About the work
Donna Diana is a comic opera in three acts by Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek, who also wrote the libretto. It is based on Agustín Moreto's Spanish comedy "El desdén, con el desdén" (1654) in a German adaptation. Reznicek premiered the work on 16 December 1894 at the Deutsches Theater in Prague; it became his first major success as a composer.
Plot
The proud Princess Diana scorns every suitor for her hand. On the advice of the court jester Perin, the equally haughty Don Cesar meets her with feigned indifference. From this game of mutual pretence, genuine affection gradually develops, which Diana openly admits at the end, when Cesar appears about to marry another woman.
Cultural significance
While the opera itself, after roughly fifty productions in German-speaking countries, disappeared from the repertoire, its overture remained popular as a stand-alone concert piece – among other things, it served from 1969 to 1985 as the theme music of a ZDF quiz show.