the second, The Bartered Bride was, and continues to be, his most popular opera.