In music, the term verismo usually refers to a realistic or naturalistic movement in Italian operas of the late nineteenth century. From the dawn of Italian opera four features have been manifested--umanita (humanism), sincerity (sincerity), passione (passion), effetto (not only theatrical effect but the supreme dramatic moment). The elements of verismo are among the characteristics present in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi where they reached a zenith of development. It is upon these veristic aspects, as identified in the second chapter, that the operas Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci were based. Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and La Traviata richly exhibit these elements of verismo which have been identified in the fourth chapter.

This thesis deals with a comparatice analysis, where there are original literary productions (proses, dramas), that were then used for creating librettos of operas productions. The thesis focus on opera performances presented on stages of South Bohemian Theatre in last few years, and also belongs to canon of tradition of world's opera. The analysis is following the way of adaptation of the original piece, it means the conversion of the production, originally defined for a quiet reading, into the genre based on performing and accented his performance's nature. The thesis follows conventional and inventive characters by original literary production, and also by opera's text "adaptation". The thesis specifically follows the relationship of these productions: Victorien Sardou: Tosca and Giacommo Puccini: Tosca; Prosper Mérimée: Carmen and Georges Bizet: Carmen; Pierre - Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais: The Marriage of Figaro and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro; Antonio García Gutiérrez: Il Trovatore and Giuseppe Verdi: Il Trovatore; and also the productions without the original literar artwork: Giuseppe Verdi: Aida and Antonín Dvořák: Rusalka.