By 1872 he had completed his monumental fourth opera, Libuše, his most ambitious work to date, but was withholding its premiere for the future opening of the forthcoming National Theatre.
I 1872 havde han afsluttet sin store fjerde opera, Libuše, hans mest ambitiøse værk til dato,, men han tilbageholdt værkets premiere til den fremtidige åbning af det nye nationalteater.